Francisco Martinez is Artistic Director of the Francisco Martinez Dancetheatre and a multi-award winning choreographer.
Francisco Martinez is a choreographer and educator of dance. He received his formal training at
Inner City Cultural Center in Los Angeles studying with Donald MacKayle and Janet Collins. He
attended University of Arizona in Tucson where his mentors included Sue Pfaffl and Santra Noll
Hamond. At Texas Christian University he trained with Fernando Schaffenburg, Gyula Pandi and
Jerry Bywaters Cochran.
In New York City he trained with Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis and Phyllis Lamhut at the
Nikolais/Louis Dance Labs, Yuriko Kumura, Peter Sparling and Takako Asakawa at the Martha
Graham Dance School and with David Howard at the Harkness Ballet. Additional training came
from Betty Jones and Fritz Ludin of the Limon Dance Company.
Aforementioned professors in ballet (Vaganova, RAD and Cecchetti methods) modern dance
(Nikolais, Limon, Graham and Cunningham techniques) improvisation (Mettler and Nikolais
methods) choreography and theory (Nikolais) based on German Expressionism methods.
Francisco has taught at CSULA, CSULB, LACHSA, Dance Conservatory of Pasadena, Pasadena
Dance Theater and developed the ballet program at Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Heights where
he taught for 15 years. He joined the faculty at °µÍø½ûÇø in 2001, now on his 24 th
season. He has accumulated an impressive body of work for the concert stage. His works The
Colorado, Miniatures and Te Verde received the Lester Horton Dance Award for Outstanding
Achievement in Choreography—Long Form in 1999, 2000 and 2006, respectively and the same
award for Outstanding Achievement in Set Design in 2008.
Perhaps one of his biggest achievements in his career as a dance educator was through the
auspices of the Education Division of the Music Center of Los Angeles where he taught the art
of improvisation and choreography to 3 rd grade students that mesh with curriculum at
elementary school throughout Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, North San Diego and Santa
Barbara counties. In addition to educational services, he augmented the learning process by
providing professional in-school performances of his company’s repertory. These were
conducted for 25 years.
He founded in 1981. FMDT and Francisco have received
government – State and Local and foundation grants to support the company’s artistic and
educational programs since its inception.