La Argentina, byname of Antonia Mercé Y Luque (born Sept. 4, 1890, Buenos Aires, Arg.—died July 18, 1936, Bayonne, France), dancer who originated the Neoclassical style of Spanish dancing and helped establish the Spanish dance as a theatrical art.
She studied ballet with her parents, both of whom were professional dancers of Spanish birth. At the age of 11 she became premiere danseuse at the Madrid Opera, but she resigned at 14 to study the native dances of Spain. For many years her style was not accepted for concert performance, and her dancing was limited mainly to cafés and music halls. After World War I she was acclaimed in Paris, where she danced at the Moulin Rouge, among other places.
Her first successful solo concert was in 1927 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and, from that time until her death, she gave concerts and recitals in Europe, America, and the East, acclaimed as the finest Spanish dancer of the era. Her interpretation of El amor brujo (by Manuel de Falla), with its “Ritual Fire Dance” and “Dance of Terror,” was one of her most famous creations. Her choreography, derived rather than copied from traditional Hispanic dances, displayed the creative possibilities of Spanish dance. Although she eventually formed a small company, she is remembered primarily as a master of the solo. Her technique, particularly on the castanets, was outstanding.