Paloma Herrera

Who is Paloma Herrera?

Paloma Herrera is a principal ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

Herrera was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and began studying ballet there at the age of seven with teacher Olga Ferri. She quickly became a noted prodigy in South America, winning many competitions throughout and was able to continue her training at the Minsk Ballet School in the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic; returning to Buenos Aires, she was cast as Cupid in a performance of Don Quixote at the Teatro Colón.

With her reputation growing, Herrera was invited by Natalia Makarova to study with her at the English National Ballet in London. Soon afterwards, she studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City, where she made such an impression that she was selected to dance the lead role in Raymonda in the school's annual workshop performance.

She officially became a member of the American Ballet Theatre's corps de ballet in 1991; by 1993, she was promoted to soloist, and by 1995 she became a principal dancer.

Herrera was honored by the American Immigration Law Foundation in 2001 for her contributions as a member of New York's immigrant population. In addition to being a respected ballerina, she is a common presence in the New York social scene.