Herman on SYTYCD
Thanks to ABT fan Andrea Lois Becker (coincidently, she has my daughter’s first name, middle name of my mom, and our last name) for this great clip of ABT’s Herman Cornejo on So You Think You Can Dance, performing the Ali solo from Le Corsaire.
Nichols and Askegard at Pennsylvania Ballet
Pennsylvania Ballet Artistic Director Angel Correla announced the hiring of Kyra Nichols and Charles Askegard as Ballet Masters. Kara joined NYCB as a 15-year old apprentice and retired in 2007, according to Philly.com. Charles danced at ABT for 10 years and moved to NYCB, retiring in 2011. Angel Corella on Kara:
She was one of the greatest Balanchine ballerinas,” he said. “She will get the dancers in perfect shape, help the girls know how to present themselves on stage, and be as beautiful as she was as a dancer. It’s such an incredible gift.
Herrera’s Final Performance
Former ABT Principal Dancer Paloma Herrera will give her final performance in Buenos Aires on October 17 as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, according to the Buenos Aires Herald. Interesting quotes:
“I want to say goodbye with a ballet that would represent me, that’s why we chose Romeo and Juliet. I am happy, it’s a wonderful work,” Herrera told the media. Her speech was brief and simple, just a reference to the reasons for her decision and to her convictions about her career: discipline, ethics, hard work, and deep love for dancing. And a mention about having danced Romeo and Juliet many times — although, of course not in Guerra’s choreography.”
The dancer was irritated when a question referred to the substitution of the ballet with which she took her leave of the ABT in May. She said that some media had distorted the truth: the ABT wanted her to be the star on a new lavish production of Sleeping Beauty as choreographed by Alexei Ratmansky, but she demurred, feeling that she had to retire dancing a ballet that represented her career, and asked for Giselle (which she did here last year). She was given what was available in their calendar, and that was a Saturday matinee: Herrera fully agreed and felt it was one of the most joyful days of her life.