Steven James Rodriguez Velez – Dancer

Steven was born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. He started his first practice of movement when he studied karate, judo, kung fu and specialized in khata; he became a black belt at age of 13. Steven quickly discovered that movement was going to be his passion and transitioned to dance, shortly after. He moved to San Juan in 2004 where he studied dance and theater at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras. It was here that he discovered his passion for contemporary dance, while working under Petra Bravo, a Professor at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras and founder of the company HINCAPIE. By joining HINCAPIE, Steven was able to dance in the festival, Fiestas Coreograficas, which allows for students to develop into choreographers and present their upcoming works. There, he was able to perform in pieces by Petra Bravo, Norberto Collazo, Viveca Vazquez, as well as, his own work. In 2006, he choreographed his first piece called “Sin sentido un suspiro”. In 2007, he choreographed, “Vagabundo” and in 2009 he choreographed, “Desmembrada”, which is based on the brutal, true story that resulted in the horrific death of a friend. HINCAPIE created the opportunity for Steven to develop as a choreographer and dancer and work with great Puerto Rican choreographers not only in Puerto Rico, but all over South America. In 2009, he joined the company ANDANZA which allowed him to dance the repertory of many choreographers from Puerto Rico, Spain, Brazil and many others. In 2010, he created his first solo for the company called “de tren en tren” for the production Andanza Personal. Beyond being a company member, he was also a teacher in the school of Andanza and several other establishments. In 2015, Steven moved to North Carolina and started working with Ronald West.