Today we’d like to introduce you to Nico Lugo Echeverri.
Hi Nico, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Hi! Thanks for taking the time to chat with me today. My name is Nico and I am a Colombian artist based in NYC, I would like to share a bit of my story with, since I can recall my passion for the performing arts was ignited by the music I grew up listening to as well as the movies I watched as a kid. Disney was a very big part of my early life, I fell in love with the magic that was singing and dancing while being able to tell so many stories and connect with so many people. There was always a radio turned on at home from dusk till dawn and I would spend countless hours just dancing and moving all over the living room, it was no surprise to my parents that I loved it so they signed me up for dance, singing and guitar lessons since I was 7 years old. It wasn’t until high school that I decided for sure I would pursue the performing arts as a career and so I started taking my training to a professional level, in 2015 I began my professional dance training at Proyecto Urban Dance (PUD, the first commercial dance school ever in Bogota, Colombia) There I was able to learn from the best teachers I could, focusing a lot on Jazz and other commercial styles (Hip-Hop, Jazz Funk, etc) and had the opportunity to compete in national and international festivals such as HHI Colombia, World HHI Arizona, MVC2k18 Mexico and many more, earning prestigious awards and accolades. I also had my very first opportunity to be a teacher and choreographer for the school (PUD) and earned my first professional leading role in the musical “Erase Una Vez”, an addaptation of the beloved cinderella story. I was able to tour different cities in Colombia with this show. Around this time I also made my debut on national TV, making several appereances in talk-shows and the successfull FOX Colombia series “Nadie Me Quita Lo Bailao” featured as a dancer on a couple episodes. In 2019 I took a big step forward and decided to move to the city of my dreams to continue with my learning journey as a performing arts student in New York City, enrolling at the prestigious New York Film Academy for their Musical Theatre Conservatory. After graduating in 2022 I have been able to perform in various of the prestigious stages New York City has to offer. Made my 54Below debut next to my wonderful mentor Kristy Cates (Elphaba, Wicked), sang with the Asian Cultural Symphony at the David Geffen Concert Hall stage in the renowned Lincoln Center and performed next to Kristen Chenoweth on a Broadway stage at the Stephen Sondheim Theater.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As much as I wish there weren’t, of course there have been struggles along the way. Rejection has been one of the most challenging things I have to deal with… but is a part that comes with this job and its something one must need to learn and use to its advantage, every no is another opportunity to learn form ones mistakes and to keep improving as much as possible so that the next audition I can succeed. Regardless of that every day I need to be on the top of my game, I have to keep training my body and my voice, I need to keep on taking classes and I know in the end its all worth it.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So I have a Musical Theatre degree, I love singing and dancing most but acting has always had a special place in my heart. As a performer in the USA I have performed in a wide variety of productions (The Addams Family, Head Over Heels, etc) as well as new-works shows (Live, Laugh, Lie, Victorian Courting and Zombies, etc). I have also made my silver-screen debut on the original film “Blue Wednesday” as the leading role of “Alex” who is a young man struggling to find his place within the society that surrounds him and finding his people to know that he belongs somewhere, this film was directed by Pierre Marais (Aladdin, Sunset Blvd). I have performed in many venues over New York including 54 Below, David Geffen Concert Hall at Lincoln Center and most important the Stephen Sondheim Theater on Broadway, singing next to Kristen Chenoweth at her one-night- only concert “Kristin: An Evening With Friends”. I happen to be a choreographer as well, some of the work I’ve done includes original productions like “Spoon-Fed” written by Juniel Maldonado, not only I directed and choreographed this production but I also starred on it. Most recently I had the chance to collaborate with the New York Film Acadmey for the one-night-only cabaret “Sabor y Pasion In the Battery” which was a production in collaboration with Carnegie Hall and their festival Season “Nuestros Sonidos”.
I am incredibly proud of all of this accomplishments and I look forward to many more! As an inmigrant it has not been always an easy journey, but this all goes to show that passion, discipline and determination to fulfillinf your dreams can take you anywhere, and this is something I would like to share with the readers. No dream is small enough or impossible, if you can think of it then you can make it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nicolugoecheverri.wixsite.com/nicolugoecheverri
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolugoecheverri/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nicolugoecheverri
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nicolugoecheverri
Image Credits
Ph: Michael Kushner
Ph: Nikita Kamat
