ArtsATL – Frida Kahlo — surrealist painter, political activist, feminist, gardener — spent a lifetime transforming her dreams into reality. For Larissa Capitanio Dal’Santo, one of two dancers cast in the titular role of Atlanta Ballet’s production of Frida, created by renowned choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, the opportunity to play Kahlo on stage is, fittingly, a dream come true.
As soon as the company announced Frida would be coming to Atlanta Ballet this season, Dal’Santo said she imagined what it might be like to take on the character of Frida, but she hardly dared hope that her name would show up on the final casting list. “And now, now that I am really doing it, I’m so excited,” she told ArtsATL. “It has been such an intense process, but I am enjoying every minute.”
Initially, Dal’Santo knew of Kahlo through the artist’s richly symbolic self-portraits. “When you look at her paintings, you are struck by something powerful,” said Dal’Santo. “There’s so much meaning there.” To bring Frida to life, in addition to studying her art more closely, Dal’Santo said she dove deeply into researching Kahlo’s biography and the political, geographic and cultural context that shaped and were shaped by Kahlo’s work.
Photo by Shoccara Marcus
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