Paloma Herrera
Principal Ballerina American Ballet Theater Pointe, Variations
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Paloma graduated with the highest qualifications from the Institute of Arts at the Colon Theatre. At age 14, Paloma was awarded Finalist Diploma at the XIV Varna International Ballet Competition, Bulgaria, in 1990.
In January 1991, having just turned 15, she continued her studies at the School of American Ballet in New York. After only six months she joined the American Ballet Theatre. She was promoted to Soloist two years later. In 1995, at age 19, she became the youngest Principal Dancer in American Ballet Theatre history.
She dances with ABT in all performances in USA, Europe, Asia, etc. Her roles with the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE include: Don Quixote, Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadère, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Coppelia, Cinderella, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The Snow Maiden, Raymonda, Sylvia among many others, and contemporary ballets: Apollo, The Prodigal Son, Stepping Stones, American We, Fancy Free, Without Words, etc.
Famous choreographers created leading roles for her as Twyla Tharp, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka among others and worked with Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe. Paloma has performed as a Guest Artist with such Internationally Acclaimed Companies as: New York City Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, Colon Theatre, Kremlin Palance Ballet, Ballet Teatro Alla Scala of Milan, Tokyo Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, etc and the most prestigious Gala: Le Gala des Etoiles; Gala of Dance and Music in London;The World Ballet Fesitval in Japan: Gala at the Finnish National Opera: Festival de La Habana and The Bournonville Gala with the Royal Danish Ballet.
She performed with Alessandra Ferri in Alessandra’s Farewell Gala’s in Tokyo, in “An Evening with Paloma Herrera” at the Esplandade Theater of Singapore, etc.
Paloma’s photograph was on the cover of The New York Times Magazine as one of the 30 Artists whom The New York Times critics chose-“as among those most likely to change the culture for the next 30 years” (the only one given in Dance). She wond the International Prize Gino Tani in Rome, Italy. Dance Magazine reader survey chose Paloma as on of “The Top Ten Dancers of the Twentieth Century”.
In May 1999, she was chosen as “Leader of the Millennium” by Time and CNN Television. She won the Konex Platinum Prize, as the “Ballerina of the Decade”, the Maria Ruanova Award and Clarin Prize in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (she was nominated for Benois Prize in Moscow and the Nijinsky Award from The Monaco Dance Forum.
She received the New York Immigrant Achievement Award as “outstanding immigrant whose contributions to America have greatly enriched our Nation. On April 17th, 2008 she received the Gold Medal on the Arts from The Kennedy Center in Buenos Aires. Since 2005 she is a Member of the Artist Committee for The Kennedy Center Honorees, a Nation Celebration for the Performing Arts. The prize is awarded by the President of the Unites States at the White House. She is invited very year for the event there and the Gala at the John F. Kennedy Opera House in Washington, DC. In 2012 the President of Argentina opened the Gallery of the IDOLS a popular exhibition or permanent in the House of Government. Paloma Herrera and Julio Bocca are the only two idols to represent dance there.