Eric Parra is a first-generation Colombian-American artist hailing from Union City, New Jersey. He began his dance training at Montclair State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance. Eric has danced for Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, Von Howard Project, and Doug Elkins Choreography, etc among others. Television and film credits include POSE on FX, Easter at Crossroads by Crossroads Church, Unconquered by Earl Mosley, and WILD: Act 1 by The Black Iris Project. On stage credits include Hell's Kitchen on Broadway, Fire Shut Up in My Bones (U.S. Tour), The Life and Times of Malcolm X (U.S. Tour) and Awaited (Aronoff Center for the Arts).
Eric has staged works for Santa Barbara Dance Theater, Union City High School, Montclair High School, and Montclair State University. Most recently he has served as a teaching artist for NJPAC, Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts, Perry-Mansfield Professional Dance Intensive and Bates Dance Festival. Through the José Limón Dance Foundation, Parra has been able to share his knowledge of the Limón technique and repertory through being a lead resident teaching artist for Limón4Kids in New York City Public Schools, sharing masterclasses in various institutions around the country as well as Spanish speaking countries, movement coaching for Limón Pro and Limón Launch students, and teaching open classes in Peridance Capezio Center, Gibney Dance, Bryant Park, and Ailey Extension.
In 2020, he and his cousin Erica Kika Parra co-founded Parra La Gente, a project company designed to celebrate Afro-Colombian heritage through music and dance. Mr. Parra is the recipient of the 2016 Martha Hill Dance Fund Young Professional Award, 2017 Linda Roberts Outstanding Senior Dance Award, has been featured in The New York Times Arts Section (2019), was part of the Arts Professional Learning Institute 2021 cohort. He is also the newest member of the Martha Hill Dance Fund's Board of Directors. Eric is currently a performing artist with Limón Dance Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers and the Metropolitan Opera House.