Filipino American joins Copeland as lead dancers for American Ballet Theater

Stella Aberra's dancing has been described as "ethereal."

WHILE most of the mainstream media's attention has been on Misty Copeland, the first African American ballerina to be named principal dancer for the New York-based American Ballet Theater, equally noteworthy but virtually unnoticed is the promotion of the first Filipina/American to principal dancer for the same ballet troupe.

Filipina American Stella Abrera, raised in Southern California, joins fellow Californian Copeland last week to become the prima ballerinas for one of the premiere dance companies in America. That both dancers are of color is indicative of what is broadly happening in America, a slow but steady acknowledgement of the demographic shifts happening in our country.

Abrera is the first Filipino American to reach the rank of principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. Past international Filipino principal dancers include Maniya Barredo and Nicolas Pacaña with Atlanta Ballet, Anna Villadolid with Munich Ballet, and Ballet Philippines alumni Rey Dizon with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Toni Lopez Gonzalez and Brando Miranda, who danced with Washington Ballet, and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, respectively.

Stella Abrera

“I feel extremely lucky and blessed that I’ve been granted this recognition,” said Abrera, who joined ABT in 1996 at the age of 17. “I always had a hope, but it was never my ultimate goal at this point in my career. My ultimate goal was to present the best art that I could every time . ... I’m completely over the moon.”

Her parents, Aurora and Jack Abrera, are ecstatic and someohat nonplussed about their youngest daughter's success.

“We are not ballet dancers. She’s the first edition. Nobody in the family dances!” her mother laughed. Since the family moved frequently to follow Jack Abrera's job as an engineer, dance was a constant for young Stella.

“She loved dancing, so she was always at home at any of the studios,” Aurora Abrera said.

Her father said they don't think of Stella as someone famous. “We really don’t realize how famous she is; we just think of her as just our daughter."

Last year, Abrera performed with Ballet Philippines at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) as the title role in “Giselle.” While in the country of her birth, she took time to visit a school devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in Guiuan, Samar. She decided to help and created the Steps Forward for the Philippines fundraiser to help complete the school that was being rebuilt. "I hope to do more of that work," she said.

"It was a deeply affecting experience," said Abrera. "Everywhere I looked in Guiuan, I saw evidence of catastrophic loss. And yet the students exhibited only determination and optimism. They greeted me warmly and excitedly led me on a tour of the nearly-completed structures of their new school. They were thrilled even to receive the pencils, paints, and notebooks I had brought with me from Manila. I left Guiuan wishing I could do more for these kids."

Abrera hopes to raise $20,000 to rebuild the school. As of this writing, she is just short of its goal. If you would like to help Abrera and Steps Forward, watch the video and link here.