Rex Nettleford, 77, a Jamaican scholar, choreographer and vice-chancellor emeritus of the University of the West Indies, died Feb. 2 in Washington, D.C.

He died of complications following a heart attack at his hotel on Jan. 27.

Nettleford, born in Falmouth, Jamaica, founded the National Dance Theatre of Jamaica in 1963, served as the artistic director for University Singers at the UWI Mona campus in Jamaica for 20 years and became a leading historian, social critic and cultural ambassador of Jamaica.

He is credited with elevating the identity of Caribbean nationals through his lifelong study of lifestyles, religious practices, music patterns and dialects throughout the region.

Services and burial will take place in Jamaica with dates to be announced.