Isaac Eleazar Hernández Fernández (born 30 April 1990) is a Mexican ballet dancer and actor. He trained at The Rock School for Dance Education. After working with the

San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...

, Dutch National Ballet, and

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scott ...

, he has served as a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

at the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

since 2025. As an actor, he has starred in the films ''

The King of All the World ''The King of All the World'' () is a 2021 musical drama film directed and written by Carlos Saura. A Mexico-Spain co-production, the cast is led by Ana de la Reguera, Manuel García Rulfo, Damián Alcázar, Enrique Arce, Manolo Cardona, Isaac He ...

'' (2021) and ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'' (2025).

Early life

Isaac Hernández was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, Mexico, to Laura and Héctor Hernández, both former dancers.Deocariza, April. Ready for Anything: Esteban Hernández Electrifies the Stage at San Francisco Ballet. Pointe Magazine. September 8, 2021. https://pointemagazine.com/esteban-hernandez-ballet/#gsc.tab=0 Héctor trained at the

Harkness Ballet The Harkness Ballet (1964–1975) was a New ballet company named after its founder Rebekah Harkness. Harkness inherited her husband's fortune in Standard Oil holdings, and was a dance lover. Harkness funded Joffrey Ballet, but when they refused ...

and performed with

Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...

and Houston Ballet. Isaac is the seventh oldest of the Hernández's eleven children.Sable, Joy. "Dance sets me free." English National Ballet’s Mexican star Isaac Hernández on his ‘Old Testament ‘ family — and his life as a new dad. ''The Jewish Chronicle''. September 23, 2021. https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/dance-sets-me-free-hjep93jf The family was very active in Guadalajara's Jewish community. At age 8, Isaac began learning ballet from his parents on a makeshift barre in the family backyard. At age 13, he moved from Guadalajara to train at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's The Rock School for Dance Education.

Career

Dance

From 2003-2007, Hernández was a National Training Scholar at ABT Summer Intensives, and danced with ABT II from 2007-2008. In 2008, he joined

's corps de ballet and was promoted to soloist in 2010. He joined the Dutch National Ballet as a soloist in 2012, and was promoted to principal dancer the following year after dancing the role of Prince Désiré in '' The Sleeping Beauty''. After making a guest appearance in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'' with the

, he joined the company as a lead principal in 2015. His repertoire there also includes classical works such as ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' and ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' (; ) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only ve ...

'', as well as contemporary works including Aszure Barton’s ''Fantastic Beings'' and Akram Khan's ''Giselle''. In 2018, Hernandez won the

Prix Benois de la Danse The Benois de la Danse is a ballet competition held annually in Moscow. Founded by the International Dance Association in 1991, it takes place each year on or around April 29 and it's judged by a jury. The members of this jury change every year and ...

for his performances in

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; ; born January 27, 1948) is a Latvian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He was the preeminent male ...

and Laurent Hilaire’s ''Don Quixote''at the

Rome Opera The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (Rome Opera House) is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat ''Costanzi Theatre'', it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements. The pres ...

and in ''

'' with the English National Ballet. He is the first Mexican dancer to win the Prix Benois de la Danse award, the "

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

of ballet." In 2022, Hernández joined the

as a principal dancer.Isaac Hernández to leave San Francisco Ballet. Gramilano. June 9, 2024. https://www.gramilano.com/2024/06/isaac-hernandez-to-leave-san-francisco-ballet/ In July 2024, he resigned from the San Francisco BalletHoward, Rachel. This San Francisco Ballet principal dancer is leaving the company. ''San Francisco Chronicle''. June 7, 2024. https://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/sf-ballet-isaac-hernandez-19503321.php and joined the American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist. For ABT's fall season, Hernández will have featured roles in ''Études'' and ''Kingdom of the Shades''. Harss, Marina. Isaac Hernández Brings Leading-Man Vibes to Ballet Theater. New York Times. Oct. 14, 2024. A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 15, 2024, Section C, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: ‘He Has It All’: Dancer Soars As His Debut Approaches." https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/14/arts/dance/isaac-hernandez-american-ballet-theater.html In January 2025, Hernández became one of

's principal dancers, the first dancer of Mexican ancestry to achieve this title in the ballet company's 85-year history.Isaac Hernández Joins American Ballet Theatre To Debut as Guest Artist at David H. Koch Theater, Join as Principal Dancer January 2025. American Ballet Theatre. https://www.abt.org/isaac-hernandez-joins-abt/. July 11, 2024

Select repertoire

Hernández's repertoire includes: *Prince Siegfried in ''

'' *Ali and Conrad in ''

Le Corsaire ''Le Corsaire'' is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem '' The Corsair'' by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to ...

'' *Romeo in Nureyev’s ''

Romeo & Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' *Franz in Ronald Hynd’s ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

'' *The Nephew/Prince in Eagling’s ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'' *''Fantastic Beings'' *Solor in '' La Bayadère '' *Basilio in Nureyev's ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' *Basilio in Baryshnikov and Hilare’s ''Don Quixote'' *Albrecht in Mary Skeaping’s ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...

'' *The Man in '' Song of the Earth'' *James in ''

'' *Prince Désiré in ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' *Des Grieux in ''

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was f ...

'' *Prince Guillaume in Wheeldon’s ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' *'' Etudes'' *Jean de Brienne in ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' () is a ballet, grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his Opus number, opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. ''Raymonda'' was creat ...

'' *'' Symphony in C'' *'' Onegin'' *'' The Dream'' *'' Symphonic Variations'' *Romeo and Mercutio in van Dantzig's ''

'' *'' Chroma''

Originated roles

* Prometheus in ''Mere Mortals'', San Francisco Ballet *Albrecht in Akram Khan’s ''Giselle''

Acting

Hernández had his acting debut in Carlos Saura's movie ''

''. He then acted in Manolo Caro's limited series for Netflix '' Someone Has To Die'' in the role of Lázaro, a ballet dancer. The series premiered on 16 October 2020. He will also act opposite

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in projects with Feminism, feminist themes, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Jessica Chastain, various ...

in the upcoming Michel Franco film ''

''.

Awards and honors

Hernández is an arts and tourism ambassador of Mexico and the youngest artist to receive an outstanding artist award from the Mexican president. Hernandez and his brother Esteban set up a project in their hometown of Guadalajara to bring other dancers to perform and teach at workshops. *2018 Benois de la Danse at the Bolshoi Theatre *Alexandra Radius Award for Most Outstanding Dancer *Gold Medal, USA International Ballet Competition *Bronze Medal and special award, Kirov Ballet at Moscow’s International Ballet Competition *First place in the Cuba International Competition

Personal life

Hernández's brother, Esteban Hernández is a principal dancer with the

. Hernández and Tamara Rojo announced their engagement in 2018. The couple have a son, born in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Isaac English National Ballet principal dancers Living people Mexican male ballet dancers People from Guadalajara, Jalisco Dutch National Ballet principal dancers San Francisco Ballet soloists Mexican expatriate male actors in the United States Mexican expatriates in the Netherlands Mexican expatriates in the United Kingdom 1990 births Prix Benois de la Danse winners