A dancer, actor, educator, choreographer and award winning filmmaker. Jekyns began his studies in Drama and Dance at Bellas Artes in his native Colombia. Later, he graduated in Classical Dance at the Instituto Colombiano de Ballet, and subsequently joined the Ballet de Cali. Also, he has danced with Ballet Arizona, Ohio Ballet, Chautauqua Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theatre, MFDP/SF, Histrion Theatre of Art, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, American Conservatory Theatre, Oakland Ballet, Diablo Ballet, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, among other appearances as guest artist.

 

“Jekyns Pelaez made Riobaldo both sturdy and sensitive”

                  - Jack Anderson, The New York Times

 

     His principal dance repertoire includes Balanchine’s Apollo and Seranade, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Esplanade, Carmen. In theatre, The Man of the Suitcase, The Tosca Project and No Exit, as well as appearances in films like Love Hurts and Being the Ricardos. In opera, in addition to the principal roles in La Traviata, Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Aida and Eugene Onegin at San Francisco Opera, he has performed in Barber of Seville, Cyrano de Bergerac, Turandot, Nixon in China, Madame Butterfly, Moby Dick, Show Boat, Sweeney Todd, Antony and Cleopatra, among others. At the Los Angeles Opera, in Simon Boccanegra, Barber of Seville and Carmen.

      Along with extensive national and international touring and guesting, Jekyns has appeared in international dance festivals in Thailand, Cuba and Colombia, as well as in the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. 

 

“Star-making performances by Jekyns Pelaez […] a nimbus of love itself. It was a magical moment”

                       - Octavio Roca, San Francisco Chronicle

 

      Jekyns is the Artistic Director and Founder of SoCal Arts Performing Arts Studio. Jekyns has also been faculty at California State University, Orange Coast Community College and the California School of the Arts.

      He graduated with honors both with a B.A in Performing Arts from the LEAP Program at St. Mary’s College as well as with Master of Fine Arts Degree in Performance in Film, Theatre and Television, from California State University. Additionally, he is a member of SAG-AFTRA and AGMA.  In addition to receiving the Colombian State Department Honor in Excellence, other careers highlights include being a recipient of the Sono Osato award scholarship from The Actor's Fund, a Hollywood Foreign Press Association Fellowship, a Dance Pedagogy Certificate from The National Ballet of Cuba, and a featured article in Pointe Magazine.

     

 

 

 

 

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