Luis Salgado

Luis Salgado is a Puerto Rican performer, director, choreographer, and producer born on August 30, 1980, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and raised in the nearby town of Vega Alta. He studied theatre at the University of Puerto Rico in 1998 before relocating to New York City in 2002, where he has since built a career spanning Broadway, film, television, and international stages. He resides in Manhattan with his wife and child.

Salgado made his Off-Broadway debut in 2003 in the musical Fame, joining the production as a replacement for Enrico Rodriguez and serving as understudy for the role of Joe Vegas. The following year he worked on the film Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights as the dance double for the character Javier, played by Diego Luna. In 2005 he originated the role of Frankie Suarez in The Mambo Kings, and in 2006 he returned to Puerto Rico as a special guest artist to star as Bobby in A Chorus Line, later replacing Angel Viera in the role of Paul at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center. That production featured performers including Braulio Castillo Jr., Angel Viera, Daniela Droz, and Nashalí Enchautegui.

His second Off-Broadway credit came on February 8, 2007, when he opened in In the Heights. That same year he appeared in the films Across the Universe, directed by Julie Taymor, and American Gangster, and served as assistant to the associate choreographer for the Central Park scene in the film Enchanted. He also played Alejandro in Step Up 2: The Streets in 2008, collaborating with Jamal Sims as Latin assistant choreographer on that film.

Salgado transferred to Broadway with In the Heights in 2008, playing the role of Jose and serving as Latin assistant choreographer on the Tony Award-winning production. Directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, the musical featured music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The full cast received a Drama Desk Award, and Salgado and the ensemble earned an ACCA Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus from Actors' Equity Association. In 2010 he appeared at The Public Theater in a free outdoor concert staging of Paul Simon's The Capeman at the Delacorte Theater, directed by Diane Paulus and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. Also that year, he played the role of Malik in the Lincoln Center production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown on Broadway, a musical adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar's film featuring Patti LuPone, Sherie Rene Scott, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Laura Benanti, directed by Bartlett Sher and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli.

In 2014 Salgado portrayed Kid Rizzo in Rocky the Musical at the Winter Garden Theatre, directed by Alex Timbers and choreographed by Steven Hoggett and Kelly Devine. The following year he portrayed film director and choreographer Kenny Ortega in On Your Feet!, a musical about the lives of Gloria and Emilio Estefan, participating in both the pre-Broadway engagement in Chicago and the Broadway production, which began previews on November 5, 2015. That production was directed by Jerry Mitchell and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. In 2017 Salgado returned to On Your Feet! as associate director for a production in Utrecht, Netherlands.

Beyond performing, Salgado has directed and choreographed extensively across regional and international theatre. In 2017 he directed and choreographed the U.S. premiere of In the Heights at GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C., earning Helen Hayes Awards for Best Direction and Best Choreography. That same year he co-choreographed the ABC television remake of Dirty Dancing, starring Abigail Breslin. In 2018 he directed and choreographed Ragtime at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center in Deal, New Jersey. He served as associate director and choreographer of Cirque du Soleil's Paramour, which opened on April 16, 2019, at the Neue Flora theatre in Hamburg, Germany. Also in 2019, he directed a bilingual production of Fame the Musical at GALA Hispanic Theatre, which opened on May 9 and subsequently won two 2020 Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Ensemble and Outstanding Production in a Musical, and directed Aida, with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice, at the Axelrod Performing Arts Center, starring Ace Young.

At the New York Musical Theatre Festival, Salgado directed and choreographed new works including Song of Solomon, Zuccotti Park, and Zapata the Musical, receiving Best Director recognition for the first two. Additional directing and choreography credits include DC-7 The Roberto Clemente Story, Shafrika the White Girl, I'll Be Damned, Drop Outs, and Serenade, the last of which earned him a HOLA Award for Best Choreography. On screen, he has choreographed the animated film Dora's Explorer Girls and music videos for Wonka and McDonald's.

In 2022 Salgado directed and choreographed the world premiere of On Your Feet! La historia de Emilio y Gloria Estefan ¡En Español! at GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C. That production received fifteen Helen Hayes Award nominations and nine wins at the 2023 ceremony, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, and Outstanding Choreography in a Musical. Also in 2022, he directed and choreographed In the Heights at STAGES St. Louis, which received eleven St. Louis Theater Circle Award nominations and six wins, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Choreographer in a Musical. Across that year he staged eight productions in total, including three productions of In the Heights and three of On Your Feet!, and conceived, directed, and choreographed Let's Dance for Transcendence Theatre Company in California. He also choreographed the 2022 upfronts for Telemundo.

In 2023 Salgado served as director and choreographer of the national tour of On Your Feet! The Musical – The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan. In 2026 he directed and choreographed On Your Feet! at Drury Lane Theatre in Chicago and is set to direct a production of 1776 at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.

In 2011 Salgado founded Salgado Productions, a production company focused on developing new works. Its projects include Amigo Duende the Musical, an adaptation of a classic Puerto Rican children's play; Candela Fuerza y Pasión, a musical spectacular produced in Lima, Peru; and a 50th anniversary concert for Peruvian singer Cecilia Bracamonte. He is also the founder and CEO of R.Evolución Latina, an organization dedicated to empowering the Hispanic community through educational programming. Its initiatives include the Dare to Go Beyond Children's Performing Arts Camp, the D2GB School Arts program, and the Beyond Workshops Series, a two-week annual professional development program for adult performers. In 2010 the organization released the album Dare to Go Beyond, featuring Broadway performers including Corbin Bleu, Andréa Burns, and Joshua Henry. Salgado is a guest teacher at Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway, a faculty member at Alvin Ailey, and released a five-volume instructional Latin dance DVD series for Tezoro Productions covering salsa, mambo, carnival, merengue, and plena.