Updated 3/21/23. We revisited some of Pointe‘s past cover stars for their take on how life—and ballet—has changed. Stella Abrera, December 2016/January 2017 Then: Principal dancer, American Ballet Theatre Now: Artistic director, ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School On being a Pointe cover star: “My cover was right after I was promoted to principal. I had already […]
Stella Abrera’s name (“stella” means “star” in Latin) proved prophetic in the final stretch of her 24-year career at American Ballet Theatre. Abrera joined ABT’s corps de ballet in 1996, was promoted to soloist in 2001 and, finally, after an uncommonly lengthy stretch, principal in 2015, making her the first Filipina American to reach the […]
Yesterday, Kaatsbaan, the Tivoli, NY-based cultural park for dance, announced that Stella Abrera will join the organization as its new artistic director, effective January 1, 2020. This news come just weeks after we learned that Abrera will be taking her final bow with American Ballet Theatre in June. While we’ll miss seeing Abrera on the […]
American Ballet Theatre announced today that, after 24 years, beloved principal dancer Stella Abrera will retire from the stage this coming summer. Her farewell performance will be June 13, 2020, at the Metropolitan Opera House, dancing the title role in Giselle. Giselle holds special significance for her. In 2015, Abrera, then a 37-year-old soloist, made […]
Training in Manila, Philippines may seem a world away from dancing with the big ballet companies in New York City. Yet in April 2018, local ballet students Elwince Magbitang and Raye Vince Pelegrin, both 17, shared the stage in Manila with leading dancers from American Ballet Theatre in the benefit gala An Intimate Evening with […]
While both based in New York City, American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet are very different companies, from their touring schedules to their repertoire and training styles. Nevertheless, two principals—ABT’s Stella Abrera and NYCB’s Maria Kowroski—have sustained a long-lasting friendship “across the plaza” of Lincoln Center. Both Abrera and Kowroski entered their respective […]
This American Ballet Theatre principal has jump training down to a science. Jump To It Abrera in Harlequinade. Erin Baiano, Courtesy ABT. If you’re preparing for a role with a lot of jumping, consider stealing a page from Stella Abrera’s cross-training regimen. The American Ballet Theatre principal focuses on agility the month leading up to […]
In 2014, first-generation Filipina-American ABT principal Stella Abrera traveled to Manila to guest-star with Ballet Philippines in Giselle. The same year, Abrera set up a small charity, Steps Forward for the Philippines, to help a school in nearby Guiuan that had been destroyed in a super typhoon. Now, four years later, Abrera is back in […]