Petra Conti (born 1988) is an Italian ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with Los Angeles Ballet. Conti was previously a principal dancer with the Boston Ballet. Before moving to the United States, Conti danced as a principal with

La Scala Theatre Ballet The La Scala Theatre Ballet ( it, Corpo di ballo del Teatro alla Scala) is the resident classical ballet company at La Scala in Milan, Italy. One of the oldest and most renowned ballet companies in the world, the company pre-dates the theatre, bu ...

and as a corps de ballet dancer with Bavarian State Ballet.

Early life

Petra Conti was born on April 30, 1988, in Anagni but she lived in Frosinone, Italy. Her father is Italian and her mother is Polish. Her mother and sister trained at the National Academy of Ballet in Poland. In 2006 she graduated with honors from the in Rome.

Career

When Conti was seventeen years old, she was invited to dance as a guest star in the

Arena di Verona The Verona Arena ( it, Arena di Verona ) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 30 AD. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the be ...

Ballet's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. In 2008 she was a company member of the Bavarian State Ballet and a trainee at the Marinski ballet. In 2009 she joined

and was promoted to the rank of principal dancer in 2011. In 2013 Conti was invited by

Mikko Nissinen Mikko Nissinen (born March 4, 1962) is a Finnish ballet dancer. He has danced with the Dutch National Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He is the Artistic Director of Boston Ballet, a position he has held since 2002. Born and raised in Finland, Ni ...

to join the Boston Ballet as a principal dancer. She danced as a principal dancer with the company until 2017. Later that year she joined the Los Angeles Ballet as a resident principal guest dancer. From 2009 until 2011 Conti studied dramatic arts with

Kuniaki Ida Kuniaki (written: , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese diplomat *, Japanese musician and composer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese general and Prime Minister of Japan *, Japan ...

at the Arsenale Theater in Milan. In 2017 and 2018, Conti danced the slave variation in the Arena di Verona's production of ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

''. She performed the variation in blackface and was criticized by African-American ballet dancer Sydney Magruder Washington, who took to social media to voice her objection to Conti's performance. An article criticizing her for performing in blackface was published by BroadwayWorld in 2019.

Documentary

She was the subject of a 2010

Sky Italia Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo and Sky TG24. As of 2018, following an ag ...

documentary titled ''Dancers of Tomorrow'' which focused on her performances in '' Giselle'', '' Romeo and Juliet'', and ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

''.

Personal life

Conti is married to Eris Nezha, former La Scala and Boston Ballet Principal Dancer and now a Principal Dancer with the Los Angeles Ballet. She is also currently earning her bachelor's degree in Science of Leadership at Northeastern University. In 2016 Conti underwent surgery for

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include sp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conti, Petra Living people 1988 births 21st-century ballet dancers Italian ballerinas Italian people of Polish descent Boston Ballet principal dancers La Scala Theatre Ballet dancers Mariinsky Ballet dancers Northeastern University alumni People from Frosinone Naturalized citizens of the United States