Joel Melendez

Joel Melendez, Co-founder of the touring duo Matica Arts, has traveled the Americas performing and learning. He is a gifted performer known for his unicycling, clowning, juggling, improvisational and acrobatic skills. Joel is a "physical artist" who loves exploring the vast capabilities of the human body. He is co-founder of Matica Arts and Thrive Movement studio. He is on the Hartford Performs artist roster with his innovative Capoeira program. He also is the Capoeira director at Plus 1 Defense in West Hartford and a teaching artist for Oddfellow's Playhouse in Middletown
Joel is also a musician, Capoerista. Joel sees the arts as a vehicle to inspire, connect and transport the audience to a mystical world free of inhibitions where all is possible.

If there's a natural rhythm in everything, Heidi Kirchofer and Joel Melendez just may have tapped into it. Whether it's the pulsating beat of the D'jembe, the spectacular manipulation of fire, the delicate balance of a unicycle or the fluidity of capoeira, Kirchofer and Melendez convey uncanny timing and gracefulness in their performances.

John Fitts, Tri-town Post