Interview with Ariana Lallone, Former PNB Dancer

Recently, PNB had the pleasure of sitting down with former principal dancer Ariana Lallone, who performed with the company for 24 years. After this impressive career, Lallone pivoted, performing with Teatro ZinZanni for 10 years. Keep reading to learn more about Lallone’s inspiring career and her joy of performing.

In the last 15 years your career has expanded in several ways – tell us about that journey!

My last performance at PNB was in June of 2011, and in September of that same year, I had my first performance with Teatro ZinZanni. As an audience member, I was a big fan of ZinZanni and always thought how magical the spiegeltent was and how incredible all the artists were. It was then surreal for me to step inside the tent as an actual cast member just months after stepping off the stage at PNB. A total dream career transition! Reenie Duff was the associate director at that time, and she provided invaluable guidance as I took this exciting next step.

I didn’t realize what was going to blossom out of that first ZinZanni show. I fell in love with the whole organization, what it was like to be in a show, and in order to expand my ability to dance in a small space, I even took to learning aerial arts.

When I first started performing with ZinZanni, I was 42 and therefore thought, “am I too old to be trying aerial (specifically the lyra)?” One of the acrobats in my cast, Gregory Marquet, said “What are you talking about? Just do it!” I remember being very grateful for his support and encouragement. Along with performing in several shows at Teatro ZinZanni, I also started choreographing, and later I even had the opportunity to work as a co-producer with artistic director Norm Langill. I learned to do all of that on site with a lot of love and support from everyone that works there.

In March of 2020, I was on my way to a dream contract with Teatro ZinZanni’s Chicago location, and then everything shut down. I am proud that I was hanging 20 feet in the air at 52 years old. I hope that my story continues to inspire people and break that glass ceiling for women in their 50s. Today, I touch the stage every once in a while, for a character part, and I love it. Giving people joy and happiness through performing has been profoundly important to me.

We would love to learn more about your progression from ballet at PNB to the circus arts at Teatro ZinZanni. Where do ballet and circus intersect, and where do they feel like entirely different universes?

The biggest difference is the intimacy of the theater. I love McCaw Hall, and all the big theaters we toured to all over the world, but you never see the audience. So to transition to a 300-seat theater in the round like ZinZanni was a huge change. The audience doesn’t usually get to be that close to pointe shoes. You get to see the wonderment in their eyes – there’s an intimacy that’s really special.

Because ZinZanni is cabaret theater, you’ve also already spent an hour as a character talking with them, doing some sort of immersive comedy, and they have no idea what you do as far as your performance. I’ve always loved that transition.

My ballet training (and pointe shoes) added an extra look that was very special to my work in the air. In my aerial work, I tried to treat my hoop as a ballet partner. I kept my ballet vocabulary and perspective and added them to the aerial art form.

Where are you finding inspiration recently?

I go to as many live performances as I can down here in California! I’m close to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, The Soraya, and the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza here in L.A., to name a few. I’m lucky that a lot of great companies tour here and there is also wonderful local dance. Recently, I’ve seen Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Boston Ballet, Lines, Alvin Ailey and Ballet BC. I was also equally impressed with a local company called BODYTRAFFIC, as well as Ballet Hispanico’s production of Carmen.

Seeing lots of performances not only inspires me, but helps me stay current in the dance world, which is very important to me. I can therefore educate and help my students make informed decisions about their dance education or career. As an example, Ballet Hispanico taught a master class last spring, at the studio where I teach, California Dance Theatre. I watched our young girls blossom in a technique that was new to them. One of the young students was so inspired by the company and the class she had taken that I encouraged her to see if she could study with them over the summer. She ended up having an amazing three weeks at one of their summer intensives in NY. An experience that will remain invaluable to her for the rest of her life, as well as a possible stepping stone to pursuing her dreams.