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Paloma Herrerab. 1975
Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Herrera's early training took place at the Colon Theatre, the premier school for dance in the country. Admission to the school involves a lengthy audition process and potential students are subject to rigorous examination. The primary emphasis in the Colon institution is classical ballet technique, however, the dancers are progressively exposed to other classes such as repertory, pas de deux, history of the arts, and Argentinean dance. Herrera also took regular classes with prestigious dance instructor Olga Ferri, to whom she credits much of her success. As a young dancer, she was a first prize winner at several major competitions in South America and, at the age of 11, studied at the Minsk Ballet School in Russia before returning to Buenos Aires to dance the role of Cupid in Don Quixote at the Teatro Colon. Herrera was a finalist at the 14th International Ballet Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, in 1990. After the competition, she was invited by Natalia Makarova to take classes with the English National Ballet in London and by Hector Zaraspe to continue her studies at the School of American Ballet in New York. After just six months, Herrera was selected to dance the leading role in Raymonda at SAB's annual workshop performance. She joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in June 1991, and was promoted to Soloist in June 1993 and to Principal Dancer in March 1995.
In recent years, there has been an influx of Hispanic dancers in the ballet world. Whether it is Jose Manuel Carreño from Cuba, Angel Corella from Spain, or Julio Bocca from Argentina, there appears to be something unique about Hispanic dancers. Is their culture particularly conducive to dance? Do they posses an innate sense of rhythm and musicality? As a native Argentinean herself, Herrera has observed this trend. Although she cannot pinpoint the exact reason for this phenomenon, Herrera attributes the prominence of Hispanic dancers to their emphasis on relating to their audience, power, passion, and quest for perfectionism. In most Hispanic countries, Herrera explains, dancing is a privilege, not a right. After undergoing continuous scrutiny from auditions for prestigious dance institutions, the Hispanic dancers feel so privileged to dance, that they put forth 100% of their best effort at all times. "Latinos have a certain kind of power that makes audiences want to watch a ballet," says Herrera. In the field of dance, Paloma Herrera greatly admires Natalia Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. Herrera asserts that Baryshnikov "took ballet to a whole different level." His presence undoubtedly enhanced the prestige of American Ballet Theatre, further enticing young aspiring professionals to audition for the company. Aside from influences in dance, she attributes her artistic achievements to the love and support of her family. She says, "I am who I am today because of my family." Herrera's family, comprised of her mother, father, and older sister, have supported her choice to dance professionally since its inception at age seven. Apart from her regular seasons with American Ballet Theatre, Herrera often guests with other companies such as the Bolshoi Ballet. Although she enjoys being exposed to the different energy of other companies, she prides herself on maintaining a home base at American Ballet Theatre. Her private coaches at ABT include Irina Kolpakova and artistic director Kevin McKenzie. Herrera astutely observes that American Ballet Theatre's professional aura stems from the dedicated coaches, teachers, and choreographers. Herrera correctly asserts that a role is not mastered by simply learning the steps or the combination. It is vital to be skilled in mime and to thoroughly understand thematic setting in order to bring a role to life. Coaches, such as Kolpakova and McKenzie, assist the dancers in making a role as believable and as real as possible. Another benefit American Ballet Theatre has to offer dancers is the exposure to a wide variety of professional choreographers. Several pieces have actually been set on Herrera, including James Kudelka's Cruel World and Nacho Duato's Without Words.
Paloma Herrera is the quintessential ballerina. Her life is marked by hard work and extreme dedication. Many balletomanes speculate that in order to be a professional dancer, one must struggle immensely. Some claim that in order for a ballerina to accurately depict the roles of unfortunate characters such as Giselle in Giselle and Odette in Swan Lake, she must suffer. Herrera disagrees. "I don't think ballet should be a struggle. Some people say that to be a dancer, you have to suffer. I don't think so. I love what I do. I need to do it." Main photograph: De la revista 'Pointe'. Photo: Eduardo
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It
is a very rare case in which a seven year-old can predict his or her
career path. For Paloma Herrera, currently a Principal dancer at 
As
one of American Ballet Theatre's prominent young stars, Paloma Herrera
reaps the benefits of the company's diverse repertoire. ABT gives dancers
the opportunity to do all of the classical ballets, yet it provides
exposure to the work of contemporary choreographers such as 
Paloma
Herrera's roles with the company include Polyhymnia in Apollo, Gamzatti
in La Bayadère, Kitri in Don Quixote, the French Ballerina in
Gala Performance, the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Clara and the
Snow Queen in The Nutcracker, the leading role in Paquita, the pas
de trois in Swan Lake, the Waltz in Les Sylphides, leading roles in
Symphonic Variations, Symphonie Concertante, and Theme and Variations.
She also dances the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, the pas de trois in Voluntaries,
and she created a leading role in How Near Heaven.
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