Alessandra Ferri to dance Juliet in Seoul
World’s oldest active ballerina to perform with Universal Ballet
Physicality is an important aspect of ballet and it is common for ballet dancers to retire as they age. However, age doesn’t matter for Alessandra Ferri, 53, the oldest active ballerina in the world. She will dance the role of Juliet in Kenneth MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet” with the Universal Ballet Company (UBC) in Seoul on Oct. 23 and 26.
Ferri, who retired in 2007, returned to the stage due to her endless yearning for dance.
“When I decided to stop, I was 44 years old,” Ferri said at a press conference at the Universal Arts Center in eastern Seoul, Tuesday. “The element of fear at that time was competing with myself — not being able to feel how I used to be. I was starting to feel insecure about myself, so I decided to stop. It was a mental fear.”
However, she was not completely happy with her six years of leaving dance. “I was not alive. I realized that I love dancing and it’s not a job I just can quit,” the prima ballerina explained.
Julia H. Moon, president and director of the UBC, asked Ferri to dance Juliet in Seoul after her successful stint in New York earlier this year. Ferri has visited Korea a few times, but this is her first time as a lead dancer.
“It is quite special to be here. I thank Julia for giving the opportunity to perform with this amazing company here,” Ferri said. “It happened very quickly, but we made it possible and I’m very happy about it.”
MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet” is one of the masterpieces of drama ballet, which requires theatrical strength as much as dancing techniques.
When she came out of retirement in June as Juliet at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, the New York Times wrote “The plasticity, liquidity and effortless eloquence of her movement seem unchanged. Her stage persona remains vivid, ardent, rapturous, impulsive and compelling.”
“I was born with a physique good for dancing and am lucky to be given by nature. Maybe I always wanted to be a human being, a woman on stage, not a dancer. It is how I approach every role and it is what is strong about my interpretation,” Ferri said.
Ferri said “Romeo and Juliet” is not romantic. “It is not a love story at all. It’s about violence, hate and death. It’s not just a pretty dance. I think ‘pretty’ did not exist in MacMillan’s vocabulary,” she said. “MacMillan said a dancer should never be afraid of being an artist on stage. What he meant was when you love, cry and die on stage, just be who you are.”
American Ballet Theatre’s principal dancer Herman Cornejo will dance as Romeo opposite Ferri. The 35-year-old said it was easy for him to decide when Ferri proposed the role to him.
“I grew up watching Alessandra dancing and (her longtime partner) Julio Bocca is like my mentor. I was nervous to step into his shoes, but it is a pleasure to work in the role. It’s very special to dance Romeo and Juliet with Alessandra. This is the highlight of my career,” Cornejo said.
The UBC’s “Romeo and Juliet” runs Oct. 22 to 29 at the Opera Theater of Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul. Tickets cost 10,000 to 120,000 won. For more information, visit universalballet.com or call 070-7124-1737.