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Alessandra Ferri is to be the next Director of the Vienna Staatsoper Ballet

Geoff

By Geoff
in Ballet / Dance news & information

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Emeralds

Emeralds

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Congratulations to Alessandria Ferri and I'm sure she will be excellent, being a dancer who has experienced the highs of hits and success as well as the lows of disappointment/rejection, injury etc, and has the experience of staging shows, leading festivals etc. I am a bit sad that this means she will be dancing a lot less, although I don't read German (help, @Sabine0308!) ....does it say she is retiring from dancing or will she do like Carlos Acosta (or Nureyev!) and still dance once or twice a year? 

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bangorballetboy

bangorballetboy

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34 minutes ago, capybara said:

It's quite something to be taking on such a role at the age of 62 (in 2025) and to have to wait for nearly two years before being fully in charge.

 

 

Monica Mason was (turning) 61 when she took over as director of the RB (and, as we know, stayed in that role for 10 years).

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Silke H

Silke H

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25 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Congratulations to Alessandria Ferri and I'm sure she will be excellent, being a dancer who has experienced the highs of hits and success as well as the lows of disappointment/rejection, injury etc, and has the experience of staging shows, leading festivals etc. I am a bit sad that this means she will be dancing a lot less, although I don't read German (help, @Sabine0308!) ....does it say she is retiring from dancing or will she do like Carlos Acosta (or Nureyev!) and still dance once or twice a year? 

Hi @Emeralds The article doesn't mention whether Ms Ferri will or won't continue dancing (I am a native German speaker)

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Emeralds

Emeralds

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29 minutes ago, Geoff said:

 

 

To repeat, the press release is in English as well as German (just scroll down). 

Sorry Geoff, my fault for not reading properly and getting excited the moment I saw "Alessandria Ferri" and "Wiener". Thank you!

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FionaM

FionaM

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Really good to have another female appointment in Europe 👏👏👏

 

I’m not so sure about these older appointments (Hilaire, Ferri, Jaffe .. all 60+).  How is ballet to appeal to younger and newer audiences with these older minds at the helm?  I hope they can.  And based on Ferri’s range of newer works in the last decade or so, this could be very good news.  
 

I wonder how much the international experience and worldwide ballet connections of these appointments is a factor in their appointments.   I do worry about homogenisation … every company seems to have ‘Jewels’, a McGregor, a Pite, an Eyal, a Dawson, etc.   I’d like to see more originality and more differences, rather than convergence.  

 

 

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Emeralds

Emeralds

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7 minutes ago, FionaM said:

Really good to have another female appointment in Europe 👏👏👏

 

I’m not so sure about these older appointments (Hilaire, Ferri, Jaffe .. all 60+).  How is ballet to appeal to younger and newer audiences with these older minds at the helm?  I hope they can.  And based on Ferri’s range of newer works in the last decade or so, this could be very good news.  
 

I wonder how much the international experience and worldwide ballet connections of these appointments is a factor in their appointments.   I do worry about homogenisation … every company seems to have ‘Jewels’, a McGregor, a Pite, an Eyal, a Dawson, etc.   I’d like to see more originality and more differences, rather than convergence.  

 

 

I think Jewels is a lovely addition just like one might want to have La Sylphide or MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet in the rep. Jewels is not as easy to stage or to dance as some might assume so companies do have to be sure they are fully committed and artistically invested in it.

 

I guess the reason why the companies all want to commission from the same popular choreographers is that the dancers are keen to work with respected figures they admire, it's prestigious in that city and for that company to be collaborating with a choreographer who worked with Paris Opera and Royal Ballet (Pite, McGregor) etc. But I do agree that rather than homogenisation, hopefully they will encourage more original creations and develop their own talent. Eg it would be great for Wiener Staatsoper to nurture one or more in house choreographers rather like Cranko with Stuttgart Ballet and Neumeier with Hamburg Ballet. 

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Sabine0308

Sabine0308

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@Emeralds you got the answer already 😉.

From "Tanz" magazine:

Breaking news from Vienna: the new director of Vienna Staatsballett is Alessandra Ferri. The internationally renowned ballerina who has created so many roles in the classical as well as in the contemporary field will take the responsibility in 2025 when the choreographer Martin Schlaepfer is leaving – his own decision. A surprise as it´s the first directorship for Ferri. But her profile is excellent in every way. Congrats!

 

BTW she won the position against 39 competitors.

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capybara

capybara

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1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

Monica Mason was (turning) 61 when she took over as director of the RB (and, as we know, stayed in that role for 10 years).


A good reminder, thank you  😊 ! Dame Monica had, of course, been in The Royal Ballet all her professional life whereas Alessandra Ferri will be starting afresh.

 

5 minutes ago, Sabine0308 said:

BTW she won the position against 39 competitors.


Did anyone see this  position advertised?

Or the Directorship in Queensland?

I have seen Jo’burg Ballet and Cape Town City Ballet both advertising for Directors recently but no white smoke on either front.

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Emeralds

Emeralds

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16 minutes ago, Sabine0308 said:

@Emeralds you got the answer already 😉.

From "Tanz" magazine:

Breaking news from Vienna: the new director of Vienna Staatsballett is Alessandra Ferri. The internationally renowned ballerina who has created so many roles in the classical as well as in the contemporary field will take the responsibility in 2025 when the choreographer Martin Schlaepfer is leaving – his own decision. A surprise as it´s the first directorship for Ferri. But her profile is excellent in every way. Congrats!

 

BTW she won the position against 39 competitors.

Thank you Sabine0308! I agree her profile is excellent, and being still a dancer, impresario (maybe an old fashioned title!) responsible for staging and finances of many independent productions she dances in, as well as a coach, she is aware of what audiences are interested in, what productions work or don't work, and the problems and challenges faced by dancers. Smart move by Wiener Staatsoper. 

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Emeralds

Emeralds

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1 hour ago, Angela said:

 

😉

I do remember @Angela advertising it here to us! And some jokey exchanges about whether forum members were qualified enough or knew enough German to apply...(I don't think the standard of German was the  key consideration- haha). The problem with nurturing one's  own successful choreographer/s is that you have to have quite a few failures along with finding one winner. We just don't hear about the various failures as much as we do about the very few winners. 

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