TBT: Paloma Herrera at 18 Was “A Prodigy At Work”
In the December 1994 issue of Dance Magazine, John Gruen wrote of an 18-year-old American Ballet Theatre soloist named Paloma Herrera, “Here was a prodigy at work.” He was referring to her performances of Balanchine’s demanding Theme and Variations that spring; to have been in the audience, he wrote, “was to be in the presence of a near miracle.”
Herrera had arrived at ABT through decidedly prodigious means: After being a finalist at Varna International Ballet Competition at age 14, she was invited by Natalia Makarova to take classes with English National Ballet. Then, she was spotted at another competition, at home in Buenos Aires, by Hector Zaraspe, who advised her to enroll at School of American Ballet.
After just six months there, she was cast as the lead in Raymonda Variations for the SAB workshop—but while her performance likely would have secured her a spot at New York City Ballet, the then–16-year-old attended an audition for ABT two days later and was offered a corps contract, which she signed on the spot. In 1994, she said simply, “[R]ight now, ABT is the place for me to be.”
“Right now” proved to stretch a long while: She was promoted to principal the next year and remained with the company until her retirement in 2015.
