Alessandra Ferri Bids Us Adieu
When one envisions a ballerina, a lovely, ethereal creature comes to mind; one who skims across the floor with delicacy and grace......whose every movement is soft, feminine and fluid. This image could almost seem like a fantasy, impossible to exist in the real world. As a matter of fact, it rarely does. While good ballet dancers are not numerous, great ones come our way so infrequently that they usually become legends. This is certainly Alessandra Ferri's destiny.
If dance lovers want the chance to see Ms. Ferrri perform with American Ballet Theatre, their last opportunity will be in May and June at the Metropolitan Opera House (located in Lincoln Center) in New York City. After 22 years with the company, she will be taking her final bow in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's "Romeo and Juliet" on the evening of June 23rd, but will also perform in "Othello" on May 24th and "Manon" on June 11th. Her partner for the final performance as well as "Manon" will be Roberto Bolle, a resident guest artist with La Scala in Milan since 1998.
Just as last year when Julio Bocca retired from ABT, the ballet world will feel an enormous loss when this exquisite dancer will no longer be on the roster. Luckily for the audience members, ABT's schedule of ballets always lists the leading dancers for each performance. This way we can scan the offerings and decide which dancers we would like to see in specific ballets. Everyone has their own strengths and special qualities they bring to different roles. Since most people do not have the resources to see every ballet with every dancer, this takes careful consideration. There are exceptions, though, when the public wants to see any ballet that includes certain special dancers. As in recent years when Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland were listed, the performances sold out immediately. The same thing happens when Ms Ferri's name appears. Only one day after individual tickets went on sale this spring, all but a handful remained for Ms. Ferri's farewell performance, and they were in the uppermost regions of the theatre. This is an event not to be missed!
For people not familiar with her dancing, they might wonder what distinguishes one principal dancer from another. Why is she so special? The answer is rather difficult to put into words since her magnificent qualities defy description. Just to see her move, to extend her incredibly arched foot, to observe the musicality that ripples through her entire body as she makes an otherwise academic step look like poetry-------all of this lyricism, exquisite line and passionate expression is so evident that the observer cannot help but be taken in by the beauty of it all. She surely exemplifies what ballet is supposed to be.
In today's world of super-technicians who can execute almost any type of trick, turn or leap, it's apparent that ballet should be much more than this. It should be the connecting of each step in an artistic way; it should have an intelligent interpretation of the choreography and an appropriate response to the music. Ms Ferri does all of this and more.
New York ballet teacher, Willy Burmann, has worked closely with her for many years. In fact, many of the leading dancers in ABT and New York City Ballet attend his daily morning class at Steps on Broadway. Alex [as her friends call her] says that Willy is one of the very few real teachers that she has encountered in her career. "His class is totally unique through an intelligent musicality and physicality. It pushes you to master technique with complete freedom of movement. Too often the idea of control inhibits the dancers with the result, that what we finally see isn't dance anymore. He says it is really important how you go from one position to another, how musically you dance your preparations, and how securely you move from one leg to the other.....ultimately without thinking about it."
Willy has the utmost respect and admiration for Alex. He describes her as having total dedication to the artistry of the ballet, and that she never shies away from the physical work. She includes Pilates as part of her regimen and has, with Willy's help, discovered how to build the strength in her toes that is usually lacking in a foot with very high insteps. He elaborates by saying that some dancers simply 'take class' rather than approaching it as 'training' as Alex does. "She exhausts herself creating something more than she did yesterday. She's always exploring. For instance, she is not only doing the familiar "Romeo and Juliet" and "Manon", but she has taken on "Othello" just to learn something new. To her, the creative part of ballet is what is important. When asked what role he thought was her best, he couldn't make a decision. Humorously, he said that she dies in most of them-----"Manon," "Romeo," "The Lady of the Camellias," "Othello"------even "Carmen." "She has got it down to a science."
This lovely dancer is still a permanent guest artist with La Scala in Milan where she is looked upon as a superstar. She was born in that city in 1963 and studied at Teatro alla Scala until she was 15 when she went to The Royal Ballet School. She won a Prix de Lausanne in1980 and joined The Royal Ballet that same year at the age of 17. Two years later she also won the Sir Laurence Olivier Award for her role in "Valley of Shadows," one of the roles created for her by Sir Kenneth MacMillan. In 1985 she joined American Ballet Theatre as a Principal Dancer at the invitation of Mikhail Baryshnikov. In 2005 she received the honor of Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana by the President of the Italian Republic.
As well as dancing almost every principal role with La Scala, The Royal Ballet and ABT, she has appeared as guest artist performing with major ballet companies all over the world. Among those companies are Ballet National de Marseille, National Ballet of Canada, The Kirov Ballet, The Stuttgart Ballet, The Paris Opera Ballet, The National Ballet of Tokyo, the Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. By going online to Wikipedia, one can find an extensive list of the ballets she has performed.
Two years after she joined ABT, Alessandra starred, along with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Brown, Julie Kent and Lynn Seymour in the movie "Dancers," directed by Herbert Ross. She also appears in several DVD's (available on the internet) including one she made with the popular singer, Sting. In it she dances a short piece entitled "Prélude," choreographed by Heinz Spoleri and accompanied by the singer who is playing a selection from Bach on his guitar.
With all of this work and travel, Alessandra balances her life by going home at night to a loving family. She is blessed with an accomplished husband and two young daughters, Matilde and Emma. Fabrizio Ferri, her multi-faceted spouse is among the world's most famous and respected fashion photographers as well as a fashion designer, art director, sound designer, President of Industria Superstudio Group....his accomplishments are too numerous to list. They met and fell in love while working on a mutual project in the south of Italy. The result was Aria, a beautiful book filled with photographs of Alessandra taken by Fabrizio.
When her teacher, coach and friend, Willy Burmann, was asked if he could use just a few words to sum up Alessandra as a dancer and artist, without pausing a second, he vehemently said, "STUPENDOUS........ stupendous in every sense! As a mother, as a wife, as a dancer, as a friend................generous to the community of dancers, a nice person to be around........without having any airs about herself, always approachable. She has a soul, which many people do not."
Discussing Alessandra's upcoming retirement, Willy sadly said that he doesn't want to think about it. "I'm not even over Julio (referring to Julio Bocca's retirement one year ago), so I don't know how to approach this one. The good thing about Alex is she has beautiful children, and she loves being a mom. For a single person it is not the same......... she still has a big purpose. But to give up something one does so incredibly............that must be difficult".
Willy will not be the only person filled with sadness at the thought of her retirement. For the ballet community to lose someone who can literally move us to tears simply by gliding through a few bars of music, it is emotionally wrenching. Saturday evening, June 23rd, the audience will be sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting a magical experience one last time.
Janice Barringer is a ballet teacher and writer. She is the author of The Pointe Book, the definitive book on pointe shoes and pointe training and On Pointe which she co-authored with Thalia Mara. Ms Barringer also has produced numerous instructional ballet DVD's and classroom CD's.