Erica Cornejo.

Sometimes love and work go hand in hand. This month Erica Cornejo joins Boston Ballet, where her husband Carlos Molina has danced as a principal since 2004. Cornejo, who will also be a principal, looks forward to performing the company's mix of classical and contemporary repertoire. "I want to keep growing, not go on repeating what I've done," she says. A soloist at American Ballet Theatre since 2004, Cornejo most recently scored critical triumphs as one of the Stepsisters in James Kudelka's Cinderella and as the Cowgirl in Agnes de Mille's Rodeo.

An expressive dancer with effortless facility like her brother, ABT principal Herman Cornejo, she hopes to have new challenges in Boston. While the company's casting had not been announced at press time, their roster of upcoming productions includes Don Quixote and Giselle. "Erica is a dynamic, open, vibrant dancer as well as a beautifully mature artist," says artistic director Mikko Nissinen. "With her versatility, expressiveness, and spirit, I'm sure she will add a great deal to Boston Ballet's repertoire." Though Cornejo feels sad to leave ABT--"It was my first home here in this country," she says-she is eager to settle into the new home that she and Molina have bought. "It will be beautiful," she says, "to be with Carlos."