Jesus "Jacoh" Cortes
Founder, Cuicacalli Dance Company
Jesús "JACOH" Cortés, began his training in Mexican folk dance when he was six years old under the direction of his great uncle Juan Natoli. In 2000, he started dancing with Ballet Folklórico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez in the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City after he was trained as a Deer Dancer under the direction of Lucas Zarate Lobato. He was a soloist in the role of The Deer Dance “La Danza Del Venado” for Ballet Folklorico de Mexico de Amalia Hernandez and toured Mexico, Europe, and the US. He was the company choreographer and lead teacher for Los Niños de Santa Fe y Compañia. In addition he taught hundreds of elementary school children as part of the Arts in the Schools program in Española, New Mexico. He joined Moving People Dance Theater performing Contemporary, Jazz, and Modern in June 2005. In 2006 he was a founder and artistic director of Arte Sin Fronteras, a new dance school/company in rural Northern New Mexico now know as Moving Arts Española.
Currently, he lives in San Francisco and works as an artist in residence with the SFUSD and Brava! for Women in the Arts. He is founder and Artistic Director of Cuicacalli (meaning house of culture in nahuatl dialect), and is a lead teacher and choreographer for Dancing Earth. Cortés joined Printz Dance Project Company in 2009 as a guest artist for their tenth anniversary and has also joined the ALICE (Arts and Literacy in Children’s Education) program as a dance instructor since 2008 where he performed in their production called “Burning Libraries,” a multi-media performance about immigration stories. Cortes is a dance consultant and choreographer for Ballet Folklorico de Stanford University. He also choreographed and performed John O'Keefe's ‘Mystical Abyss’ directed by Theatre of Yugen's Founder, Yuriko Doi, at the ODC Theater. In 2012 Mr. Cortes premiered Cuicacalli Dance Company. In the last four years he has developed three works: “Raices sin limites” (Endless roots) “500 Years of Resistance,” and “Cicatrices” (Scars).
For the last 10 years, Cortés has been presenting Cuicacalli's annual production "Tradición, Movimiento y Pasión" at Brava Theater.
In 2013, Mr. Cortés choreographed and performed a section of the production “Noche de Muertos” with Calidanza Dance Company at the SF Symphony ‘Dia de los Muertos’ Community Concert. And in 2014 Mr. Cortes was commissioned to choreograph and perform a solo to the music of“La Llegada de los Muertos” played by the SF Symphony for the same event.
Also In the past three years he has presented his work with Cuicacalli Dance Company at Baile en la Calle The Mural Dances, San Francisco Son Jarocho, Cuba Caribe, FLACC! Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers, San Francisco Carnaval, and D.I.R.T Dancing In Revolt(ing) Times.
Cuicacalli Dance Company
Cuicacalli Dance Company is a multidisciplinary organization, fusing various styles into a unique story of their own. By including dance styles such as Indigenious, Folkloric, Contemporary, Cuicacalli hopes to expose, sustain, and expand traditional and modern dancing with a new lens. Cuicacalli Dance Company develops choreographies to revive traditions and address cultural, social and environmental situations.
In order to reach new levels of artistic innovation and exposure to importance of these cultural traditions, Cuicacalli engages in collaboration with musicians, singers, graphic designers, aerialist, and more in and outside of the SF Bay Area.
Cuicacalli holds its own annual performance “Tradicion, Movimiento y Pasion,” on Brava's Mainstage and has developed relationships and performed with San Francisco’s Exploratorium, San Francisco’s Earth Day celebrations at Civic Center as well as been invited as guests with the Ballet Folkorico of Stanford University.Cuicacalli looks for the opportunity to present their works at festivals and events across the country and internationally.