Antonia Franceschi

Antonia Franceschi (born March 30, 1960) is an American dancer, choreographer and actress.

Franceschi was one of the last generations selected by George Balanchine to join The New York City Ballet. She is a Time Out Award winner for Outstanding Achievement In Dance.

She is also known for her dance performances in the film musicals Fame and Grease. She subsequently danced under George Balanchine and Peter Martins at the New York City Ballet.

She now works as a choreographer and dance company director, dividing her time between the United Kingdom and the USA.

Early life Franceschi grew up in the American Midwest. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and she moved with her mother to New York City. She joined a gang for protection; she also studied ballet and began working in the theater by the age of nine for The Metropolitan Opera. She studied the ballet through the Cecchetti method under Margaret Craske and attended the High School of Performing Arts in Manhattan. including performing as an understudy to company lead Natalia Makarova. Following that, she was recruited by George Balanchine to be in the company at the New York City Ballet,

She had works created for her by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Lar Lubovitch, Jean-Pierre Bonnefous, Mark Baldwin, Wayne McGregor, Michael Clarke, Arlene Phillips, and Karole Armitage. The Soho Theatre staged it, directed by Nancy Meckeler.

In 2005, Ballet Black premiered Franceschi's piece Shift, Trip, Catch. She has described the theme of the work as "You can shift if you're in a relationship, and hopefully they’ll catch you." and its "bold all-American punch."

Her 2009 piece Kinderszenen is set to the musical work “Childhood Scenes” by composer Allen Shawn; reviewers noted its "lively moments"

Franceschi has choreographed for both British and American companies, and has her own Company 'AFD Just Dance', which premiered in July 2015, performing at The Valletta Opera House, The Royal Winchester Theatre, London, and recently The MMA Center, NYC, and most recently she had two NY premiers, Uncaged, She Holds Out Her Hand with The New York Theater Ballet collaborating with Claire van Kampen and Say My Name, Barnard/Columbia Dancers with Composers Karen Le Frak and Allen Shawn.

In 2022, Franceschi choreographed for theatre in the UK for Dr. Semmelweis, directed by Tom Morris, co-written by Sir Mark Rylance and Stephen Brown which starred Sir Rylance at London's Harold Pinter Theatre. A review in The Guardian wrote, "Under the direction of Tom Morris, the production is almost as much a dance as it is a play, with expressionist movement (choreography by Antonia Franceschi) and music (by Adrian Sutton) that take us inside Semmelweis’s mind, from his bursts of anger to his final unravelling. A chorus of ghostly dancers – the women he has been unable to save – enact anguish while violins and the cello weep. These elements together run the risk of an overwrought atmosphere but the production steers clear of that. Instead there is intensity, and the drama feels drawn out in its pain." and was Movement Director for The Other Place at The Park Theatre. She was the Associate Choreographer for Arlene Philips' duet for Candoco and the Rehearsal Director for The Royal Opera House production of Other Stories with Wendy Whelan and Edward Watson. She has choreographed for The Rambert School and Joffrey School.

In April 2019 Franceschi presented Shift Shift, Trip, Catch, 2005 Kinderszenen, 2009 Pop8, 2009 [multimedia] Othello, 2018 [theatre] The Other Place, 2018 [theatre] Liberandum, 2019 Dr. Semmelweis, 2022 [theatre]

Filmography

Film

Year Title RoleNotes 1978 Grease Dancer 1980 Fame Hilary van Doren 1986 The Karate Kid Part II The Dancer on the Television Set 2000 The Golden Bowl The Ballet: First Queen

Television

Year Title RoleNotes 2015 BBC Young Dancer Self - Ballet Second Round Judge