Alexandra Noel Ansanelli is a retired American ballet dancer who was a Principal dancer at New York City Ballet and the Royal Ballet prior to her retirement at a relatively young age.

Early life

Ansanelli was born in Manhassett, Long Island and is the youngest of three daughters and five half brothers from her father's previous marriage. Ansanelli attended

Friends Academy Friends Academy is a Quaker, coeducational, independent, college preparatory school serving students from nursery school through the twelfth grade, located in Locust Valley, New York, United States. The school was founded in 1876 by 78-year-old G ...

Locust Valley, New York Locust Valley is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,406 at the 2010 census. History The rolling h ...

, and was an athlete. While at a summer arts program,

Belvoir Terrace Belvoir Terrace is a performing arts summer camp for girls near Lenox, Massachusetts, US. The camp is used by girls to expand their abilities in theatre, art, music, and dance. History Edna Y. Schwartz created a performing arts summer program fo ...

, in

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and ...

Edward Villella Edward Villella (born October 1, 1936) is an American ballet dancer and choreographer. He is frequently cited as America's most celebrated male dancer of ballet at the time. He has won numerous awards, including the Daytime Emmy Award for Outs ...

, who was visiting his daughter, suggested Alexandra audition for the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Ne ...

in NYC. In the fall of 1991, Alexandra auditioned for SAB and was accepted at age eleven. In 1993, Ansanelli moved into New York City where she attended the

Professional Children's School Professional Children's School (PCS) is a not-for-profit, college preparatory school geared toward working and aspiring child actors and dancers in grades six through twelve. The school was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an academic ed ...

Career

Ansanelli’s joined New York City Ballet at the age of fifteen after performing in some children's roles and stayed with the company until age 24. She was able to return to performances following a significant injury, became a principal dancer in May 2003 and received recognition for her scope of work. On July 30, 2005, Ansanelli announced her departure from the New York City Ballet. In December 2005 Ansanelli moved to London, England, to join

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

as a first soloist and was promoted to

principal ballerina A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), soloi ...

in July 2007. She retired from dance in 2009 at age 28 and subsequently enrolled at Columbia University. In 2011, Ansanelli received the Jerome Robbins Award, became a board member of the

and Clive Barnes Awards.

Image gallery

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansanelli, Alexandra American ballerinas New York City Ballet principal dancers Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Princess Grace Awards winners Living people People from Manhasset, New York People from Laurel Hollow, New York People from Locust Valley, New York Year of birth missing (living people)