At what age did you discover your passion for ballet? I think it was inside of me. I started to have the passion for dancing when I was very young. I'm from the Italian Riviera, in a little town outside Genoa. There were no ballet schools in my town, which is why my mom sent me to gymnastics classes when I was 3 years old. The instructor told her, "She's too young. She doesn't even know the right and the left." But I was persistent. I wanted to be there. After a few years, my mom and I took the train into the next town in order for me to take ballet classes. At 6 years old, we took the train three times a week.
When and where did you begin your professional career in ballet? My first employment was in Florence at the Teatro Comunale of Florence when I was 18 years old, the legal working age in Italy. It was a short contract, but it got my foot into the professional career little by little. I then danced with Teatro Regio of Torino and Teatro Nuovo of Torino.
Why did you choose to leave Italy to join the Universal Ballet Company in Seoul? I felt inside of me that [Teatro Nuovo of Torino] was not enough. You know when you have that urge? That this is not enough. I know I can do much more.
How did you break the news to your mom that you were moving to South Korea? I remember it was in the spring of 1990. I said, "Mom, how about I just try for seven months and let's just see?" Well, I was there eight years. That is where I met my husband [Chung-Lin].
How did you and your husband, Chung-Lin, meet?
It's interesting because the year he joined the company was the year I started to feel really homesick and felt like maybe I should go back to Italy. Destiny sometimes. It's funny when I think back, I don't even remember him or me saying, "hey, let's get married." It just kind of happened. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to do with him. It was quite an interesting wedding with two nationalities. I'm Italian. He's from Taiwan.
Aside from being homesick at times, what challenges did you encounter in Seoul?
My career developed and matured a little bit later [than other dancers]. I entered into the Universal Ballet Company in the lowest rank and worked myself to principal dancer, the highest rank. I was the first foreigner that got to that level. I spent six to seven hours a day dancing. It's very intense on your body.
How was the wedding "interesting?"
Of course I wanted and needed to have a big Italian wedding or my family would never leave me alone. We had two weddings. We got married January 6, 1995, in Taiwan. Our documentation had to be prepared and translated through the Italian Embassy in Hong Kong. Then on September 9, 1995, we had the big Italian wedding. It lasted almost 12 hours!
Why did you choose to make the U.S. your home? When we toured with the Universal Ballet Company, we visited Los Angeles, Washington, Canada, New York and Washington, D. C. For both of us, it seemed like a wonderful place to move, especially being different nationalities. After six years together with the Universal Ballet Company, we were not ready to stop dancing. We wanted to make a change from a personal level and artistic level as well. We were very lucky. At the time, the artistic director of what was called Fort Worth Dallas Ballet (now Texas Ballet Theater) was looking for a principal couple. He contacted us. We got to the States at the end of September 1998 and performed that week. We arrived on a Tuesday, and on Sunday we performed Act II of Swan Lake at Bass Performance Hall. I was the White Swan.
Did you ever dance with Chung-Lin? Yes, when he played Rothbart in Swan Lake. All of the principal dancers wanted to do the Swan Queen when he was playing Rothbart. He transferred that character, the evilness of it. I remember one time when my friend, after dancing with Chung-Lin, said to me, "I swear your husband had green eyes!" We can transform. I can be evil, too, onstage.
How much acting in involved in a ballet?
There is a lot of acting. You can become anything you want on stage. It's the truth and you have to. Otherwise, you can't portray the character. You have to have that feeling inside that you are saying something. Acting is something you can learn if you're willing, of course, to open your heart and your mind to it. I was very lucky to have many wonderful people around me to help me. You're not afraid of playing the pretty girl, the witch, the old woman, you can transform into many things. It's amazing what the stage light does to you.
What do you think ballet brings to a community? Ballet is part of the world art. You take away anything from a city. Okay, you keep the ballet, keep the opera, keep the symphony, but you take away the museums. You lose something. You're missing something. Anything in art is so enriching. You can't take any part of it away. The city needs to keep supporting the ballet. Absolutely!
What is it about ballet that is so important to experience?
When you're watching a beautiful ballet and a beautiful production, you go home and you have something in your heart. You just can't explain it. It has fulfilled your heart. Sometimes it's like looking at a painting with movement. I think it's so enriching. The feeling of being in a theater and sitting there watching amazing choreography that's becoming alive upon your eyes. I don't think you can do without it.
Do you have a favorite role?
It's hard to choose. There are so many roles that have deeply touching my heart. A role I carried throughout my career was the Swan Queen from Swan Lake. I've done it many times. The story is so human. It's so amazing, so fulfilling. You finish the ballet and you are drenched. You have nothing left. You can't beat Tchaikovsky, I'm sorry.
When did you know that you wanted to retire from professional dancing?
I always wanted to retire when I was still good looking on stage. I didn't want people to say, "When is she going to retire? She doesn't look good anymore." I retired in 2008 in Ben Stevenson's Dracula. It was amazing. So many flowers! The audience stood up afterward for 10 minutes. It was incredible.
Do you miss it?
Once in a while I do miss it. I think it's just because I carry on with teaching and hope I can transfer my training to my students. My passion goes on. It's not stopping.
You and Chung-Lin became American citizens in 2005. Is that the year you opened Ballet Center of Fort Worth? Yes. I thought, hey, my career is getting to the end. I have to wrap it up. We decided to open our own studio and have our own students. It was hard not to give up. After moving to the Hulen Street location, our classes have been growing each year. We established Ballet Frontier of Texas when we started performing The Nutcracker.
What differentiates Ballet Frontier from classes at the Ballet Center of Fort Worth? Ballet Frontier is a pre-professional young company that my husband founded for students that are willing to take ballet a little more seriously. They have a lot of work. They dance almost every day. It's more of an intense program. If you want to dance professionally, you have to dance every day and start when you're 11 or 12 years old. You have to. It's an art, and it's for young people.
What do you tell students who dream of becoming a professional dancer?
Like in life, some have it easier and for some you know it's hard. There is a lot of competition. It's important that you understand how to use your body and that you find someone to dance for that sees potential out of you. There are so many elements that are important in this career. Not only, "Oh, she has a beautiful physique."
What's coming up this spring? Pinocchio! This year my husband has finally given in to me. Since we opened the studio, I've always wanted to choreograph the story of Pinocchio. I'm Italian! (Buy tickets to Pinocchio here.)
