Helba Huara (1900–1986) was a modern dancer from Peru. Her exotic appearance and unique dance style, which incorporated European and Native American influences, created a sensation in the late 1920s. Moving from Peru to the United States she became a star on Broadway in the 1927 production of A Night in Spain. Later she moved to Paris, and became involved in the artistic and intellectual café society. She was renowned for her original and innovative costumes and dance style, also working as a photographer's model. Early life Helba Muñoz Huara was born in 1900 in Cusco, Peru, to a Spanish medical doctor named Muñoz. Muñoz traveled from Spain and while in Brazil, met his future wife and immigrated to Peru. While she was still a young child, the family immigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The family were impoverished and from around the age of nine, Huara danced to earn money. Beginning her career with a Russian dance troupe, Huara quickly took the stage name Helba Huara and dropped the use of Muñoz. Dancing with extreme passion, with a tragic air and intense energy, she soon developed a unique style. Huara married at age fourteen and had a daughter, Elsa Henríquez, who would later become an illustrator. Huara became well known, performing in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. She was photographed by the noted Vargas Brothers, Carlos and Miguel, in 1924. Their images of her were not erotic photographs, but rather allowed her to act out the persona she projected. She met Gonzalo More, a Peruvian journalist who came to conduct an interview for his brother's paper after seeing her dance in Lima. Soon she and her daughter fled the unhappy family life with Huara's husband, going with More to Havana before making their way to the United States. Career abroad Arriving in the U.S. Huara was hired for the prestigious Ziegfeld Follies and billed as a captivating Spanish or Peruvian dancer, though according to Variety her early performances were under another name. She also appeared in shows at the Guild and Shubert Theaters. In 1927, she appeared on Broadway in A Night in Spain and though billed as part of the chorus, almost immediately was being singled out for her performances, with her "Dance of Fate" and "Dance of the Snakes". Quickly, the posters for the show were revised to show her as one of the stars. When the show closed