Nelson Avila

Nelson was born in Chivilcoy, Argentina, a city 153 kilometers west of Buenos Aires. He began dancing Argentine folk dance at the age of nine. At eighteen, he began his professional career in Buenos Aires.[6] Nelson is an accomplished expert in all varieties of Argentine folk dance. His quick feet and his acrobatic ability have allowed him to master any dance.[7]

Inside Tango House El Viejo Almacén - Buenos Aires

In 1971, he met Nélida Rodriguez de Aure, who was trained in classical dance. They had been asked to demonstrate different types of Argentine dance on a television program.[8] It was their first time dancing together, but they danced so well that they formed a partnership. They danced at all the major tango houses in Buenos Aires, including El Viejo Almacén, where Nelson was a master choreographer, producer and star in many tango shows.[1] The partnership lasted over 30 years, including their major role in "Tango Argentino."[1]

Since 2004, Nelson has teamed with his wife, Madalyn Klein. An accomplished dancer trained in many forms of dance, Madalyn has performed with the National Dance Institute under the direction of Jacques d’Amboise, the Arcady Festival in Maine and at the Waldorf Astoria’s Gala Viennese Opera Ball.[5] Nelson and Madalyn are very active teaching workshops around the world.[9]

In 1974, Hector Orezzoli[10] and Claudio Segovia, two Argentine set designers, decided to put together a production about tango using the best dancers in all of Argentina. Claudio Segovia recounted that he wanted to reflect on the stage the reality of tango life in Buenos Aires, therefore he looked for an authentic mixture of the different types of musicians and dancers, of children, young people and mature people: "Elegí gente que según mi juicio era la más auténtica, la más verdadera, y creo que no me equivoqué." I chose people who, in my opinion, were the most authentic, the truest (tango artists), and I think I was not wrong.[1]

Nelson and Nélida were dancing and directing the choreography at the famous Michelangelo tango show[11] in San Telmo at the time. They had already been dancing together in the most prominent shows in Buenos Aires, had appeared together numerous times on television, and had performed internationally. They were noted for the speed of their dance and their acrobatic steps.[1] They were among the first, who were asked to join the original cast, and were one of only three couples to dance a solo routine in the performance.[12][1]

Unfortunately, the show found little support in Buenos Aires. They even had difficulty finding places to rehearse.[1] Then in 1983, they got a break. Nelson, Nélida and the rest of the cast of Tango Argentino boarded an Argentine military transport headed to Paris. The Argentine Air Force cargo plane provided no services; they flew as cargo.[2] They had been afforded the opportunity to participate in the Festival d'Automne.[13] The show was an immediate success. The first performance in Paris received so many loud standing ovations, that Nelson and Nélida stood at the front of the stage and wept after their solo performance, further exciting the crowd.[1] The show made a second tour of Italy and Paris the next year.[1]

By 1985, Tango Argentino appeared on Broadway. Unfortunately, Nelson broke his arm before the first performance, and it was in a full cast. Nelson had the doctors break the cast in two and hinged it at the elbow so he could bend his arm a little, and he danced the show with a broken arm. Also appearing were Jorge Martin Orcaizaguirre [Virulazo] and Elvira Santa Maria, Juan Carlos Copes and Maria Nieves.[7]

"Tango Argentino" Buenos Aires Performance 2011 (Foto: Estrella Herrera)

Tango Argentino received rave reviews from the New York critics. Celebrities took in the show, including Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Brooke Astor, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Helen Gurley Brown, Henry Kissinger and Claus von Bulow. Régine Zylberberg of Regine's invited the cast to dinner. Dance instructors in New York saw the demand for Argentine tango instruction triple overnight.[12]

Tango Argentino became a world-wide hit, touring the United States, then Japan (1987).[1] On tour, Nelson and Nélida danced their solo before the likes of Princess Diana, Jacqueline Kennedy, Ann Miller, Rita Moreno, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolph Nureyev, Burt Reynolds, Kirk Douglas, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Liza Minnelli, Katharine Hepburn, and Placido Domingo.[6]

Tango Argentino continued its world-wide tours until 2000, with Nelson and Nélida, appearing in all of them.[1]

Tango Argentino was followed by Luis Bravo's Forever Tango in 1997, which ran for 14 months and earned a Tony nomination for Best Choreography.[14] In 2004, Nelson appeared in Luis Bravo's Forever Tango, dancing with Zita González in its production on Broadway, Chicago,[15] Rome,[16][17] Toronto, Philadelphia and Detroit.[6]

Nelson and Nélida appeared in the 1987 movie The Tango Bar. The movie starred Raul Julia as a Tango show owner, who returns to Buenos Aires to join his partners after the oppressive government of Argentina has dissolved.[18] [19]

In 1974, Nelson and Nélida performed in the Argentine movie "Los Chicos Crecen" (The boys grow up).[20] This movie, directed by the prolific Enrique Carreras, is based on a 1941 theatrical comedy by Camilo Darthés and Carlos S. Damel.[21] It premiered on May 13, 1976.[22] In this comedy, a man passes a friend off as the father of three boys he had with his lover.[23]