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

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 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 shift directions and found his own firm of interior design, the Societé Allis.