Last week a friend e-mailed me to be on the lookout for a promotion notice from the Royal Ballet and it has now come thru: Alexandra Ansanelli, a dancer I loved when she was at NYC Ballet and whose sudden departure from the Company threw me for a loop, has become the Royal Ballet's newest principal ballerina. I know that a lot of Alexandra's New York fans have still not gotten over her leap to the Royal, but how can we not rejoice at this news? New York's loss is the Royal's gain and they now have a wonderfully versatile and attractive dancer who can take on a wide variety of roles.
Alexandra first caught my eye in the corps and it seemed to me that she moved swiftly to the soloist rank and again made a quick and well-deserved jump to Principal. Even in the corps her star quality leapt out into the theatre. It was really upsetting when a very serious injury almost resulted in the end of her dancing career. For a while it seemed we might never see her onstage again. She bravely came back and I remember one night she was dancing a relatively small and 'easy' role and she took a bad spill. Undeterred, she popped back up and danced on. Within months she was back on top form and looking better than ever.
When I worked at Tower, Alexandra came in a few times. I always loved seeing her and she always took the time to chat amiably; she was also very sweet to one of my co-workers who had an enormous crush on her even though the fact that she was a NYC Ballet ballerina meant nothing to him...he just had an eye for a pretty girl. I was really touched when he told me one morning that Alexandra had come in the day before to say goodbye - on a day that I happened to be off. I really regretted not having an opportunity to wish her well in London.
One of the last ballets I saw her in at NYCB (unaware at the time that she would be leaving) was Wheeldon's POLYPHONIA (Kolnik photo at left of her & Craig Hall in that ballet); I remember she made a particularly vivid impression that night, her dancing seeming to take on a new dimension of dramatic force. I thought what a thrill it was going to be to watch her over the next several seasons but as things turned out I only saw her one more time, in MIDSUMMER NIGHT''S DREAM at the end of the Spring season. I was dumbfounded a couple weeks later when a friend called to tell me that she had suddenly announced her decision to leave while the Company was at Saratoga.
Here are a few more Kolnik photos of Alexandra is some of her loveliest City Ballet roles: Dewdrop in NUTCRACKER; in AFTERNOON OF A FAUN with Sebastien Marcovici, and in STARS & STRIPES with Benjamin Millepied. {The portrait at the top of this post is also by Paul Kolnik.} Best wishes to this wonderful dancer for a brilliant future at the Royal!
I just read the news about her promotion earlier today. I'm so glad for her. I also miss her terribly but look forward to seeing her with the RB over the years. They are such a wonderful company. Among their new corps members are the last 2 YAGP grand prix winners - both of whom turned down the YAGP grand prize of ABT Studio Company contracts and held out for the RB. Oh well. Hope they come to NY more often.
Posted by: Susan | July 25, 2007 at 05:58 PM
yay!!
thanks for good the news
Posted by: sloan | July 25, 2007 at 07:42 PM
Receiving your news aboutAlexandra Ansanelli's promotion to principal ballerina at the Royal BAllet was a bitter-sweet moment for me. Sweet, because I am, of course, very, very happy for her. She richly deserves this promotion and in fact, should have been given principal status when she first joined the RB. But the Royal rarely grants such initial rank to a foreigner, especially an American, and obviously they felt that Alexandra had to pay her dues. Well, those dues have apparently been paid (and in a relatively short time)and this is a great honor for Alexandra. The words "special" and "unique" are tossed around much too loosely (and I am as guilty of that as anyone) but this is one dancer where the words are truly appropriate and justified. Brava for Alexandra!
However, the news is, for me at least, in some respects bitter as well because it reminds me of just how much I still miss her dancing. I have many "favorite" dancers at NYCB but at the time of her leaving the company, she was my absolute no. 1 favorite. I would always check the casting list each week and when I saw her name listed for a particular program, I would frequently make the two hour train ride into the city from Eastern Long Island just to see her dance. Of all the brilliant performances I saw her give, perhaps the most memorable was the night I saw her dance the lead in Coppelia - it was one of those magical, all-time great performances and earned her three curtain calls and a partial standing ovation. I think it was shortly (or maybe immediately) after that performance that Peter promoted her to principal. (Is Alexandra the only ballerina to have ever been a principal at both NYCB and RB? Not counting guest artists, of course).
The news of Alexandra's promotion is also "bitter" (again only from a personal, selfish standpoint) because I do recall that a pretty fair ballerina by the name of Suzanne Farrell left NYCB some 38 years ago and then returned six years later and so I have harbored deep in my heart the hope that maybe Alexandra would also one day return home. The fact that she has now attained principal rank at RB has probably diminished that prospect. Still, hope does spring eternal and I am not yet ready to abandon it. Remember it did take six years for Suzanne to return (I know - the circumstances were different but I'll overlook that for the moment)so Alexandra still has a few years left to make her return. Hey, allow me ny fantasy!
Posted by: Bob | July 26, 2007 at 11:10 AM
I have known this gorgeous ballerina since she was in 3rd grade. I don't know her now as I knew her then, but I can attest that she is one of the most empathetic, caring, sensitive, and beautiful human beings I know. I trust her judgment, and I trust that the road she chooses will bring her much happiness, equal to that which she has brought to all of us. God Bless, Alexandra. Love, Mary Jo
Posted by: [email protected] | May 06, 2009 at 07:11 PM
Earlier this month (May 2009), Alexandra announced her resignation from the Royal Ballet and her retirement from professional dancing. We were fortunate enough to see many of her debuts in principal roles at the Royal (Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Ondine, and Month in the Country). We will miss the excitement she brings to the stage!
Posted by: Sophie Yang | May 21, 2009 at 01:28 AM