Herman Cornejo

Herman Cornejo (born 13 May 1981) is an Argentine-born ballet dancer and a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. He has had leading roles created for him by Alexei Ratmansky and Twyla Tharp; his signature roles include Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, and the leading male role in Ratmansky's Symphony No. 9.

He won a Bessie Award in 2013,

At 16, he placed first at the Eighth International Moscow Competition, becoming the youngest winner in the history of the competition.

Cornejo has worked with a number of choreographers. Major roles have been created on him by Alexei Ratmansky, and Martha Clarke, among others. Cornejo has also choreographed several pieces for himself.

More recently, he has collaborated with Italian ballerina Alessandra Ferri, after they starred together in a 2013 ABT production. This collaboration led to other projects, including the 2016 production "TRIO ConcertDance".

In 2014, Cornejo was awarded the Prix Benois de la Danse for Outstanding Male Dancer, for his portrayals of Aminta in Sylvia, Caliban in The Tempest and a leading role in Symphony #9, as well as for his appearance in Martha Clarke’s Chéri.

In October 2019, Cornejo celebrated his 20th anniversary with ABT with a special performance at the Lincoln Center, including George Balanchine's Apollo with Cornejo's frequent partner, Misty Copeland, El Chamuyo with his sister and former Boston Ballet principal dancer, Erica Cornejo, and Twyla Tharp's new work, A Gathering of Ghosts.

Cornejo has performed as a guest artist with numerous companies around the world, including Ballet Estable del Teatro Colón, La Scala Ballet, Universal Ballet of Korea, National Ballet of Japan, Kremlin Ballet, Dortmund Ballett, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Martha Graham Company, Ballet Hispánico, Ballet Contemporáneo de Cuba and Corella Ballet Castilla y León.

Created roles The Host in Ghost Catcher Fortune in HereAfter Rabbit in Rabbit and Rogue Caliban in The Tempest "I Dig Love" in Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison AFTERITE The Brahms-Haydn Variations C. to C. (Close to Chuck) Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra Garden Blue Glow – Stop I Feel The Earth Move Pretty Good Year Serenade After Plato’s Symposium Seven Sonatas Symphony

Critical reception Cornejo has earned international recognition as a soloist. In 2005, he was appointed a "Messenger of Peace" by UNESCO and "Dancer of the Year" by The New York Times; he won a Bessie Award in 2013. along with the Positano Prize in Italy. Critic John Rockwell wrote in The New York Times: "What makes Mr. Cornejo great is that his stunts don't look like stunts but like beautiful dancing." The NYT's chief dance critic, Alastair Macaulay, praised his artistic range in 2016: "His jumps' height and his turns' speed matter less than their windblown, tilting ecstasy and shining, boyish fervor. How can this paragon of adolescent lyricism also be the mature prince or witty imp we see in other ballets?" In the Los Angeles Times in 2013, Susan Reiter wrote: "Cornejo has elegantly and boldly left expectations behind. The phenomenal technique continues to amaze, but he always uses it to express the essence of each role." Critic Gia Kourlas called "Momentum", a piece Cornejo choreographed to music by Philip Glass, an "unpretentious exploration of his clean virtuosity." Cornejo has remarked that he feels "much bigger" than others perceive him, enjoying "big, slow" adagio choreography as well as the quicker movements generally assigned to smaller dancers. Cornejo was married to Carmen Corella, a professional dancer from Spain and the sister of Ángel Corella, the founder and director of the Corella Ballet.

Cornejo is now married to an Argentine journalist, they have a child and are living in the Bronx, New York City.

Cornejo enjoys drawing as a hobby.

In 2022, Cornejo became an honoree of the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Great Immigrant Award.