Luis Pereyra

Luis Pereyra is a dancer and choreographer born on July 9, 1965, in the province of Santiago del Estero, Argentina, specializing in Tango Argentino and Argentine folk dances. He began dancing in folk groups at the age of five. At eleven, he made his first professional appearance as a member of the Ballet Argentino, directed by Mario Machaco and Norma Ré. His earliest stage experience included performing at the Caño 14, where bandoneón player Aníbal Troilo was also appearing at the time. He subsequently joined the Ballet Salta, directed by Marina and Hugo Jiménez.

Pereyra pursued formal training in choreography under Maestro Alfredo Caruso at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and at the Escuela Nacional de Danzas. His studies encompassed modern dance, classical ballet, jazz dance, folk dance, tap dance, and music, and he worked with instructors including Santiago Ayala "El Chúcaro," Hugo Jiménez, Mario Machaco, Héctor Zaraspe, Irene Acosta, Ana Marini, Vasil Tupin, and Mercedes Serrano.

From 1987 to 2000, Pereyra performed in Tango Argentino, the musical produced by Claudio Segovia and Héctor Orezzoli, a production that brought him to Broadway in 1999 and earned him a Tony Award nomination. The production toured the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, and France. Among the stages on which he performed during this period was the Gershwin Theater on Broadway. He also appeared in other major tango productions, including Forever Tango in 1990 and 1994, and Tango Pasión with José Libertella and the Sexteto Mayor in 1995 and again from 1999 to 2000.

Pereyra performed at notable venues internationally, among them the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End, where Lady Diana attended a performance in June 1991. He was also invited to Buckingham Palace to perform Tango Argentino for Lady Diana and Prince Charles, then heir to the throne. Journalist Colin Wills subsequently published an account of the occasion in the Sunday Mirror, accompanied by a photo collage of both couples. In 1994, Pereyra danced for Paramount Pictures in a presentation by Al Pacino, and in 1995 he shared the stage with Robin Williams and Peter Coyote at the Castro Theater in San Francisco.

In 2001, Pereyra danced the solo part in the tango opera Orestes – Last Tango, directed by choreographer Oscar Araiz and produced for the WMTF World Music Theatre Festival in the Netherlands. That same year he began a long-running artistic association with the Viejo Almacén in Buenos Aires, serving at various points as a performer and artistic director through 2014. In 1996 he founded the company El Sonido de mi Tierra – The Great Dance of Argentina, which he renamed El Sonido de mi Tierra – VIDA! Argentino in 2016. Since 2001, he has collaborated with his partner Nicole Nau under the name Nicole Nau and Luis Pereyra.

Pereyra's choreographic output draws directly from his Argentine origins and encompasses Argentine Tango, Chacarera, Milonga, Milonga Sureña, Zamba, Gato, Malambo, and Chamamé. His approach treats these forms as interconnected expressions of a single national culture rather than separate disciplines. He regards music as the foundation of dance and selects compositions of original Argentine music performed on authentic instruments, including the bandoneón, cajas, and bombo. His productions include Café de los Angelitos – El Tango and the ongoing work of El Sonido de mi Tierra. In most of his productions, Pereyra participates both as a dancer and as a musician.