WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE?
What's Your Favourite...?
Alberta Ballet’s artistic director and AMA member Francesco Ventriglia shares musical preferences, childhood inspiration and where to find the best pizza in Calgary.
By Nicole Keen
FRANCESCO VENTRIGLIA discovered his love for ballet in an unlikely place. At the age of six, during a stay at a children’s hospital in Italy, he was captivated by a visiting dancer’s performance. His request upon discharge? Dance lessons. His talent soon earned him a place at Milan’s legendary La Scala theatre, and he has since travelled the world sharing his passion. Now happily settled in Calgary, Ventriglia finds creative inspiration across disciplines, places and time.
PHOTO: DAMIANO MONGELLI
Milan’s renowned Teatro alla Scala (La Scala), which was built in 1778. | PHOTO: RUDY AMISANO/© TEATRO ALLA SCALA
You choreographed an original Wizard of Oz ballet. What inspired you to do so? When I was in hospital, my mom and I visited a little girl who was in a coma. In my version of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy is a girl in a coma, and the journey to come back home is the journey to wake up. The ballet was created in Florence and has been done in New Zealand and Uruguay. [Alberta Ballet] will open it in March 2025.
Is there a particular dancer or choreographer whom you admire? When I was little, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov were my idols. Today, incredible choreographers like Jiří Kylián and William Forsythe are also my heroes. I’m really hoping to follow their paths and make my own contribution.
Do you have a favourite musician? I listen to everything from Shostakovich to Taylor Swift. I’m very curious about what is happening right now, but my roots are equally deep down into classical.
When you’re not working, what do you like to do in Calgary? My husband and I love to discover new food and restaurants. Or find a great place for our dogs to run.
Have you found a favourite restaurant yet? Mercato and Luca are very nice. Ten Foot Henry is one of our favourites, absolutely. Teatro Ristorante has amazing pasta. And, of course, the best pizza in Calgary is Pulcinella. And if an Italian says that...
You’ve lived in several different countries. What has pleasantly surprised you about Canada? The snow! I arrived here in January [2024]. It was a polar vortex, –40˚C, and it was the first time in my life I had experienced something like that. It was a beautiful surprise. AMA
“When I was little, Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov were my idols.”
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Francesco Ventriglia in the 2007 production of La Dame Aux Camélias at La Scala; neapolitan-style pizza at Pulcinella, in Calgary. | PHOTOS: MARCO BRESCIA/© TEATRO ALLA SCALA; COURTESY OF PULCINELLA
FRANCESCO VENTRIGLIA discovered his love for ballet in an unlikely place. At the age of six, during a stay at a children’s hospital in Italy, he was captivated by a visiting dancer’s performance. His request upon discharge? Dance lessons. His talent soon earned him a place at Milan’s legendary La Scala theatre, and he has since travelled the world sharing his passion. Now happily settled in Calgary, Ventriglia finds creative inspiration across disciplines, places and time.
PHOTO: DAMIANO MONGELLI
