The Kaatsbaan Cultural Park for Dance in Tivoli has announced that Stella Abrera will join the organization as its new artistic director, effective January 1, 2020. She joins executive director Sonja Kostich at the helm of the prominent 30-year-old Hudson Valley dance organization. Says Kostich, “Stella is an extraordinary figure in the cultural world and an inspiring advocate for Kaatsbaan, both as a female Filipino-American leader and as an artist, and I’m elated to welcome her as my new partner at Kaatsbaan. As Kaatsbaan continues to grow and fulfill its mission to be the cultural park for dance and a cultural destination in the Hudson Valley, Stella will play a crucial part in the success and prosperity of those efforts.”
In 1996, after winning the Gold Medal in London’s Adeline Genee Awards, Pasadena native Abrera joined the American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet. She was promoted to soloist in 2001 and to principal in 2015. She has guested with the Australian Ballet, Washington Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet and Ballet Philippines; toured internationally with Stiefel and Stars and Angel Corella and Friends; performed at the Kennedy Center Honors 2018 (honoring Carmen de Lavallade), TED Conference (California), Vail Dance Festival, Ballet Sun Valley, Youth America Grand Prix Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow and several other galas and festivals.
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