Bio

Peter Rene Araiza was born on April 14th, 1982 in San Jose, California where he spent 18 years if his life. After graduating from Saint Francis High School, Peter decided to move to Long Beach to attend college. After his first two years at California State University Long Beach he decided to take a break from his studies and joined the United States Military.

During Peter's time away while completing his basic training duties he realized that he needed to get back on track and finish his degree. After a long six months of military training he returned to CSULB to complete his degree in Theatre Arts.

It was during his stay at CSULB that Peter found a new passion for dance. After only taking a few classes he was hooked. With the inspiration of a friend Peter was on the move to learning as much as he could. He especially excelled in Salsa. He began attending all of the local nightclubs to improve is improvisational skills and he then began teaching salsa at a local elementary school.

In the beginning of 2007, Peter was introduced to Versa Style Dance Company. Through this group he met some amazing artist and was inspired more than ever to not only be a professional actor but also a professional dancer.

Around the same time as Versa Style, Peter landed an audition with Tony Plana's East Los Angeles Classical Theatre. Sure enough Mr. Plana did not hesitate to get him a script. Peter was cast as the understudy for the role of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet and also as an Ensemble dancer.

By the middle of 2007, Peter auditioned with another dance company called Contra Tiempo. By July, Peter danced his first performance with the company at the Unknown Theatre in Los Angeles.

Throughout the last two years Peter has performed in various venues such as: The Carolina Theatre, The Denver Center of Performing Arts, The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, Highways, The Unknown Theatre, and many more.

Currently Peter is touring with Contra Tiempo nationally and soon to be internationally. Not only is he touring with Contra Tiempo but also he is still working strong with East Los Angeles Classical Theatre. He is also in production on a new feature length film called Rosarito staring Graciela Beltran. You can also catch Peter teaching beginning and intermediate Salsa at the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach on Tuesday nights starting at 6:30pm.