RIP to the wonderful, transcendent Carla Fracci
The news of the death of Italian ballet dancer Carla Fracci on May 27th has made me sad.
Fracci didn’t have the perfect physique, she didn’t have the most solid technique or the highest extensions or the most spectacular turns or the most perfectly arched feet. Yet she was perfect in what she did, which was to create a picture of the Romantic ballerina in motion. No one was at all like her and no one ever will be again – an old ballet print come to sparkling and ever-so-charming life. I was fortunate enough to have seen her in person many times, and it was always a treat – an enthralling artistic experience.
Fracci’s greatest roles, in my opinion, were Giselle and La Sylphide. Here’s a TV performance of the latter. You can see her other-worldly lightness even here; in person it was far more astounding:
And here’s a tribute video with clips from many ballets:
Here’s a bit about Fracci’s beginnings:
Born as Carolina, Fracci was born on 20 August 1936, in Milan, to a tram driver father and a mother who worked at a factory…In 1946, her mother brought her and her sister to a La Scala Theatre Ballet School entrance exam, which ended up being disastrous for Fracci. While her body type was deemed unsuitable for ballet, she was pretty enough to be the last of 35 students accepted. She described the early days at the school as “a crashing bore and a terrible chore.” However, after she was cast as the mandolin in The Sleeping Beauty, performing alongside Margot Fonteyn, she changed her mind about ballet training and “started working very hard to catch up for the lost time.”
She caught up quite spectacularly. RIP Carla Fracci, and thank you.
[NOTE: I’ve written about Fracci many times before. Some of the older posts may contain videos that no longer work, however.]
Apparently you need a big bearskin, a sporran, a skean dhu, and bagpipes to carry off a kilt.
OTOH, the guy does have the bone structure…..
Sorry not to comment on the dance. I have no creds whatsoever in the area.
Thank you, Neo.
Well worth the time.
A wonderful homage for a lovely, lovely dancer. Just delightful to watch. Thanks Neo!
I remember reading about Carla Fracci in Dance Magazine and studying her pictures many years ago growing up in Alaska. Believe it or not, we had quite a good ballet instructor who had danced with the San Francisco Ballet. I never saw Fracci dance but sensed her delicacy and her exquisite carriage and arms.
Thank you, Neo.
I have never seen a Dance of the Flowers soloist to equal this one.
I did see Margot Fonteyn perform with Nureyev several times. Perhaps I’m wrong but she too seemed to lack highly arched feet. Maybe when your body is not ideal, you imbue your dancing with a note of humility that brings more depth to the performance.
Jeanne:
You’re correct about Fonteyn’s feet.
Yikes, Waltz of the Flowers …
Thank you , thank you, thank you, Neo. Couldn’t stop watching.
THIS is why you send your daughters to ballet class!
Just wanted to add, Neo, after watching a second and third time, what a welcome breath of fresh air after all the current news. Such beauty!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.