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ABT News

June 17, 2003

FOUR PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCED AT AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE HERMAN CORNEJO PROMOTED TO PRINCIPAL DANCER

Carmen Corella, Carlos Lopez and Sascha Radetsky To Become Soloists

Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie has announced the promotions of Herman Cornejo to Principal Dancer and Carmen Corella, Carlos Lopez and Sascha
Radetsky to Soloist. All promotions become effective August 1 for the 2003-2004 season.

Herman Cornejo was born in San Luis, Argentina and began his ballet studies at the Superior Institute of Art at the Colon Theatre. After studying at the School of American Ballet in New York as a scholarship student, he then joined Ballet Argentino as a Soloist.

In 1997, at the age of 16, Cornejo became the youngest Gold Medal winner at the International Dance Competition in Moscow. He was then promoted to Principal Dancer with Ballet Argentino, alternating with Julio Bocca in all the principal roles in the repertoire during the company’s tours. Cornejo joined ABT’s Studio Company in 1998 and became a member of ABT’s corps de ballet later that year. He was promoted to Soloist in August, 2000. His roles with the Company include the Bronze Idol in La Bayadère, Birbanto in Le Corsaire, Puck in The Dream, Alain in La Fille mal gardée, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and Benno in Swan Lake. He created leading roles in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison and Twyla Tharp’s The Brahms-Haydn Variations. Cornejo is the brother of ABT Soloist Erica Cornejo.

Born in Madrid, Spain, Carmen Corella received her dance training at the Victor Ullate School of Dance from 1986 to 1990 and later joined the company, where she danced until 1995. Corella danced with Pennsylvania Ballet prior to joining ABT as a member of the corps de ballet in 1998. Her roles with the Company include Mercedes in Don Quixote, the Stepmother in Fall River Legend and the Lady in Red and Lead Can-Can dancer in Gaƒ´té Parisienne. Corella is the sister of ABT Principal Dancer Angel Corella.

Carlos Lopez was born in Madrid and began his ballet training with Victor Ullate. His teachers also included Karemia Moreno, Atilio Labis and Zoltan Nagy. In 1991, Lopez joined the Victor Ullate Ballet Company and captured the Silver Medal at the Seventh International Dance Competition in Paris in 1996. He joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in September 2001. His repertoire with the Company includes Puck in The Dream, Alain in La Fille mal gardée, the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, the Bluebird in The Sleeping Beauty, and roles in Amazed in Burning Dreams, Gong and Symphony in C.

Born in Santa Cruz, California, Sascha Radetsky began his ballet studies in the San Francisco Bay Area with Damara Bennett and Ayako Takahashi. At the age of 15, he was invited to study in Moscow at the Bolshoi Academy under Pytor Pestov. After a year in Moscow, he studied on scholarship at the Kirov Academy in Washington, D. C. and at the summer programs of the School of American Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre School of Classical Ballet and San Francisco Ballet School. Prior to joining ABT as a member of the corps de ballet in 1996, Radetsky toured with the Kirov Ballet throughout the United States and internationally. His roles with ABT include the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker, Espada in Don Quixote, Birbanto in Le Corsaire and Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet. In 2000, Radetsky starred in the Columbia Pictures feature film Center Stage.

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