Enrica Pontesilli
Dance education and career
Enrica graduated from the Accademia Nazionale di Danza in Rome and was accepted into the company ‘Maggio Musicale Fiorentino’ directed by Génia Polyakov, where she danced soloist and principal roles in both classical and contemporary dance pieces. After leaving Florence, she danced in Italy with Teatro del’Opera di Roma, and had an international career dancing with the Israel Ballet in Tel Aviv, the Ballet du Louvre and Nureyev and Friends in Paris, France, and the London Festival Ballet in England.In 1990 she accepted Génia Polyakov’s invitation to return to dance in Florence as a soloist with Maggiodanza, where she subsequently had the fortune of collaborating for a number of years with this esteemed maestro. During her career Enrica worked together with many famous choreographers, dancers and ballet masters, including Rudolf Nureyev, Peter Schaufuss, Lynn Seymour, Betty Anderton, Vladimir Derevianko, Eric Vu An, Elisabetta Terabust, John Neumeier, Micha Van Hoecke, Lucinda Childs and many more.
Teaching experience
Enrica worked as balletmistress at the Maggiodanza company directed by Vladimir Derevianko and Francesco Ventrigli. She has taught and choreographed for a number at different schools in the Tusacny region and specializes in pointe classes and in teaching classical repertoire and variations. As a guest teacher she has worked for Henny Jurriens Foundation in Amsterdam, the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Balletto di Siena, Tulsa Ballet and other schools, studios, and companies. Enrica is regularly invited to teach and/or judge at various dance competitions and courses.
In 2016 she co-founded the Associazione “Evgenij Polyakov”.
