Musical Theatre | Choreographer/Director
August 4 – August 11
Luis Salgado (he/him) is an award-winning international director, choreographer, and educator from Puerto Rico and is currently based in New York City. He is the Director/Choreographer of the current National Tour of On Your Feet! The Musical – The Story of Emilio & Gloria Estefan and is currently working on the upcoming production of AIDA at STAGES in St. Louis, Missouri. Previously, Salgado was the Assistant Latin Choreographer of In the Heights on Broadway, which won four Tony Awards.
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. The production led the 2023 Helen Hayes Awards field with fifteen nominations and 9 wins including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Direction, and Outstanding Choreography in a Musical.
Additionally, in 2022 Salgado directed and choreographed In The Heights at STAGES in St. Louis, Missouri. The production was recognized by the St. Louis Theater Circle Awards with a field-leading eleven nominations and took home 6 wins including Outstanding Production, Outstanding Ensemble, and Outstanding Choreographer of a Musical.
In total, Salgado staged 8 productions in 2022 including 3 productions of In The Heights and 3 productions of On Your Feet, of which included the world premiere of the Spanish language production in his home of Puerto Rico. Salgado conceived, directed, and choreographed Let’s Dance, a production for Transcendence Theatre Company in California and directed/choreographed the award-winning 2022 upfronts for Telemundo.
Salgado has worked as the Associate Director/Choreographer of Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour in Hamburg, Germany. Among the productions he has directed/choreographed in the United States and abroad include musical Ella Es Colombia in Bogota, Colombia, the Holland production of On Your Feet!, RAGTIME, TO BE OR NOT TO BE… a Shakespearean Experience, AIDA The Musical, FAME, Amigo Duende the Musical, In The Heights, Matilda, Song of Solomon, Speed the Plow, The Tempest, and Candela Fuerza y Pasión in Lima, Peru, and in 2021, Viva Broadway’s When We See Ourselves concert as part of the Curtain Up event in Times Square produced by Playbill and the Broadway League.
Salgada directed and choreographed the U.S premiere of the Spanish version of In The Heights at GALA Hispanic Theatre in Washington, D.C. The production received 9 2018 Helen Hayes Awards including Outstanding Production in a Musical, Outstanding Direction in a Musical, and Outstanding Choreography in a Musical. He has appeared on Broadway in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, ROCKY, In The Heights, and On Your Feet!, as well as Off-Broadway shows including The Mambo Kings (Frankie Suarez), Fame on 42nd Street (Joe Vegas, understudy,) AIDA, and more. Film credits include American Gangster, Dirty Dancing 2, Havana Nights, the television remake of Dirty Dancing, Enchanted, and Step Up 2: The Streets (Alejandro), for which he also was assistant choreographer.
Salgado is the Founder/Director of R.Evolución Latina, an affiliate of the non-profit organization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Salgado’s personal mission as an artist and a leader is to empower communities through the power of the arts and make a change for the better. For more information visit: www.LuisSalgado.com
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