Paloma Herrera, 20th Anniversary with ABT, with Angel Corella, Copellia, June 18, 2011. Click for more photos.
ABT announced Tuesday that Principal Dancers Paloma Herrera, Julie Kent and Xiomara Reyes will retire at the end of the 2015 Met season. Paloma will give her farewell on June 9 as Princess Aurora in Alexei Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty. Julie Kent will dance her final performance with ABT on June 20 in Romeo and Juliet and Xiomara Reyes will give her farewell on May 27 in Giselle.
Paloma joined ABT in 1991, was promoted to Soloist in 1993 and Principal Dancer in 1995. I fondly remember her partnership with Angel Corella in the late 1990s when the pair helped revive ABT after a lackluster phase. They were dynamic, explosive, athletic, and theatrical, particularly in Don Quixote and Swan Lake. I also enjoyed her work in more modern pieces such as In the Upper Room and Clear.
Xiomara Reyes and Jared Matthews, Giselle, June 19, 2014. Click for more photos.
Xiomara Reyes joined ABT as a Soloist in 2001 from The Royal Ballet of Flanders. I’m surprised she is retiring as she was technically very good last year, particularly in Giselle with Jared Matthews and think she had several years of great dancing left. I enjoyed her partnership with Herman Cornejo over the years, particularly in Giselle, although the two have not been cast much together recently.
Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes, Swan Lake, June 24, 2010. Click for more photos.
Julie joined ABT as an apprentice in 1985 and was promoted to Soloist in 1990 and Principal Dancer in 1993. She was a mainstay in the company, dancing a wide ranging repertory in the Met and fall seasons.
The three departures will leave a large void. As I mentioned in my ABT Met wrap-up in July, Xiomara was listed eight times in press release casting lists, with seven in lead roles; Paloma nine times with five leading roles; and Julie six times with five in lead roles. With only remaining six female Principal Dancers (Isabella Boylston, Gillian Murphy, Veronika Part, Polina Semionova, Hee Seo, and Diana Vishneva), there are many roles to fill. My choices are Sarah Lane and Stella Abrera to pick up many of the roles. Sarah would do a great job in Don Quixote with her dynamic energy and turning capability while I would love to see Stella in Giselle and Sleeping Beauty. Also Veronika dancing more varied roles in non-matinee slots. One can only hope.