Anthony Ferro

Born in Berwick, PA, Anthony Ferro, Professor Emeritus of Dance, Marymount Manhattan College, is known internationally as a ballet master, choreographer, and visual artist. Ferro’s career spans over forty-five years in classical ballet and modern dance, theater, opera, film, and visual art. He began painting in 2005, and since that time his work has been seen in solo and group shows in New York and Pennsylvania and is in many private collections in the US and Europe.

As a performer, Ferro appeared as a soloist with the modern dance company of Twyla Tharp, including the film Hair (1979), the Metropolitan Opera, and Atlanta Ballet. He was resident choreographer for Theatre Thalia and ballet instructor at the Ballettakademien in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 1989—97. Recent performances include the role of Duncan in the New York production of the award-winning immersive theatrical experience, Sleep No More.

He holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College, VT, and a BA in Dance from MMC, where he was on faculty from 1997—2018. Ferro began his concert dance training at Pennsylvania State University and later joined The Juilliard School’s Dance Division in NYC. His extensive contributions to community-based outreach programs have earned him awards from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Artist’s Statement

My artistic practice is an outward expression of an inner dance, the visual manifestations of the spontaneous fluidity that supports my daily life. I create drawings where wonder takes center stage, setting free the formal visual elements. Currently, watercolor and ink are of special interest as I explore the limitations and possibilities of two-dimensional work. More often than not, the subject reveals itself through the pressure of medium against surface, an aliveness moving from the mind through the body to the paper.

A thank you to our collaborators.

Jim and I want to thank Katie Langan for bringing our images and words so playfully to life. And to Sandra Moreano for gracefully shepherding Tess to her second printing.