Juan Enrique Roque Irizarry Jr. (He/Him) is a professional dancer and choreographer from Chicago and is the Artistic Director, Founder, Choreographer, and a Company Dancer for Neocortex Dance Theatre Company (NDTC). He began as a theatre, musical theatre, sports, and martial arts enthusiast in middle school. Being in musical theatre, dance was not his bailiwick. Since he was atrocious at dancing, he wanted to strive for it. He started training with Joffrey Ballet (Gallery 37 and After School Matters) and Culture Shock Chicago at 17 and obtained a BA in Anthropology and Sociology with a minor in Dance Studies from Knox College in 2015. At Knox College, he was awarded the  John Hofsas Prize in Dance, the TRIO Persistence award, TRIO Scholarship, Dance Scholarship, and Theatre Scholarship. 

Through ongoing education, he is developing expertise in trauma counseling and through Envision Unlimited, he is currently pursuing his CRSS and CPRS certification to become a peer support specialist. He recently achieved an MFA in Dance at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as an Advanced Opportunity Program Fellow in 2025. He is also a dancer and collaborator with Sildance Acrodanza, a dance instructor, and a magician's assistant for The Great Frankini. As a versatile dancer trained in multiple techniques and styles, such as modern, contemporary, jazz, street jazz, ballet, hip-hop, heels, Asian folk dance, West African, improvisation, somatics, (acro) yoga, and some aerial, Juan Enrique has performed nationally in cities such as Chicago (IL), Evanston (IL), Milwaukee (WI), Davenport (IA), Galesburg (IL), Springfield (MO), St. Louis (MO), and Kalamazoo (MI), and toured internationally in countries such as Cuba, Germany, Mexico, and Ghana. He has worked with various companies, residencies, and projects, like Identity Performing Arts, Rainbow Children Dance Collective, Innervation Dance Cooperative, and Movement Revolution Dance Crew, and was a work-study at Visceral Dance Center for five years. Juan Enrique is passionate about exploring dance, pedagogy, psychopathology, and mental health awareness, using his platform to help destigmatize mental illnesses.