Oscar Araiz

Araiz, Oscar (b Bahía Blanca, 2 Dec. 1940). Argentinian dancer, choreographer, and director. He studied with Schottelius, Hoyer, and others and made his debut in 1958 at the Teatro Argentino in La Plata. From 1964 to 1967 he toured with the Hoy Ballet company which he co-directed with Susana Zimmermann and Ana Labat, and from 1968 to 1973 he was artistic director of the Ballet del Teatro San Martín in Buenos Aires, becoming one of S. America's most regarded choreographers. His first work was created in 1959, a duet based on a Gershwin prelude, and his many subsequent works include El canto de Orfeo (mus. Henry, 1964), Orpheus (mus. Stravinsky, 1964), The Miraculous Mandarin (mus. Bartók, 1967), and Romeo and Juliet (mus. Prokofiev, 1970). In 1970 he also choreographed the ‘Dance Around the Golden Calf’ for the Buenos Aires production of Schoenberg's Moses and Aaron. After 1977 he created some ballets for Joffrey Ballet and in 1980 became ballet director of Geneva Ballet, choreographing the full-length ballet Tango (mus. A. Stampone, 1981). In 1990 he returned to San Martín, re-staging several of his ballets as well as commissioning new work from other Argentinian choreographers. In 1995 he began working as a theatre director, resigning from San Martín in 1998.