American Ballet Theatre Principal Dancer Herman Cornejo was nominated for the Benois de la Danse Prize for his performance in ABT’s production of Michel Fokine’s Le Spectre de la Rose. The award ceremony, to be held in Moscow on April 26, 2005, represents the achievements of the most outstanding choreographer, male dancer, female dancer, composer and designer of the previous year.

Under the patronage of UNESCO, the International Ballet Prize Benois de la Danse was established in Moscow in 1991 by the International Dance Association. Previous nominations for the Benois de la Danse Prize include Julio Bocca, Angel Corella, Alessandra Ferri, David Hallberg, Julie Kent, Vladimir Malakhov and Ethan Stiefel.

Herman Cornejo was born in San Luis, Argentina and began his ballet studies at the age of eight at the Superior Institute of Art at the Colon Theatre. He went on to study at the School of American Ballet in New York as a scholarship student. In 1995, he joined Ballet Argentino, directed by Julio Bocca. At the age of 16, he became the youngest Gold Medal winner in the history of the Moscow International Dance Competition (1997). He was promoted to Principal Dancer with Ballet Argentino and was invited to join the ABT Studio Company in 1998.

Cornejo joined American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet in 1999. He was promoted to Soloist in 2000 and to Principal Dancer in 2003. His roles with ABT include the Bronze Idol in La Bayadère, Franz in Coppélia, Puck in The Dream, Alain in La Fille mal gardée, the Nutcracker-Prince in The Nutcracker and Gurn in La Sylphide, as well as leading roles in the works of George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Mark Morris and William Forsythe.

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