Roberto Herrera (born

September 5 Events Pre-1600 * 917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu. * 1367 – Swa Saw Ke becomes king of Ava *1590 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Hen ...

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

San Salvador de Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...

) is an Argentinian dancer,

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and

dance teacher Dance education is a practice whereby students are taught a broad understanding of dance as an art form or trained professionally in specific dance genres. Dance education also encompasses a research area in which scholars conduct original resea ...

, known for the

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

Education

Herrera first started learning Argentinian and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived ...

n folk dances at the age of eight and began his training in Tango Argentino when he was twelve. Among his teachers were Antonio Todaro and Pepito Avellaneda.

Career

He has worked as dancer as well as choreographer for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

s of renowned composers such as

Osvaldo Pugliese Osvaldo Pedro Pugliese (Buenos Aires, December 2, 1905 – July 25, 1995, Buenos Aires) was an Argentine tango musician. He developed dramatic arrangements that retained strong elements of the walking beat of salon tango but also heralded the de ...

Leopoldo Federico Leopoldo Federico (12 January 1927 – 28 December 2014) was an Argentine bandoneon player, arranger, director and composer. Life Born in the district of Once in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Federico was one of the most outstanding bando ...

, Julián Plaza, Beba Pugliese, Osvaldo Berlingieri, Néstor Marconi,

Horacio Salgán Horacio Adolfo Salgán (June 15, 1916 – August 19, 2016) was an Argentine tango musician. He was born in Buenos Aires to an established Afro-Argentine family. Some of Salgán's most well-known compositions include ''Del 1 al 5 (Días de pago)'' ( ...

und José Colángelo. With some of these orchestras, Herrera went on tour multiple times throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

as well as Japan. From 1986 until 1990, Herrera was

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, ...

(''primer bailarin'') of the National Folkloric Ballet (''Ballet Folklórico Nacional)'' under Santiago Ayala "El Chucaro" and

Norma Viola Norma Viola (1934–2004) was an Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, lega ...

. At the same time, he worked in various Tango establishments. In 1986 Herrera featured as a solo dancer in Marcus Zurinaga’s

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Tango Bar ''Tango Bar'' is a 1987 Argentine-Puerto Rican musical drama film directed by Marcos Zurinaga and starring Raul Julia, Rubén Juárez and Valeria Lynch. It was written by Zurinaga with Juan Carlos Codazzi and José Pablo Feinmann. It was sele ...

''. Two years later, in 1988, he starred in the role of

Martín Fierro ''Martín Fierro'', also known as ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'', is a 2,316-line epic poem by the Argentine writer José Hernández. The poem was originally published in two parts, ''El Gaucho Martín Fierro'' (1872) and ''La Vuelta de Martín Fi ...

, based on the

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

José Hernández José Hernández may refer to: Arts and entertainment * José Hernández (writer) (1834–1886), Argentine writer * Pepe Hern (José Hernández Bethencourth, 1927–2009), American actor * José Hernández, American singer (born 1940), better known ...

, in the play ''Aquí me pongo a cantar'' (english: "Here I start to sing") in the ''Teatro de las Provincias'' in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

. In 1993 Herrera worked as a solo dancer for the

dance company A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different styles of da ...

''Tango Pasión'' with the orchestra Sexteto Mayor. In 1994 he featured in the movie ''Muchas gracias maestro'', which is based on the life of Osvaldo Pugliese. From 1995 until 1999, Herrera was

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

as well as

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of the show "Tango, una Historia" in the Buenos Aires upscale bar ''El Querandí'', thus becoming one of the forerunners of similar shows found today in the various ''Casas de Tango'' of Buenos Aires. In 1997 Herrera was part of the opening show of the

movie premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fir ...

of ''

Evita Evita may refer to: Arts * ''Evita'' (1996 film), a 1996 American musical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name * ''Evita'' (2008 film), a documentary about Eva Péron * ''Evita'' (album), a concept album released in 1976 a ...

'' in Buenos Aires as choreographer and dancer. The same year, he presided over the closing show of the

Mar del Plata International Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine de Mar del Plata) is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina. It is the only competitive feature fes ...

. In 2000 he featured as soloist together with his dance partner Lorena Yacono in the

Gershwin Theatre The Gershwin Theatre (originally the Uris Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 222 West 51st Street, on the second floor of the Paramount Plaza office building, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Opened in 1972, it is operate ...

’s

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musical ''

Tango Argentino Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as ABA ...

''. In 2004 he was guest dancer, together with Mora Godoy, in the leading role of Gaudencio in the musical ''Tanguera'' in the ''Teatro El Nacional'' in Buenos Aires. In 2002 Herrera founded the Tango company ''Compañía Roberto Herrera Tango'' and has been its director ever since. As part of the festivities surrounding the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, he and his company performed the show "Tango de Hoy" together with Natacha Poberaj. In 2005 he went on his first tour through Europe with his show "Tango Nuevo de Roberto Herrera". So far, he and his company have performed more than 300 times all over the world with shows such as "Tango de Hoy", "Tango Nuevo de Roberto Herrera", "Tango, Una Historia", "Tango de Buenos Aires", "Tango Origin" and "El Tango". In 2004, in addition to his dance company, Herrera also founded his own

dance school A dance studio is a space in which dancers learn or rehearse. The term is typically used to describe a space that has either been built or equipped for the purpose. Overview A dance studio normally includes a smooth floor covering or, if used fo ...

, the ''Herrera Tango Academy'', with branches in Buenos Aires,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. The Munich branch also closely cooperates with the local Tango school ''Tango genial''. Herrera has been teaching Tango since 1979, offering workshops all over the world and regularly performs at Tango festivals. Since 2003 he has been a member of the jury of the

World tango dance tournament The World tango dance tournament (in Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Baile de Tango'', also known as ''Mundial de Tango'') is an annual competition of Argentine Tango, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, usually in August, as part of the Buenos Ai ...

Awards

* 2012: ''Maestro Formador y Transmisor Popular Argentino de la Danza'', awarded by the ''Consejo Argentino de la Danza'' (C.A.D.)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Roberto Argentine choreographers 20th-century Argentine dancers 21st-century Argentine dancers Living people 1963 births

Education

Career

Awards

See also

References