Isaac Hernández joins American Ballet Theatre
Isaac Hernández will join American Ballet Theatre as a Guest Artist during the 2024 Fall season at the David H. Koch Theater. After this introductory season, he will join the Company as a full time Principal Dancer in January 2025. Hernández’s engagement was announced by Artistic Director Susan Jaffe.
Hernández will be American Ballet Theatre’s first Mexican Principal Dancer.
A dancer of extraordinary talent and versatility, Hernández has garnered international acclaim for his technical prowess and stirring dramatic abilities.
His career has been marked by numerous standout performances, most recently at San Francisco Ballet as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Prometheus in the world premiere performances of Mere Mortals, Prince Guillaume in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, and his dynamic interpretation of Albrecht in Akram Khan’s Giselle at English National Ballet. He has received numerous accolades in his career, including the prestigious Prix de Benois de la Danse in 2018.
Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Hernández trained under his father, Hector Hernández, in the backyard of his house in Mexico before continuing his studies at The Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hernández participated in ABT Summer Intensives as a National Training Scholar from 2003-2007 before becoming a member of ABT II, now known as ABT Studio Company, dancing with them from 2007-2008.
Jaffe expressed her enthusiasm for Hernández’s upcoming return to American Ballet Theatre. “We are thrilled to welcome Isaac back to the ABT Family,” said Jaffe. “He is a dancer of remarkable skill and artistic depth, and his ability to convey profound emotion through dance makes him a truly unique and compelling performer. We look forward to having him in the Company.”
“I am beyond happy and grateful for this upcoming step in my professional career as a ballet dancer. I take this new chapter in my life with joy and responsibility,” says Hernández. “American Ballet Theatre and New York City bring back so many wonderful memories of my beginnings as a dancer. I am very happy and looking forward to it.”
American Ballet Theatre is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Revered as a national treasure since its founding season in 1940, its mission is to create, present, preserve, and extend the great repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.abt.org.
Isaac Hernández, Photo credit Erik Sawaya