Isaac Hernández facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Isaac Hernández
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Hernández in 2018
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Isaac Eleazar Hernández Fernández
30 April 1990 Guadalajara, Mexico
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| Education | The Rock School for Dance Education |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Years active | 2003- |
| Children | 1 |
| Current group | American Ballet Theatre |
| Former groups | ABT II San Francisco Ballet Dutch National Ballet English National Ballet |
Isaac Eleazar Hernández Fernández (born on April 30, 1990) is a famous Mexican ballet dancer and actor. He is also a special guest dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. In January 2025, Isaac will become one of ABT's main dancers. He will be the first dancer with a Mexican background to get this important title in the ballet company's 85-year history.
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Early life
Isaac Hernández was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. His parents, Laura and Héctor Hernández, were both dancers. Héctor trained at the Harkness Ballet and danced with groups like Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Isaac is the seventh of eleven children in his family. When he was 8 years old, Isaac started learning ballet from his parents. They taught him in their backyard using a homemade barre. At age 13, he moved from Guadalajara to Philadelphia to train at The Rock School for Dance Education.
Career
Dance
From 2003 to 2007, Isaac was a special student at ABT Summer Intensives. He then danced with ABT II from 2007 to 2008.
In 2008, he joined the San Francisco Ballet as a group dancer. He was promoted to a soloist (a dancer who performs alone or with a few others) in 2010. In 2012, he joined the Dutch National Ballet as a soloist. The next year, he became a main dancer after performing as Prince Désiré in The Sleeping Beauty.
After a guest performance in Swan Lake with the English National Ballet, he joined them as a top main dancer in 2015. His performances there included classic ballets like Romeo and Juliet and La Sylphide. He also performed in modern dances like Aszure Barton’s Fantastic Beings.
In 2018, Isaac won the Prix Benois de la Danse. This is a very important award, sometimes called the "Oscar of ballet." He won for his performances in Don Quixote and La Sylphide. He was the first Mexican dancer to win this award.
In 2022, Hernández joined the San Francisco Ballet again as a main dancer. In July 2024, he left the San Francisco Ballet. He then joined the American Ballet Theatre as a guest artist. For ABT's fall season, Isaac will have important parts in Études and Kingdom of the Shades.
Select repertoire
Here are some of the main dances Isaac Hernández has performed:
- Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake
- Ali and Conrad in Le Corsaire
- Romeo in Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet
- Franz in Ronald Hynd’s Coppélia
- The Nephew/Prince in Eagling’s The Nutcracker
- Fantastic Beings
- Solor in La Bayadère
- Basilio in Nureyev's Don Quixote
- Albrecht in Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
- James in La Sylphide
- Prince Désiré in Sleeping Beauty
- Des Grieux in Manon
- Prince Guillaume in Wheeldon’s Cinderella
- Etudes
- Jean de Brienne in Raymonda
- Symphony in C
- Onegin
- The Dream
- Symphonic Variations
- Romeo and Mercutio in van Dantzig's Romeo and Juliet
- Chroma
Originated roles
Isaac Hernández was the first to perform these roles:
- Prometheus in Mere Mortals, San Francisco Ballet
- Albrecht in Akram Khan’s Giselle
Acting
Isaac Hernández also acts! His first movie was Carlos Saura's The King of All the World. He then acted in a Netflix series called Someone Has To Die. In this show, he played Lázaro, a ballet dancer. The series came out on October 16, 2020. He will also act with Jessica Chastain in an upcoming movie called Dreams.
Awards and honors
Isaac Hernández is an ambassador for arts and tourism in Mexico. He is the youngest artist to receive a special award from the Mexican president. Isaac and his brother Esteban started a project in their hometown of Guadalajara. They bring other dancers to perform and teach workshops there.
Some of his awards include:
- 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
Isaac Hernández's brother, Esteban Hernández, is also a main dancer with the San Francisco Ballet.
See also
In Spanish: Isaac Hernández para niños
