Luis Salgado living a BOUNTIFUL journey

Director, choreographer and performer Luis Salgado is living his own "Bountiful journey" as a "latino" artist on the Broadway stage of ON YOUR FEET but these days that dream is not the only one he is fully encountering. Following the steps of his mentors Sergio Trujillo and Andy Blankenbuehler, Luis continues to rise with new projects in the competitive NYC scene as a director and choreographer.

"Managing various projects at the same time is an incredible challenge but from the beginning of my career I've looked up to people who have always been working on multiple things. Sergio has always been non-stop and Andy's work ethic has been a school and still is to this day. They have shown me, by example the responsibility and discipline a creative person must have. They invest in pre-production time and create organized schedules that help you achieve goals and these lessons are coming in very handy as I am experiencing one of the most exciting seasons in my creative and performing career" said the 35 year old artist who recently became a father to a son named Angel Hikari.

In March, Salgado's collaboration with Andy Blankenbuehler as Co-Choreographer of ABC's remake of DIRTY DANCING was announced, last week official rehearsals started for BOUNTIFUL: A TEACHER'S JOURNEY, the second production of R.Evolución Latina's Choreographers Festival. The show will open in New York City at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center with a cast of 50 dancers on stage. As if these projects aren't enough the multi-talented artist has taken on a few new projects while continuing to perform in the hit Broadway Musical ON YOUR FEET.

"When you have the passion for the work and surround yourself with wonderful collaborators everything is possible. I have learned this, as well from those I look up to and it has proved to be a productive way to achieve dreams."

Luis has most recently come on board as dance consultant for DAPHNE'S DIVE a play by Quiara Alegría Hudes (Pulitzer Prize winning playwright), staring Tony nominee Daphne Rubin-Vega (Rent), Carlos Gomez (In the Heights), Samira Wiley ('Orange Is the New Black'), K.K. Moggie (Anna and the King), Matthew Saldivar, Vanessa Aspillaga, Gordon Joseph Weiss, and is directed by Thomas Kail (Hamilton), for Signature Theatre Company. The production will run April 26-June 5 at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Last but not least, Salgado has been commissioned to create a piece for The Ailey School Professional Division that will debut on May 26, 2016.

"It is thrilling for sure but it's also a big responsibility to juggle so many projects at once. You don't want to mess it up. On one end it's wonderful to know the time has come for these type of projects. To be selected to create work for such incredible caliber of artists and companies, people that you admire for years, it's a fantastic thing. Every project has it's own very special place and it's own unique challenge. Daphne's Dive is being back with the family of In the Heights and I am honored to be in the creative table with Quiara Alegria and Thomas Kail. It is really a special time." says Luis. When asked about the Ailey School piece Luis said, "The piece I will create for Ailey School celebrates a big variety of Caribbean flavors and dance styles while highlighting the wonderful talent that the school develops. I am excited and nervous about it but 'Bountiful' is what I am going at a 100% at the moment. We open April 27 and here I must connect the vision of nine choreographers in one concrete story all told through dance."

BOUNTIFUL is a unique international event that will take every choreographer, dancer and audience member on a journey of self-discovery and to the awareness of what makes the human spirit BOUNTIFUL.

Conceived & Directed by Luis Salgado, choreographers from various genres and backgrounds include Amanda Turner, Daniel Fetecua-Soto, Gabriela García, Matthew Steffens, Rebeca Tomás, Rickey Tripp, Valeria Cossu, Vania Masias, with Lighting designer by Joel Silver and associate producers Denisse Ambert and Heather Hogan.

"Bountiful: A Teacher's Journey," runs from April 27th through May 1st at the Manhattan Movement + Arts Center 248 West 60th Street, NYC.

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