Sara, born in New Orleans of Spanish and French ancestry, was trained classically at the San Francisco Conservatory of Ballet and later by Maggie Black, Perry Brunson and Valentina Pereyaslavec. She began her studies in Spanish dance in her early teens, and embarked upon a professional career with Luisillo and his Teatro del Baile Español, based in Madrid, touring the Middle East and Southern Europe.

Sara has worked with many great Spanish artists since then, including Juan Quintero, Juan Alba, Alberto Portillo, Gracia de Sacromonte, La Familia Vargas, Goyo Reyes, and Lola Flores. In the sixties she met the great Manolo Vargas and requested an audition, for which she enlisted her friends, the cantaor Gaspar de Utrera to sing and his cousin to play guitar. She was a success, and became principal dancer with Sr. Vargas' company, Ximenez-Vargas Ballet Español, touring Europe, South and Central America, and the United States. After the company disbanded, she continued to tour with Roberto Ximenez and Manolo Vargas when they moved to New York City from Spain.

Later Sara headed her own company, Los Duendes de España, with two superb male flamenco dancers, Orlando Romero and Miguel Angel Pataro, both from Argentina. They worked in Spain, Canada, New York, and for months at a time at El Convento in San Juan. Later she was invited to guest with, and then join, the First Chamber Dance Company of New York, where she danced both Spanish and balletic roles and toured South America and Europe, under the auspices of the U.S. State Department. She worked directly with many great choreographers while with First Chamber, including Anthony Tudor, Anna Sokolow, Paul Sanasardo, Agnes de Mille, Anton Dolin,

"Sara de Luis is a beautiful, fiery performer -- a stimulating knowledgable teacher. She is spell-binding to hear and to observe. Her experience is impressive. She is class personified."

"Just watching you is a great inspiration to our students. We hope you will return often to show them what 'style' means."

"Sara's teaching consistently is dynamic and varied. Because her professional theater experience includes both ballet and Spanish dance, her movement repertoire and pedagogical sensibilities are enhanced. Both as teacher and performer, Sara's quality is witty, spirited, and expressive.

"A professional never stops studying! There is always more to learn," she says, "technique to be improved, new trends to understand. In 1998, classes with Jose Antonio and Manolo Marin were an inspiration, and meeting and seeing Milagros Mengibar on stage reassured me that traditional grace is not unappreciated in Spain today amidst all the highly technical "nuevo flamenco" dancing.

"A stimulating debate is raging in Spain now between nuevo and traditional flamenco, and between fusion and traditional music. Spanish dance today is all about cross-training. Other than puro flamencos, a company dancer in Spain now must have training in ballet, modern, and flamenco, or he or she does not get hired. Since that was my training, I feel 'in sync' with contemporary Spanish dance.

"When I teach," Sara concludes, " I emphasize mastering the basics first -- turns, braceo, colocaciones, style and musical interpretation. The choreographies come later, and then they mean something. They communicate."

To inquire about classes, workshops, guest teaching, and choreographies in Spanish classical dance and flamenco, send email to Sara de Luis.