Hector Zaraspe

was born in Tucuman, Argentina.

After 11 years dancing and teaching in Spain, Zaraspe emigrated to the United Sates in 1964, where he became a soloist, ballet teacher and assistant director of the Spanish ballet company, Antonio Ballet de Madrid.

In 1965 he met Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fonteyn and quickly became their private teacher.

He is a ballet master and oversaw the choreography on the film I Am A Dancer, with Nureyev, Fonteyn and Carla Facci.

He choreographed pieces for Captain John Paul Jones (starring Bette Davis), Spartacus (with Kirk Douglas, Peter Ustinov, Laurence Olivier and Tony Curtis) and 55 Days At Peking (starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner).

Invited to choreograph for such companies as Les Grands Ballet Canadiens, the National Ballet of Holland and the New York Metropolitan Opera, Hector Zaraspe has also taught at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aireres and Geneva's Grand Ballet.

He presides over numerous dance competitions, notably in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and the United States, as well ‘Danza-Nino', which raises money for UNICEF.

Zaraspe has served as a faculty member of The Juilliard School for 37 years, where the Zaraspe Prize has been awarded every year since 1998 to the School's best choreographer.

He set up the Fundación Zaraspe in 1993 which aims to ‘teach children, help young people and protect the elderly through education, culture and art'.

In 2004 he was named as Cultural Ambassador for the city of Buenos Aires.

He has received numerous international honours.