Following his recent move to Leeds to assume the directorship of Northern Ballet, the LBC was very pleased to welcome Federico Bonelli as our latest “In Conversation” guest. Leading the evening’s conversation was former Royal Ballet Principal Leanne Benjamin, who has known Federico since he first joined the Royal Ballet in 2003.
Given their shared history at the Royal Ballet, the dancers started the conversation by reminiscing about their time dancing together, with Leanne calling Federico a “phenomenal dancer”, and Federico fondly recalling the first Swan Lake they did together.
Leanne then asked Federico about making the transition from dancer to director. Federico simply replied, “I dived into it!” He said that he had been preparing for this move for the last five years but that he is “still learning as I go along”. Alongside his position as a Royal Ballet Principal, Federico was also on the Clore Fellowship, a development program for artistic leadership, which he said was useful in preparing him for the role he is taking on at Northern Ballet. Leanne’s questioning revealed the kind of director Federico will be, with the discussion encompassing the difficulty of balancing time between the office and studio, delegating work, and Federico’s philosophy for working with the dancers (“You need to challenge the dancers but also be caring and understanding”).
The discussion also took in balancing family life with work commitments, Northern’s plans for touring, and the type of work that Federico will support at Northern – he said he wants “a variety and diversity of creative work,” including both narrative and abstract ballets.
As always, once Leanne had concluded her questioning, the audience had a chance to ask their own questions, which covered topics such as: pre-show nerves, advice for aspiring students and expanding the Northern Ballet Academy.
A full report of this talk is available here.