Artistic Statement

Omar_headshot_credit_Tania Palomeque.jpg

Dancers are doers.

Being put in a circumstance where our actions suddenly become limited and our thinking becomes limitless gives us the means to troubleshoot, reflect, and open critical conversations about the landscape we want to build. This way of thinking has consumed me as I’m sure it has likewise consumed many of you since early 2020. This sense of imagination, part survival tool and part portal opener, has become a mechanism for resilience that has gripped dancers around the world. Now is the time to put those dream worlds into action.

Photo by Tania Palomeque

As both a director and choreographer my goals all center around a commitment to build the infrastructure for a sustainable life in dance for my company while using my voice to champion the upcoming generation of LatinX/a/o leaders more broadly. Living as a Queer Puertorriqueño myself, I use my work to explore the complexities of these identities while revealing injustices pertaining to the people who share similar experiences and upbringings. I do not want my people to be considered “underserved”. We are not underserved, but under-resourced and under- heard. I hope to be part of the driving force that brings this fact to light.

As I look ahead to our upcoming 5th season, I am excited for the ways I already see these aims materializing. Through ongoing relationships, global collaborations, innovative commissions, teaching opportunities, and new friendships, I am excited to spearhead our efforts to celebrate contemporary dance throughout New York and beyond.

A life in the arts has never been a solo act. I am deeply honored and humbled to hold this place of responsibility and recognize that those of us in leadership only have that privilege thanks to the people in our community who have helped us along the way and continue to believe in our work. If you are reading this, I count you among those whose curiosity, optimism, and love of dance have been integral in pushing Boca Tuya forward. Involving more perspectives in our work allows more people to find entry points into dance.

I live to give dancers and audiences a platform to dream without boundaries.

Thank you for standing with me to make this vision come true.

Omar Román de Jesús

CORE VALUES

Create visibility for emerging LatinX/a/o leaders in the arts. Advocate for additional opportunity pathways for under resourced artists identifying across the LatinX Diaspora

Offer meaningful, multi-faceted experiences for mature contemporary artists including in studio residencies, teaching opportunities, touring, and global partnership building

Contribute to the current cannon of innovative contemporary dance work spanning live performance and film with a focus on collaboration and equitable artistic hiring practices.

Build long term civic partnerships that encourage community involvement in the arts with a focus on economic stability and local investment in dance.

Open new channels of communication between established dance centered organizations and emerging dance organizations to advance the impact of and access to contemporary dance regionally, nationally, and internationally