Victor Quijada

After leaving the hip-hop clubs of his native Los Angeles to pursue a career with internationally renowned figures of postmodern dance and ballet such as THARP!, Ballet Tech, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Victor Quijada quickly stood out as a talented and prolific dancer.

Eager to explore his own choreographic voice, he founded RUBBERBANDance Group in 2002. His work challenges choreographic principles, which he deconstructs eloquently while integrating them with his hip-hop roots. He has created more than 24 works of varying lengths, both for his own company and as commissions, and has toured extensively with RUBBERBANDance across North America and Europe.

Victor Quijada developed the RUBBERBAND Method, which bridges diverse movement styles. He teaches this technique in conservatories, universities, and festivals worldwide, training dancers to transition seamlessly between dance styles—merging the grace of ballet with the distortions and angles of contemporary dance, the natural inversions of capoeira, and the dynamic, powerful gestures of breaking.

From 2007 to 2011, he was artist-in-residence at La Cinquième Salle of Place des Arts in Montréal. More recently, he was appointed to teach for the 2015–2016, 2016–2017, and 2017–2018 seasons at the Kaufman School of Dance, University of Southern California. As a guest choreographer, he regularly creates new works for companies in circus, theatre, and dance, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Scottish Dance Theatre.

Among the prestigious awards he has received are the Bonnie Bird North American Award and the Peter Darrell Choreography Award (2003), the OQAJ/RIDEAU Award (2009), and the Princess Grace Awards Choreographic Fellowship twice, in 2010 and 2017.