Well, my goodness, this wasn't in the Royal Ballet's announcement of their 2014-2015 season, but NEWS.GNOM.ES, a newswire service based in Chicago reported that Alessandra Ferri will star in Wayne McGregor's new full-length dance production based on stories by Virginia Woolf.
Woolf Works with music by Max Richter will be McGregor's first full length work for the Royal Ballet. The choreographer will take his inspiration from a number of Woolf's works including “Mrs. Dalloway,” “Orlando” and “The Waves," and according to NEWS.GNOM.ES "will feature the former Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theater principal Alessandra Ferri." And apparently they've got some kind of an email directly from McGregor about the work which is scheduled to run in May 2015 for eight performances.
This will be a big, big, whopping big event if Alessandra Ferri returns to the Royal Ballet for this premiere.
Whopping big.
I find is so unusual that this is transpiring: Ferri is all warmth, emotion, and drama. Their styles clash so much and I hope she is a positive influence on him. I'm not sure she's into having her leg shoved up to her ear every three seconds, so it should force him to think substantially about new movement to incorporate with his choreography (and I say this as someone who likes Chroma, and bits of other stuff I've seen from him, while not being into the majority).
Posted by: K | April 02, 2014 at 11:42 PM
Hi K. I imagine that Ferri will do less of the usual McGregor recipe and more of the theatrical movement that we saw her do in Martha Clarke's "Cheri" last November/December. "Cheri," by the way, is going to play at the Kennedy Center for five performances in early October. Ferri and Virginia Woolf are a good match, but Ferri and McGregor - I'm not so sure.
Posted by: Haglund | April 03, 2014 at 08:01 AM
Ferri & mcgregor baffles me somewhat as well tho I am admittedly very curios. I adore Alessandra to no end but so far mcgregor doesnt really do it for me I'm afraid. She is also performing in vail & in Sting's rainforest benefit. (With herman!) awesome.
Posted by: Robin | April 03, 2014 at 03:21 PM
I know what you're saying, Robin. According to the news report, he said, "'I want to make a nonlinear narrative, a collage of sensation, time, tone and emotion—new structural possibilities,' Mr. McGregor wrote in an email." It already sounds like a mess. His nonstop intellectualizing is no substitute for craft. But when he can plop big name dancers into his works, everyone will want to buy a ticket.
Posted by: Haglund | April 04, 2014 at 08:14 AM
So true, as I'd watch alessandra dance pretty much anything.
Posted by: Robin | April 05, 2014 at 07:21 AM