April 1, 2003
NEW PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED AT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
XIOMARA REYES PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL DANCER AND ERICA CORNEJO PROMOTED TO SOLOIST
Xiomara Reyes was promoted to Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre and Erica Cornejo was promoted to Soloist, it was announced today by Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie. Both promotions become effective for the 2003 Metropolitan Opera House season.
Xiomara Reyes, was born in Cuba and studied at Cuba’s National Ballet School. She was a soloist with La Joven Guardia, the second company of Cuba’s National Ballet. In 1994, she joined the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Belgium, rising to the rank of First Soloist. With Royal Ballet of Flanders, Reyes’ repertoire included Nikiya in La Bayadère, Kitri in Don Quixote, the title roles in Giselle and Cinderella and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. She also performed principal roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Paolo Bortoluzzi and Christopher D’Amboise. Reyes joined American Ballet Theatre as a Soloist in January 2001. Her roles with the Company include the title role and the peasant pas de deux in Giselle, Lise in La Fille mal gardée, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Clara and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Olga in Onegin and the third movement in Symphony in C. In addition, she created a leading role in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison.
Erica Cornejo was born in Argentina and began her ballet training at the age of nine. In 1994, she joined Ballet Argentino, Julio Bocca’s company, and was promoted to principal ballerina the following year.
Cornejo joined ABT’s Studio Company in May 1998 and became a member of ABT’s corps de ballet in January 1999. Her roles with the Company include the Lead Pirate Woman in Le Corsaire, Clara in The Nutcracker, the Debutante in Offenbach in the Underworld, the Cowgirl in Rodeo and leading roles in Paul Taylor’s Black Tuesday and Mark Morris’ Gong. She created leading roles in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison and Lar Lubovitch’s “…smile with my heart.”
Erica Cornejo is the sister of ABT Soloist Herman Cornejo.
American Ballet Theatre’s 2003 Metropolitan Opera House season is sponsored by UBS, ABT’s National Presenting Sponsor and Movado Watch Company, a leading benefactor. ABT’s Spring season is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets for ABT’s Spring Season are on sale now at the Metropolitan Opera House box office or by calling 212-362-6000. For more information, please visit ABT’s website at www.abt.org.