NY ballet crowd fetes Herman Cornejo on 20th ABT anniversary

Oct 27, 2019 | 12:01 PM

NEW YORK — Herman Cornejo has been a favourite of New York ballet audiences ever since he set foot on the American Ballet Theatre stage as a teenager from Argentina two decades ago.

The company feted his 20th anniversary this weekend with showers of confetti, garlands of flowers and a ballet made in his honour by iconic American choreographer Twyla Tharp.

Tharp, still limber at 78, leaped joyfully into Cornejo’s arms and wrapped her legs around him during curtain calls. He had just performed her quirky “A Gathering of Ghosts,” along with a special tango performance with his older sister, dancer Erica Cornejo.

The evening began with Cornejo performing the George Balanchine classic “Apollo” along with one of his favourite partners, ballerina Misty Copeland.