A royal send-off for Argentine ballet star

Never let it be said that the ballet world doesn’t know how to give a proper send-off -- especially when it’s for someone as beloved as Julio Bocca, retiring from American Ballet Theatre after 20 years.

The dashing Argentine was given a hero’s farewell on Thursday after his final performance, as Des Grieux in “Manon,” alongside his longtime partner, Alessandra Ferri. The sold-out audience at the Metropolitan Opera House enveloped him in cheers for 20 minutes, as flowers were tossed at his feet and glittery confetti filled the air.

A who’s-who of ABT luminaries filled the stage, from former stars Cynthia Gregory and Susan Jaffe to current principals Jose Manuel Carreno, Angel Corella, Julie Kent, Gillian Murphy and Bocca’s other fellow dancers. They plied him with hugs, kisses and bouquets, but he still wanted something else: a beer. An Argentine beer. And so they brought him a bottle onstage.

The performance itself was signature Bocca: all noble passion and elegance as the student who loves, and eventually loses, the unfortunate Manon.

Although Bocca, 39, has partnered many dancers over the years, it was only Ferri who could rightly have performed with him at his farewell, so memorable has been their collaboration.

Bocca is a superstar in Argentina, where he has danced to stadiums of people. He first caught the attention of Mikhail Baryshnikov, then artistic director of ABT, in 1985 after winning an international ballet competition. He was 19 when he was invited to audition in New York, where he made such an impression that he was brought into the company as a principal.

Bocca still plans to perform with his own company, Ballet Argentino, for another year.