COMPANY MEMBERS

Felicia B. Avalos is a performer, choreographer, and educator based in New York City. Avalos received a university fellowship and received her MFA at The George Washington University. Her thesis topic was on Mexican and Central American immigration told through her father’s story of crossing the Mexican border into the United States. Avalos also completed a dance residency with Unity Space AiR in Australia and spent 10 months training with the MASA Dance Journey in Israel. She has performed at Jacob’s Pillow, New Victory Theater, Is Sanat Theater in Istanbul, Turkey, and with Mexican American singer Lila Downs with Calpulli. Avalos received a Hear Us 2022 Award, and has presented her own choreography for dance festivals in New Jersey and Brooklyn. Avalos also earned an MA in Arts Politics from New York University and continues to research the juxtaposition of cultural and political topics with dance. 

Eli Cano holds a B.F.A. in Ballet from Texas Christian University. He studied with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and at The American Dance Festival at Duke University. He has performed choreography by Robert Battle and Mark Dendy. Mr. Cano is an active dancer for The Kennedy Dancers and Calpulli Dance Company. He has appeared in Gossip Girl, Law and Order SVU, and the HBO movie The Normal Heart, among other television programs. Eli is a recipient of the Iconic Award, and he loves teaching the young about the arts and dance. Mr. Cano lives in New York City. 

Juan Castaño, a native of El Paso, TX, is co-founder of Calpulli Mexican Dance Company. Mr. Castaño began his studies of folk dance with student instructor Alicia Gonzalez at Grinnell College. He continued his training and research in NYC, Iguala and Cd Juarez in Mexico, and Berlin, Germany with several artists focusing on dance, dramaturgy, and pedagogy in folk dance.  He is a Master Teacher with the YoungArts Foundation and conducted international exchange projects providing research for Calpulli’s artistic works funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Christopher Cortez is a California native who began his Folklorico training around 17 yrs old in Righetti High's The Marimba Band and Ballet Folklorico group and then continued at Allan Hancock College where he graduated in 2011 with an AA in Fine Arts: Dance. In 2012 Cortez joined Calpulli for their 2012/13 calendar year, attended Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and graduated in 2015 with a Certificate in Dance. He continued in his professional career primarily with touring companies Calpulli Mexican Dance Co and Ballet Nepantla. Christopher chose to return to the West Coast in 2020 and began studying the healing modality of Massage Therapy where he graduated in 2021 from San Diego's Pacific College of Health & Science and is also certified by the California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC). His return to NYC in 2022 also marked his return to dance.

Crystal Deosaran began her training as a dancer with Calpulli and is a performer with the company since 2010. She has traveled and performed with Calpulli nationally and internationally in places like Lincoln Center, Jacob's Pillow, and the Kingdom of Bahrain. She has learned from wonderful directors and teachers such as Alberto Lopez, Grisel Pren, Juan Castano, Noemy Hernandez, Roberto Lara, Martha Zarate, Pilar Maez, and others. Crystal has served as Program Coordinator for the Calpulli Community Program in Staten Island and continues to collaborate in diverse educational and cultural projects and is a proud Calpulli Board Member.

Cindy Garcia started dancing at the age of seven at Callina's Classical School of Ballet in Astoria, NY. She went to CUNY, Queens College and earned a BA in Drama Theatre and Dance, where she had the opportunity to study with Professor Edisa Weeks and Yin Mei. She was part of the Queens College competitive dance team. In 2014, she participated in ACDFA (American College Dance Festival Association) representing Queens College with her choreographed flamenco piece "Cinco Flores," and was awarded The Farah Marcelus Award for Choreography at Queens College. 

Adina Lopez played music from the age of 8 and continued until she was 18 years old. Thereafter, she began dance and joined Ballet Tierra Nueva Mexicana for 6 years. Adina is a dancer with Calpulli for 10 years. She credits many different artists who have helped her grow as a dancer and performer learning zapateado, skirtwork, ballet technique, and about dance theater from choreographers including Martha Zarate, Daniel Jaquez and Noemy Hernandez. She’s learned about the history of dances, different regional styles, and how to be a Teaching Artist from current Artistic Director, Alberto Lopez.

Yhasmine Moran is a Mexican indigenous advocate, dancer, teaching artist and choreographer based in NYC. Born in Brooklyn, Yhasmine was raised in Acatlan de Osorio Puebla, Mexico. She earned her BA in Dance at Hunter College and is currently a dancer and Rehearsal Assistant with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company. Yhasmine has performed with the company at Lincoln Center, Town Hall, Queens Theatre, Jacobs Pillow, the New Victory Theater, and the Apollo Theater. In 2022, she was selected as a Latinx emerging artist to be part of the First National Cohort in David Herrera Performance Company’s LatinXtensions program.

Carbin Palafox joined Calpulli Community when she was 7 years old and has been with Calpulli for almost 13 years. She went to William Cullen Bryant High School where she joined a dance club for a few months and learned a little bit of jazz and basic ballet technique. Currently, she is attending Hunter College, majoring in film. She may minor in theater or dance and has taken ballet courses at Hunter where she is learning more about the technique.

José María Rojas is a dancer and choreographer of Argentine folklore, ballet and contemporary dance. Born in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina, José danced folkloric dance since he was six years old and since then has participated in many renowned festivals in Argentina as well as different companies around the country. Jose's passion for dance encouraged him to develop other dance techniques such as ballet, jazz, contemporary and tango, which afforded him the opportunity to train with world renowned dance instructors. In 2015 José received a full scholarship for the contemporary jazz summer course at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, during which he then received a full-year scholarship for said institution. Currently, José is a dancer for Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, a teaching Artist for Ballet Hispánico, and a dancer for the American Swiss Ballet Company and Connecticut Ballet. 

Daniela Romero a native from Maracaibo, Venezuela, recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Houston. She began her dance training at DANMAR Academy of Performing Arts located in Katy, TX, where she danced professionally for their 2018/19 season. During her time at the University of Houston, Daniela was an active member of the UH Dance Ensemble for two years. She has also had the opportunity to collaborate with John Beasant & Dancers, performing at festivals such as the Solo Duo Dance Festival in New York, NY, and the Barnstorm Dance Festival in Houston, TX. Currently, Daniela is an apprentice with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company.Watson, Frankie Paris, the Chico O’Farrill Orchestra, the gospel choir of the Walker Memorial Baptist Group, and various other artists.

Lucero 'Luz' Velazquez was born in Queens, NY and raised in her parents’ hometown in Puebla, Mexico. There, at the age of 6, she began to dance folklorico. She then moved back to New York and joined Ballet Xochiquetzal where she danced for 4 years and later joined Ballet Nueva Juventud. She joined Calpulli in 2016 and initiated her dance training at Hunter College, where she received her BA in psychology with a minor in dance. Lucero has had the opportunity to perform works from Kyle Abraham and participated in intensives by MODP and Contra Tiempo Company. She has worked as a dance specialist with various youth ages, teaching dance movement and creating works.