Get to Know Estela

Why do you share dance?

I have danced since I learned how to walk. Dance feeds my heart and motivates me on a daily basis. Dance has been so pivotal in my personal growth and life that I want to share that experience with as many people as possible. I love sharing my love for dance with others and it feels my heart with joy to look through the mirror and see my student’s development and growth.

Who have you danced with?

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Estela Vélez de Paredez trained intensively with Maestro Antonio Santaella of Granada, Spain, to whom she owes her development as a flamenco dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Estela trained with other notable Spanish figures such as Carmen “La Talegona,” David Coria, La Farruca, Rocío Molina, Mercedes Amaya, Joaquín Grilo, Pastora Galván, Israel Galván, Belén Fernández, and Cristóbal Reyes, to name a few. She has a background in ballet, jazz, tap, and belly dance. She has been performing flamenco in the DMV area since 1998. Estela is recognized for her strong technical desivery and for her style, which combines the traditional gypsy with a modern touch. Critics have described her as a “stunning performer with a gaze that enraptured” (Washington Post, November 2002). Estela has performed locally and abroad. In 2001, she was invited to perform with Ballet Flamenco Antonio Santaella in a production of Julia en Flamenco at El Centro de Bellas Artes in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In August 2011, she was invited to perform in Managua, Nicaragua, in the production Ida y Vuelta: De Donde Vienes Mestizo at the Teatro Nacional Rubén Darío. In the Washington area, Estela has performed at many venues, including: the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, the Lincoln Theatre, Harmon Hall, National Theatre, Atlas Performing Arts Center, the Jack Guidone Theater, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Dance Place, Publick Playhouse, Roundhouse Theater, and Alden Theatre. She has also performed at tablaos locally and in Puerto Rico. In 2004, she founded Furia Flamenca Dance company for which she is the Artistic Director and choreographer. Furia Flamenca, a Resident Arts Partner of JOMDC, has become the most sought-after flamenco dance company in the DMV area with performances in some of the most prestigious venues including: the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage and Terrace Theater, Lincoln Theatre, National Theatre, Wolf Trap, Baltimore Lyric Opera House, Publick Playhouse, and Alden Theatre, to name a few. The company is regularly invited to perform at Happenings at Harmon Hall and regularly performs at some of the biggest DC festivals, such as the Washington Folk Festival, INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival, Cherry Blossom Festival, Dance DC Festival, Velocity DC, Taste of Bethesda, and DC’s annual Feria de Sevilla. The company’s choreographers have been selected to participate in the area’s most prestigious choreographer’s showcases including Dance Bethesda, World Dance Showcase, and Dance Place’s New Releases Choreographer’s Showcase. Their performances and productions have been recognized as some of the best in the region with two Metro DC Dance awards in 2009 and five finalist nominations in 2012. Estela is faculty at Joy of Motion Dance Center and is summer faculty at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. She is also regularly asked to teach master classes in ballet studios and theaters in the region, most recently at Wolf Trap. She collaborates with Teatro Lirico DC, choreographing and dancing for some of their zarzuela productions.