Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she began her training at the age of seven with Olga Ferri and graduated with the highest qualification at the Institute of Art at the COLON THEATRE. Since then, she won the major competitions in Latin America. At age 14, Paloma was awarded FINALIST DIPLOMA at the XIV VARNA INTERNATIONAL BALLET COMPETITION, Bulgaria. In January 1991, having just turn 15, she moved to New York and continued her studies at the SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET, where she was given the lead role in Balanchine´s Raymonda Variation for its annual WORKSHOP. After only six months, she joined the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE. She was promoted to Soloist two years later. In l995, age 19, she became the youngest Principal Dancer in AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE history.
She has performed as Guest Artist with the most important International Companies: NEW YORK CITY BALLET, KIROV BALLET, COLON THEATRE, KREMLIN PALACE BALLET, TOKYO BALLET, NATIONAL BALLET OF CUBA, TEATRO ALLA SCALA of Milan, etc. and the most prestigious Galas around the world.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina she has danced at the COLON THEATRE, full length ballets as La Bayadere, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire and Galas with the world´s greatest dancers: JULIO BOCCA, JOSE CARREÑO, ANGEL CORELLA, GUILLAUME COTE, MARCELO GOMES, DAVID HALLBERG, MAXIMILIANO GUERRA, ETHAN STIEFEL and DAMIAN WOETZEL and presented the “AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE WITH PALOMA HERRERA” and “PALOMA HERRERA WITH THE STARS OF AMERICAN BALLET” with Principal Dancers, Soloists and Corp de Ballet of the NEW YORK CITY BALLET.
She was on the cover of The New York Times Magazine as one of 30 Artists whom The New York Times critics chose- “as among those most likely to change the culture for the next 30 years” (the only one in Dance).
She won the INTERNATIONAL PRIZE GINO TANI, in Rome, Italy. In March 1999, DANCE MAGAZINE Reader Survey chose Paloma as one of “The Top Ten Dancers of the Twentieth Century”. She was chosen as “Leader of the Millennium” by TIME and CNN Television. She won the KONEX PLATINUM PRIZE, as the “Ballerina of the Decade 1989-1999”; the MARIA RUANOVA AWARD and CLARIN PRIZE, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was nominated for BENOIS PRIZE, in Moscow and the NIJINSKY AWARD from The Monaco Dance Forum.
She received the NEW YORK IMMIGRANT ACHIEVEMENT AWARD and the GOLD MEDAL ON THE ARTS from THE KENNEDY CENTER – International Committee, in Buenos Aires.
Since 2005, is invited by the President of the USA at the White House for The National Celebration of the Performing Arts: “THE KENNEDY CENTER HONOREES”. Paloma Herrera is the youngest “Member of the Artist Committee” to choose the winners of the prestigious award.
Her classical and contemporary repertoire on her web-site www.palomaherrera.com