 With my parents and my first dog. I was one year old, Lisbon, Portugal. |
 My mother, ballerina Anna Mascolo. |
 My parents in 1995. |
 My mother teaching a master class in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, 1994. |
With my brother, mother and father in Cascais, Portugal, 1993.
My brother, Bruno, in “Le jeunne homme et la mort,” of Roland Petit, in his earlier dancer days with the Ballet National de Marseille Roland Petit, 1988.
My family’s love, understanding, and support of the Arts were key elements in my decision to pursue an artistic career. The walls of our house on Rua do Arco do Cego in Lisbon, Portugal, echoed “talent is not enough; you must work hard and believe in yourselves; you must never give up the pursuit of your dreams.” My brother and I grew up in the stimulating home of my mother, the ballerina and dance pedagogue Anna Mascolo, and of my father, the architect Vittorio Ferreira David. My mother was born in Naples, Italy, to a naval officer and an elementary school teacher. In 1940, a few months after war erupted, her family moved to Portugal. She was part of the pioneer generation that established and developed classical dance in Portugal, and has since fought for the rights and professional options of dancers. My father, a Florentine by birth, also relocated to Lisbon with his parents, where he attended the School of Fine Arts and graduated with a degree in architecture. In his spare time, he took immense pleasure in sketching scenes from daily life.
 One of my father’s sketches: a scene from daily life in Madrid, Spain, 1988. |
 With my brother and mother at the Guincho beach in Cascais, Portugal, 1982. |
Another of my father’s sketches: relaxing in Milan, Italy, 1964
Bruno, my younger brother, was fascinated by the world of ballet that my mother occupied, and studied feverishly to join it. After a few years with the now defunct Ballet Gulbenkian in Lisbon, he became a member of the Ballet National de Marseille Roland Petit, in Marseille, France. A few years later, an injury led Bruno to radically shift directions and he found his own firm of interior design, the Societé Allis. Bruno is married to Agnès Lascombes, also a former dancer with the Ballet National de Marseille and they have two beautiful young daughters, Mathilde and Elena. Bruno also has a son, Alexander Jesse David from a previous union. Alexander is pursuing studies in mechanical engineer at the University of Rochester, in Rochester, New York.
Patrick and I traveling in Spain, 2004
In 1998, I met Patrick Donnelly, whom I married on September 22, 2000. Patrick is currently Director of Theatre Operations at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, MO. Although Patrick and I have had a long distance marriage for several years, we have managed to keep the relationship strong and vibrant, as we share many common interests.
 With our two toy poodles, Brea and Rusty |
 Rusty and Brea (deceased in 2012) |