dancing was luminous, and all of it was stylish and heartfelt; but above all in Act II, where the dead Giselle dances to save her living lover, Albrecht, from death, she made it clear that dance was a spiritual act. Her steps were filled with yearning for him and devotion to dance itself." She was promoted to principal dancer in August 2015, after 14 years as a soloist, making her the first Filipina-American to reach the rank in ABT's history. This promotion also coincided with Misty Copeland's promotion as the first African American woman promoted to Principal in the company's history. Fellow Principal dancer Daniil Simkin captured the moment and shared the news on social media in June 2015. Though Copeland’s promotion on the same day overshadowed hers, her promotion was praised by Asian-American and Filipino publications around the world and sparked supports among Filipino dancers. After Abrera became a principal dancer, Irina Kolpakova, a senior member of the ABT artistic staff and former Mariinsky Ballet ballerina, coaches Abrera on her more demanding roles. In 2016, she danced leading roles in Alexei Ratmansky's reconstruction of The Sleeping Beauty, Lise in Frederick Ashton's La Fille Mal Gardée; the Queen of Shemakhan in Ratmansky's The Golden Cockerel; Maiden in The Firebird; and a role she created in his Symphony#9. On that same year, Abrera celebrated her 20th anniversary with ABT with The Sleeping Beauty. In 2018, Abrera returned to the Philippines, with a program titled An Intimate Evening with Stella Abrera & American Ballet Stars, with ABT dancers including Gillian Murphy and Isabella Boylston. Abrera also mentors Filipino ballet students. She had also taught master classes throughout the US and abroad, and serves as Guest Ballet Mistress for American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. In 2019, ABT announced that Abrera will retire from ABT during the Spring 2020 season, dancing Giselle on June 13, 2020 as her farewell performance. A month later, it was announced that she would join Kaatsbaan, a dance cultural park in Tivoli, New York, as its new artistic director, effective January 1, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and its impacts on performing arts, her farewell performance was cancelled. Her last performance with the company was Giselle in February at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, with James Whiteside as Albrecht. In 2020, Abrera participated in Copeland's fundraiser, Swans for Relief, by dancing The Swan'', in light of the