Melecio Estrella (he/him) is a director, dance artist and educator based in Oakland, CA. Committed to advancing equity, access, environmental and social justice, Melecio believes dance- and art-making play a vital role in the health of individuals, communities and societies.

Melecio has been dancing with BANDALOOP since 2003. In 2011 he became the company’s Education Director and in 2015, the Associate Artistic Director.  His recent work includes Tidal Constellations (2019) performed at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia for international arts and culture dignitaries at the Summit of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA) and FLOOD (2020) at the opening of the Momentary in Bentonville, AR. The same year in 2020, he was appointed by founding Artistic Director Amelia Rudolph to succeed her as the new Artistic Director. His BANDALOOP artistic milestones include making dances on the cliffs of Tienmen Mountain in the Hunan province of China; Art and About in Sydney, Australia; The Africa Cup in Libreville, Gabon; The Barents Spektacle in Kirkenes, Norway; and the JFK Centennial at The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC.

In addition to his work with BANDALOOP, he co-directs the dance theater company Fog Beast and is a longtime member of the Joe Goode Performance Group. His choreographies have been commissioned by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the San Francisco Opera Center, Dancers’ Group, Headlands Center for the Arts and numerous universities around the US. He is a 2018-2019 recipient of the Gerbode Special Award in the Arts, and a 2017/18 Leadership Fellow with the Association for Performing Arts Professionals (APAP).