For Montelongo, every career move is an opportunity to create meaningful experiences in the communities he serves.

By Jana F. Brown

Alvaro Montelongo ’19 considers dance a longtime companion and a personal place of comfort, whether he’s in the studio, on the street, or at a dance party — and it’s all grounded in joy.

It was an infusion of joy (evident in even the briefest of interactions with Montelongo), that led him to write, produce, and choreograph a senior project at Kaufman as a culmination to his undergraduate dance education. Seven years later, the project, “Rooted,” continues to evolve.

“It’s a story of going back to peace and joy of a character who leaves home and is tricked into believing they’ll never be able to go back and must pay an eternal penalty for it,” Montelongo explains. “But then they find another character who reminds them who they really are and takes them back home. It’s a metaphor for my framework of thinking, of remembering who we are so we can go back to that inner peace and our highest selves.”

The original piece was performed with 10 Kaufman dancers, but Montelongo didn’t know at the time the project would become the catalyst for a new artistic and professional direction. After the 2019 student performance, there was a workshop iteration of “Rooted” in Córdoba, Mexico, and then (in March 2026) a 30-minute version in Ajijic, near Montelongo’s hometown of Guadalajara, featuring choreography, music, and lights.

“We did [the show] at my grandparents’ house,” he says. “We turned the tennis court into a studio and had six Kaufman alumni come as dancers. Madison Falconer [’23] helped me produce and direct the rehearsal and Sarah Hahm [’19], who was our original dramaturge, is also on board with the project.”

Now, Montelongo is focused on finding funding for the full 75-minute, commercially viable version of “Rooted,” complete with large sets, costumes, and Broadway-style production values (he’s applied for a $50k grant to jumpstart the process). He and his team are in conversations with USC Kaufman about a summer residency to develop the expanded piece, targeting a fall 2027 premiere.

“The goal is to create a sustainable work that provides financial abundance to everyone involved,” Montelongo explains, “while telling a clear story designed to connect deeply with audiences in a way that’s freeing and loving.”  

Born in Mexico, Montelongo lived in France and Canada as he became smitten with dance. He trained at Sarasota Ballet School in Florida and the Ailey School in New York, before making the decision to pursue a BFA. He chose to do that at Kaufman, drawn by the opportunity to study diverse movement languages while taking other courses that aligned with his interests in production and choreography.

His artistic development at Kaufman was supported by the training he received across multiple genres, from street dance to contemporary to ballet, combined with theoretical coursework that viewed dance through a global lens. Montelongo also became a founding member of SC Choreographic Collective, a platform that gave choreographers a space to express themselves, and through which Montelongo learned about curation, fundraising, and teamwork.

“I learned at Kaufman that everyone is their own pyramid,” he says. “There’s no ideal dancer. There’s just knowing what you want to do and going for it. That [realization] gave me more room to celebrate and be inspired by others.”

After graduating, Montelongo spent three years as a company dancer with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, performed in “The Lion King” in Madrid, and danced at Regnum Carya in Turkey, before returning to Mexico, where he now balances production, choreography, and dancing while building an environment for dance to thrive in his city. Instinct told him it was the right time to pursue the next iteration of “Rooted,” and don his producer hat.

“Mindset-wise, it’s a different set of skills,” he says. “In dancing, your job is mainly to perform the choreographer’s vision and maintain your body. Switching to producing mode is about relationships, phone calls, structure, fundraising.”

The transition was an organic one for Montelongo, who considers himself an “entrepreneurial artist. That means I situate dance within broader societal contexts as a dance-maker, community-builder, and producer.” With that same approach, Montelongo initiated the launch of the Kaufman Alumni Network to facilitate community and connection among graduates.

While navigating the next steps for the amplified version of “Rooted,” Montelongo will continue to lead with the sense of joy that has long driven his artistic sensibility.

“I want the dancers I’m working with to work from joy and purpose, instead of suffering and ambition,” he says. “What’s nice about this project is that it’s so rooted in truth. If people are able to tap into it, they’ll discover so many beautiful things about life and themselves.”