Roberto Herrera . . . Argentine Tango and Folklore

Roberto Herrera was born in San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina, and began studying Argentine folk dancing in 1973 at the age of 10. From 1986 to 1990 he was the principal dancer of the Ballet Popular Argentino, directed by Santiago Ayala “El Chúcaro” and Norma Viola. In 1986 he was chosen as a soloist dancer in the movie Tango Bar, which contributes to relaunching Argentine tango on the world scene. From 1990 to 1991 he was the principal dancer of the show Imágenes de Tango y Folklore, with the Orchestra of Horacio Salgán, choreographed by Ana María Stekelman and directed by Héctor Aure. From 1990 to 1992 he was also principal dancer and choreography assistant of the Ballet Folklórico Nacional of Argentina. In 1992 he entered the cast of the now legendary show Tango Argentino, with all the major dancers of the period, during its season at Lola Membrives Theatre in Buenos Aires, under the direction of Claudio Segovia. He also undertook the first of many tours of Japan, with the Orchestra of maestro Ramos. From 1992 to 1994 he was principal dancer of the show of the Casa de Tango Michelangelo in Buenos Aires, with the participation of the famous songwriters/singers Roberto Goyeneche, María Graña, Adriana Varela, Horacio Ferrer, Raúl Lavié, and of the Orchestras Sexteto Mayor, Julián Plaza and José Colángelo. In 1992 he was chosen by Maestro Osvaldo Pugliese as principal dancer of his Orchestra and took part in a European tour and in a Latin American one. The two artists then continued working together until the death of Maestro Pugliese in 1995. From 1993 to 1995 Roberto Herrera was also the principal dancer of the show Tango Pasión with the Orchestra Sexteto Mayor, during its tours of Europe, the United States of America and Asia. In 1994 he was cast in the biographical movie Muchas Gracias, Maestro, on the life of Osvaldo Pugliese. In 1995 he took part in the Japanese tour of the Orchestra of Leopoldo Federico and, in that same year and until 2001, he was the creator, choreographer and principal dancer of the show Tango, Una Historia, performed successfully in Buenos Aires for six subsequent years, then in Brazil in 1999 and in Korea in 2002. In 1996 he took part in three tours of Japan, respectively with the Orchestra of Julián Plaza, with Los Grandes del Tango Argentino and with the Orchestra of Leopoldo Federico. In 1997 Roberto Herrera was chosen by US director Alan Parker to open the Argentinian premiere of the movie Evita, with an original choreography. That same year he directed the closing show of the Festival del Cine in Mar del Plata, Argentina. From 1999 to the year 2000 he was once again cast in the show Tango Argentino, directed by Claudio Segovia, during its season at the Buenos Aires Opera Theatre and at the Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. Since the year 2000 he has also taken part, as invited artist and teacher, in many festivals of Argentine tango in Europe, South America and Japan. In 2003 he was chosen by Beba Pugliese, daughter of the great Maestro, as principal dancer of her Orchestra during its tour of Japan. That same year he took part in the 20th anniversary of the show Tango Argentino in Buenos Aires. At the beginning of 2004 he was invited as principal dancer to take part in the tango musical Tanguera at the Teatro Nacional of Buenos Aires. During the same year he also presented his new show entitled Tango Nuevo with a tour of the Northern provinces of Argentina.

Roberto Herrera has also been portrayed in numerous books and tango CDs and received a mention in the charter entitled “Camino al fin del Siglo 20” of the book El Siglo de Oro del Tango, by Horacio Ferrer, published by Manrique Zago, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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