ABOUT US
Meet the Co-directors of ConnectArte: Matthew Armstrong, Pamela Macías and Raúl Navarro. Three professional dance artists that have over 40 years combined experience in the performing arts. Based in and serving the San Diego/Tijuana region, their artistic and educational efforts span throughout Mexico, the United States and internationally.
Matthew Armstrong
Dancer / Creative Performer / Choreographer / Teacher
Co-founder and co-director of ConnectArte Multidisciplinary Space in conjunction with Raúl Navarro and Pamela Macías. ConnectArte is an independent alternative studio/forum offering performances, workshops, and master classes in dance and other art disciplines for the community of Tijuana, Baja California.
Matthew is currently a company member of both San Diego Dance Theater and Malashock Dance, two prestigious contemporary dance companies of San Diego, California. Matthew was hired by both companies in 2022 where he performs, choreographs, and teaches classes and workshops.
Matthew was a dancer, choreographer and teacher of the contemporary dance company Lux Boreal from 2011-2022. His choreographic pieces within the company have been presented both in Mexico and Brazil & the United States. In addition to his artistic work, Matthew was appointed the coordinator of International Relations within Lux, where he excelled in the development of professional relationships, with an emphasis in those of the San Diego/ Tijuana region and other binational possibilities with artists throughout the United States.
In 2016, Matthew Co-founded a non-profit social impact program called “Borboleta: Inclusive Art,” an organization in Tijuana, Mexico that provides a variety of inclusive dance and art experiences such as workshops, master classes and performance opportunities for children and adults living with or without disabilities, who goal is to accept and embrace everyone’s diversity.
In 2010 he was a guest dancer in a collaboration between the choreographer Jaciel Neri and the company Péndulo Cero in the piece of "bodiesarenotborders", receiving the distinction as Best Male Performer of the National Award INBA / UAM in its edition 2010-2011
Originally from Redding, California in the United States, Matthew began his studies in dance at age 13. In 2011, Matthew graduated from the Univesity of California, San Diego (UCSD) with a B.A. in Dance along with the Leandra Smith Memorial Dance Scholarship as the dancer with the greatest potential of his generation from (UCSD). Throughout his professional development as a dance artist and teacher, his current works derive from his experiences from the following techniques: Contemporary, Modern, Contact Improvisation, Partnering, Improvisation, Ballroom Dancing, Jazz and Ballet.
Pamela Macías Pérez
Dancer / Creative Performer / Choreographer / Teacher
Co-founder and co-director of ConnectArte Multidisciplinary Space in conjunction with Raúl Navarro and Matthew Armstrong. ConnectArte is an independent alternative studio/forum offering performances, workshops, and master classes in dance and other art disciplines for the community of Tijuana, Baja California.
Originally from Tijuana, she began her dance studies within the Lux Boreal Dance Certification program endorsed by the National Pedagogical University in 2011, to later pursue her Bachelor's Degree in Dance at the Autonomous University of Baja California, in the city of Mexicali. Later she returned to Tijuana to join as company member of Lux Boreal dance company from 2015-2022.
Throughout her professional dance trajectory she has performed in important festivals such as the International Festival of Contemporary Dance Cuerpos en Tránsito, Festival Internacional Cervantino Callejero de Cleta, ITSON Arts Festival, San Diego International Fringe Festival, WOW Festival, as well as in the final stage of the National Dance Award "Guillermo Arriaga" in Mexico City, among others.
She has collaborated with the San Diego Dance Theater Company in California, being an active part of the dance event San Diego Trolley Dances where she performed with choreographers Stephan Koplowitz and Minerva Tapia, in addition to obtaining a scholarship for the ̈Summer Dance Workshop ̈ by Jean Isaacs, where she also participated as a dancer under the direction of Monica Bill Barnes. Selected for the 1st binational link where she collaborated as a performer-creative under the direction of Robert Moses "Landscapes of the body".
She is currently working as an free-lance artist in the San Diego/Tijuana region and throughout Mexico. Pamela was recently a selected finalist for the "Young Choreographers Showcase and Prize" where she won the award for "Best Dancer" in the city of San Diego. Pamela’s choreographic work was also selected for the "Performance Primer" in the city of Berkeley, CA and is currently part of the Mexican cast of the piece "In C" by Sasha Waltz / Terry Riley remounted by Aladino and Lorena (members of the company Sasha Waltz & Guests,) thanks to the co-production of MOVES, directed by Eleno Guzman.
Raúl Navarro
Dancer / Creative Performer / Choreographer / Teacher
Co-founder and co-director of ConnectArte Multidisciplinary Space in conjunction with Pamela Macías and Matthew Armstrong. ConnectArte is an independent alternative studio/forum offering performances, workshops, and master classes in dance and other art disciplines for the community of Tijuana, Baja California.
Originally from Mazatlán, Sinaloa. Raúl graduated from the Professional School of Dance of Mazatlán (EDPM), directed by the Delfos Dance company. In 2005 Raul was invited to be company member, performer and teacher for the contemporary dance company Lux Boreal. He became the coordinator of the TJ Night 4x4 Choreography Contest for nine years and has worked in other teaching platforms such as the Center for Dance and Scenic Production of Baja California (CDPEBC).
In 2005 he received the scholarship granted by the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA) in the category of interpreters, in 2006 he received the scholarship granted by the State Fund for Culture and the Arts of Sinaloa in the category of Artistic Development and in 2012 he received the scholarship granted by the Program of Incentives for Artistic Creation and Development of Baja California in the category of Development Artistic.
In 2016, Raul Co-founded a non-profit social impact program called “Borboleta: Inclusive Art,” an organization in Tijuana, Mexico that provides a variety of inclusive dance and art experiences such as workshops, master classes and performance opportunities for children and adults living with or without disabilities, who goal is to accept and embrace everyone’s diversity.
Raúl’s eighteen years of professional experience as a dance artist, instructor and mentor encompasses the disciplines of Jazz, Hip Hop, classical ballet and contemporary dance. Raul has performed and shared his dance experiences in dance festivals throughout various countries, such as the United States, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany, Romania, Switzerland, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil.
