Stella Abrera

Stella Abrera (born 1978 in Manila, Philippines) is a Filipina-American ballet dancer. She danced as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre until her retirement in 2020, and is the company's first Filipina principal ballerina. She is now the artistic director of the dance cultural park Kaatsbaan. Early life and training The youngest of five children, Stella was born in Manila. Shortly after her birth, her family moved back to the United States. Abrera began dancing at the age of five at a local school in Pasadena, California. Due to her father's job as a civil engineer, her childhood was spent living all over the world in far-flung locations including Australia, her older siblings lived in Jakarta and São Paulo. In Sydney, she trained in the Royal Academy of Dance method at the Halliday Dance Centre. In 1995, she traveled to London to compete at the Royal Academy of Dance’s Adeline Genée Awards, where she was awarded the Gold medal. There she was seen by Ross Stretton who offered her the opportunity to audition for American Ballet Theatre in New York. Career In 1996, Abrera joined ABT at the age of seventeen as an apprentice. She was promoted into the Corps de Ballet three months later. She had an affinity for contemporary ballet and received featured roles in the 19th century classics. According to an interview with the LA Times, Paul Taylor's 1978 lyrical Airs is among her favorites which she danced in 1999. Abrera received a positive critical response from The New York Times dance critic Anna Kisselgoff, stating that Abera “gave each shape a gorgeous fullness.” In 2001, she was promoted to Soloist. Abrera suffered a serious sciatic nerve injury that nearly ended her career in 2008. Over a lengthy two year recovery period, she eventually returned to dancing.