Photo by Andrei Uspenski, courtesy of Northern Ballet
Federico Bonelli "In Conversation" with Leanne Benjamin
28th September 2022
Italian dancer Federico Bonelli was a Principal with the Royal Ballet for nearly twenty years. Born in Genoa, Federico trained at the Turin Dance Academy and danced with Zurich and Dutch National Ballets before joining the Royal Ballet in 2003. In May 2022 he became the Artistic Director of Northern Ballet. He was ‘in conversation’ with Leanne Benjamin, another former Royal Ballet Principal, talking about his career as a dancer and, particularly, the transition to taking on the role of an artistic director.
The Chair of the London Ballet Circle, Susan Dalgetty Ezra, welcomed both Federico and Leanne and thanked them warmly for agreeing to take part. She also welcomed all those Northern Ballet enthusiasts who had joined for the event.
Leanne opened the conversation by commenting on Federico’s long and illustrious career as a dancer. She had been thrilled to learn of his appointment to Northern Ballet and asked how it was he appeared to have made the transition to the role of Artistic Director (AD) so quickly and seamlessly.
Federico started by telling Leanne that he had great memories of dancing with her. How had he adapted to the AD role? By diving straight in to working with an amazing family of artists. He was doing his best to learn and understand all about the company as rapidly as possible. In the later stages of his career as a dancer he had started to prepare himself for the next step. He had to ask himself what avenues he wished to explore. Did he want to become an AD? – he decided that he did.
As one aspect of preparation for life after dance, Federico had successfully applied for a Dance Fellowship in the Clore Leadership Programme, intended to prepare individuals for a future leadership role in the arts. Within the programme each participant devises a plan for their own development, with the organisation providing extensive support. Essentially practical, it does also involve the compilation of a research paper. This all coincided with a year in which he danced at the start but not again until the end of the season. He was able to fit the Fellowship studies in between; it proved to be a very intense year!
Federico said that, even though he was not dancing every day while working on the Fellowship, he realised that it was important to maintain his physical condition. He could not stop dancing for six months and then expect to go straight back to where he left off. Accordingly he made sure that he took class every Saturday. This discipline had also served him well during the Covid ‘lockdown’ when the company was essentially closed down, because he knew how to keep himself in trim.
Leanne commented that she did not know how she would have coped with the Covid situation had she still been dancing. “We were the lucky ones with a job” said Federico. So many freelance dancers had been left with nothing. He himself had been lucky not to actually catch the disease. He also remarked that he had been fortunate that the lockdown had been lifted in time to allow him to give a farewell performance.
Leanne then asked Federico how he divided his time. How did he decide how much time he needed in the office and how much he could spend with dancers in the studio? He said that it could be difficult; he was very conscious of the pressures on him and the ‘pull’ of the office. He wondered whether the dilemma was actually worse for an AD these days, with the ever-present need to ensure the continuing health, wellbeing, and financial support of the company. Delegation can sometimes be a problem and occasionally he does catch himself doing things which could be done by another (quite possibly better qualified) person. There are many great people in Northern Ballet, with long experience of the company.
Federico tries to get much of the office-based work done before dancers arrive for morning class. It is so important to maintain a connection with the dancers; to realise and to emphasise to them that they are the latest performers in the long tradition of ballet. For instance, he recalled receiving a correction on some aspect of partnering from Wayne Eagling way back in his Dutch Ballet days. He experienced the same correction given while in the Royal Ballet and now observes it again with his own group of dancers.
“What is the style of Northern Ballet?” asked Leanne. “How do you balance new and classical works?” Federico explained that Northern Ballet was an evolving company with a strong narrative and storytelling tradition. Nevertheless, variety and diversity were important. He went on to talk about a new triple bill of ballets which, while essentially abstract and all very different, refer clearly to emotions and the human condition. The three works of ‘Made in Leeds’ are:
- Wailers by Mthuthuzeli November – a work which gives thanks for the struggles and beauty of life and its peoples. ‘It’s really a love letter to his mother’
- Nostalgia by Stina Quagebeur – a work recognising light and dark, a quiet force connecting us together. Couples work out how they were and how they are now.
- Ma Vie by Dickson Mbi – exploring Casanova’s complex relationships in a work which explodes on to the stage. A high energy production!
Made in Leeds will transfer to the Linbury in the autumn and thus can be seen in London in due course. Arising from this mention of the move to Covent Garden a member of the audience inquired whether he might work jointly with the Royal Ballet at some time in the future. Federico responded that there were commonalities between the two companies and he would be happy to consider it.
Leanne then moved to the topic of recruiting new dancers into the company. Federico responded that he was relaxed about taking dancers from another country, although visa problems sometimes complicate such moves. Leanne added that when she joined English National Ballet she was delighted at the presence of so many dancers from all around the world. Cross fertilisation was important for dance.
Federico also recognised the importance of nurturing talented youngsters in this country. The Academy of Northern Ballet, together with its Associate programme, provided an important pathway for progress towards dancing with the company. At present the Academy offered training for young dancers aged from 10 to 16. Federico would very much like to introduce an ‘upper school’ to extend this provision.
The conversation was then paused in order that a clip could be shown of Federico dancing the role of the Prince in The Sleeping Beauty. “Phenomenal technique” commented Leanne. Federico admitted that it was good, although he can recognise the imperfections. He said that although his present existence was much too busy for him to actually miss dancing, seeing this performance again reminds him how much he enjoyed it. He then asked Leanne if she missed dancing. She responded that she had loved the physicality but what she was glad to be rid of were the nerves which accompanied performance. Nevertheless, it was difficult giving up on such a fulfilling career. What was important was what you moved on to, and how you used your time; as a coach she loves teaching.
Leanne once again commented on the speed with which Federico seemed to have made the transition to the AD role. He admitted that, aside from careful preparation, there was a certain degree of luck involved with the position at Northern Ballet becoming available at the right time. He also paid tribute to his wife Hikaru Kobayashi, whose opinions and advice he values greatly. They had met in Zurich Ballet in 1996, and fortunately had been able to move together into new companies including the Royal Ballet. They now have a family home in Leeds, and he has two primary objectives – to be both a good AD and a good parent.
“How do you manage dancers’ aspirations?” asked Leanne. Federico replied that one needs to talk to them, to learn about their interests as well as watch them dance. Hopefully he can then help them to develop and mature. It must be done carefully because individuals develop at different rates. It is great to see how a dancer grows into a role. Leanne noted that as a coach one can observe that well, because you are a ‘spectator’ rather than an active participant in the performance. Both agreed that ballet is so much more than a job; it is a vocation – it provides an individual dancer’s identity.
It is necessary to have frank conversations with dancers. Federico recalled the time that Monica (Dame Monica Mason) told him that he didn’t yet have the maturity for a particular part. Although he wanted to dance the role, he soon learned that Monica was astute at assessing a dancer’s readiness for a particular role. Individuals had to be encouraged and stretched out of their comfort zone, but not pushed before they were ready. It requires constant, careful observation.
The next question involved the choice of repertoire. Would Federico choose a piece because he had particular dancers in mind – or would he select the piece and then find dancers to fit the parts? Federico said he would focus on the whole company rather than individuals, although he admitted that he might not select a ballet if he did not think it could be adequately cast. As ever, compromise was necessary. He would like to take a long view, ensuring that a reasonably diverse programme was presented across two or three seasons.
And would there be touring? Northern Ballet has always toured widely, all across the UK. Touring is part of the identity of the company. Venues are usually suggested by the Arts Council, although the company can make choices. It is all part of the challenge faced by Northern Ballet. He said that Northern Ballet want to tour internationally, however, environmental considerations will have to inform how this will be done.
Federico considered there was room for new initiatives within Leeds itself. For instance, they had successfully presented excerpts from Made in Leeds at a pop-up event in Leeds indoor market, by laying a temporary lino floor and slightly amending the choreography to minimise jumps etc. Terrifying – but rewarding! They were able to present ballet to a wider audience.
As an aside to an audience member’s comment that his dancing had improved with age, Federico noted the enormous influence of sports science, psychology, and all the excellent healthcare facilities now available at the Opera House to Royal Ballet members, all helping to promote a long and active career for dancers. He would love to develop similar facilities in Leeds for the Northern Ballet team.
Was he nervous before a performance? Federico admitted that when he joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal he had felt somewhat nervous at being surrounded by such a plethora of outstanding dancers. However, what was important was how you used any nerves. In his approach to dancers he considered it important to celebrate good performance as well as offering corrections to make it better.
Leanne asked Federico for his feelings about audiences. He replied that Northern Ballet had a number of amazing, devoted fans, who followed the show from venue to venue. The company relies on ticket sales for its support and he had to focus on securing paying customers. It was important to reach out to people who in most circumstances would never consider going to the ballet, hence the Leeds market performance. Ballet can communicate so much and deserves a wider audience.
Finally Leanne said they had probably never previously had the chance to talk together as they had tonight, and she had enjoyed it immensely.
Both Federico and Leanne were then thanked most warmly by London Ballet Circle chair, Susan Dalgetty-Ezra, for giving up their evening to take part in such a full and fascinating conversation.
Written by Trevor Rothwell and edited/approved by Federico Bonelli and Leanne Benjamin
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