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New YouTube Video: Roland Petit’s Chéri with Carla Fracci and Massimo Murru

April 5, 2014, 7:26 am
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roland petit fracci murru cheri New YouTube Video: Roland Petits Chéri with Carla Fracci and Massimo Murru

Roland Petit rehearsing Carla Fracci and Massimo Murru in Chéri

Gramilano has talked about Roland Petit’s charming and evocative ballet Chéri before, here and here.

This is what Carla Fracci said after Petit’s death in 2011:

I talked to him for the last time at Christ­mas. His great regret was that we were unable to film his bal­let Chéri for French tele­vi­sion, but there were a series of dif­fi­culties, even when a French TV crew came to film at La Scala. ‘A shame!’ Roland always said when we spoke. How­ever Chéri is a bal­let that will remain, with other baller­inas. He was keen that some sort of record would pre­serve it.

Well, here is a record of the original protagonists of the ballet — Carla Fracci and Massimo Murru — in the two pas de deux during a gala in Tokyo in 2000.… [continue reading]

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Roberto Bolle energised by Italian power company

April 7, 2014, 10:39 am
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Roberto Bolle advert 4 700x394 Roberto Bolle energised by Italian power company

Roberto Bolle has become the new face of Eni, Italy’s number-one power company.

The campaign, called Rethink Energy, which started airing yesterday on Italian television, has been directed by photographer and video director, Fabrizio Ferri, with the voice-over of La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) star Toni Servillo.

Eni’s blurb in the press release reads,

Bolle gives birth to a unique artistic performance, playing with light and shadow and creating pure emotion with the movement of his body.

Adding,

Investing in energy means caring for it… The goal is to create and spread a collective consciousness that encourages companies and consumers to be ambassadors for a new culture.

The ads tag line is “Let’s give energy a new energy”.… [continue reading]

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Roberto Bolle: a nude cover, politics, and finishing a career

April 9, 2014, 7:36 am
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Roberto Bolle by Bruce Weber Vanity Fair cover 374x500 Roberto Bolle: a nude cover, politics, and finishing a career

Roberto Bolle by Bruce Weber — Vanity Fair cover

Italy’s Vanity Fair celebrates Roberto Bolle’s 20-year career with a cover and a photo shoot by Bruce Weber.

Silvia Nucini talked with the Italian ballet star.

For decades we’ve been governed by short-sighted politicians. Our strengths are art and culture. I can realise that not everybody can understand that investing in these is something that can uplift the human spirit, but why can’t they understand that art and culture can produce wealth. Instead, we hear only about cuts. Here at La Scala we do ballets that guarantee a sold-out theatre, but this limits creativity.

In America the arts are supported by private subsidy, encourage by tax advantages, or because such contributions reflects well on the investor.… [continue reading]

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Andrej Uspenski with Steven McRae in the Fast Lane

April 9, 2014, 2:05 pm
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Steven McRae Dancer in the Fast Lane by Andrej Uspenski 435x500 Andrej Uspenski with Steven McRae in the Fast Lane

Steven McRae Dancer in the Fast Lane by Andrej Uspenski

Andrej Uspenski has photographed Steven McRae over the past year, and the results can be seen in his new book, Dancer in the Fast Lane.

The book contains more than 70 colour images taken from the wings, in rehearsal and during performances at the Royal Opera House. Australian McRae, one of The Royal Ballet’s most exciting Principal dancers, has been with the company since 2003, so this publication is a timely tenth anniversary present.

Steven McRae’s passion for drag car racing has been frequently documented, and speed is a characteristic of his dancing, so the fast lane is certainly where to find him.

This is Uspenski’s third book; Dancers – Behind the Scenes at The Royal Ballet and Natalia Osipova — Becoming a Swan being the previous titles.… [continue reading]

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Preview of tonight’s new Wheeldon ballet: The Winter’s Tale

April 10, 2014, 7:48 am
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RBwinterstale2014prodJP02326 304x500 Preview of tonights new Wheeldon ballet: The Winter’s Tale

Sarah Lamb as Perdita and Steven McRae as Florizel in Act II of The Winter’s Tale — photo ROH / Johan Persson, 2014

The Royal Ballet’s newest commission débuts at the Royal Opera House tonight: Christopher Wheeldon’s full-length ballet, The Winter’s Tale.

An exciting cast features  Edward Wat­son and Lauren Cuth­bertson as Leontes and Her­mi­one, Steven McRae and Sarah Lamb as Flor­izel and Per­dita and Fed­erico Bon­elli and Zenaida Yanowksy as Polixenes and Paulina.

The London run is almost all sold out, before anyone has had the chance to see it, which says something for the audience’s faith in the Royal Ballet, their dancers, and Mr Wheeldon. Ballet lovers world-wide will get a chance to see the bal­let on Monday 28 April.… [continue reading]

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Zubin Mehta brings Kunde, Cedolins, Ferri and Kunde to open the new Florence Opera House

April 11, 2014, 10:37 am
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logo opera di firenze Zubin Mehta brings Kunde, Cedolins, Ferri and Kunde to open the new Florence Opera HouseI’ve only one thing to ask our Prime Minister, who is making so many reforms: I hope with all my heart that he will introduce tax relief for culture. It is of the utmost importance!

Zubin Mehta, director of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, launched his appeal to Matteo Renzi, the current Italian Prime Minister and former Florence Mayor, during a press conference to illustrate the principal events during the Festival’s 77th edition. The Festival and its dance company, Maggiodanza, have suffered from massive financial problems over the last few years.

There will be exciting new changes for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino — the oldest Festival in Europe, after Salzburg - as the new opera house will finally open on 10 May, three years after its official opening in 2011.… [continue reading]

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La Scala Ballet School’s director for 32 years on “Teaching Dance”

April 14, 2014, 9:52 am
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Anna Maria Prina and students of the La Scala Ballet School in 1992 2 700x475 La Scala Ballet Schools director for 32 years on Teaching Dance

Anna Maria Prina and Robert De Warren with students of the La Scala Ballet School in 1992:  on the left Marta Romagna and Roberto Bolle; to the right Mara Galeazzi and Mick Zeni

Italian La Scala Ballet Schools director for 32 years on Teaching Dance

 versione italiana

Anna Maria Prina was the director of the La Scala Theatre Ballet School for thiry-two years, producing artists such as Mara Galeazzi, Massimo Murru, Roberto Bolle, Mick Zeni, Renata Caldarini, Alessio Carbone, Vito Mazzeo, Marco Pierin and Paola Cantalupo, among many, many others.

I asked her what the requisites are to become a dance teacher:

Teaching is an art, a science and a gift. It’s a gift to know how to leave a mark in the minds of those who wish to learn. Teaching dance isn’t for everyone: it is necessary to be generous, curious, authoritative and armed with great passion and patience.… [continue reading]

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Fellinian ballet flash mob descends on Rome’s Spanish Steps

April 16, 2014, 11:16 am
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Rossella Brescia and the company of Amarcord on the Spanish Steps 500x340 Fellinian ballet flash mob descends on Romes Spanish Steps

Rossella Brescia and the company of Amarcord on the Spanish Steps

Tourists on Rome’s Spanish Steps were taken by surprise yesterday afternoon when a company of dancers descended on them dressed as characters from Federico Fellini’s Amarcord.

Italian ballet dancer and all-round entertainer Rossella Brescia, with the entire company of dancers from Danzitalia in their 1930s garb, along with choreographer Luciano Cannito and designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, arrived dancing down the mythical marble steps to the delight of children and adults alike.

Cannito’s Amarcord was created in 1995 for Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and was subsequently presented at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and the Metropolitan in New York. In 2012 it was revised by the choreographer for an Italian tour with the company Danzitalia which he runs with dance producer Daniele Cipriani.… [continue reading]

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Hallberg and Zakharova: a sublime couple in Nureyev’s Swan Lake in Milan

April 18, 2014, 8:48 am
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David Hallberg Swan Lake La Scala 500x375 Hallberg and Zakharova: a sublime couple in Nureyevs Swan Lake in Milan

David Hallberg’s dreaming prince in Swan Lake at La Scala

David Hallberg’s reception at La Scala was rapturous. He is making his house début in Milan as well as tackling Rudolf Nureyev’s tricky choreography for Swan Lake for the first time. Loud cries of ‘bravo’ greeted the end of his first act solo, and the applause for him, and his partner Svetlana Zakharova, was ecstatic throughout the evening, with a standing ovation at the final curtain.

Hallberg proved himself an excellent actor, imbuing Nureyev’s bewildered Prince with pathos. The melancholic Siegfried is found dreaming on his throne as the curtain rises and, in this Freudian approach to the story, he continually finds refuge in his imagination as he tries to escape the responsibilities of manhood that his mother and his tutor — who in his mind becomes Rothbart — try to thrust upon him.… [continue reading]

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Carla Fracci’s autobiography: Step After Step

April 22, 2014, 6:03 am
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Carla Fracci Passo dopo passo 319x500 Carla Fraccis autobiography: Step After StepBased on a long series of conversations with Enrico Rotelli, Passo dopo passo (Step After Step) is Carla Fracci telling her story in her own words. From a simple childhood during the war to the triumphs with the American Ballet Theatre and beyond: it is a fascinating journey.

Rotelli has divided the autobiography into short chapters — Rudy, London Festival Ballet, Swanhilda — which gives the book a fast pace. For those who have followed the career of La Fracci in other books or interviews, some of this material will be familiar: daughter of a tram driver, marriage to Visconti’s assistant, birth of her son Francesco, Nureyev… but here there are lots of new nuggets to be found.

Before I go any further, I should come clean as I am mentioned in the book, and had a minor role in its creation, but when there is a conflict of interest and I don’t like a performance, a cd, a production, or a video, I choose not to write about it… after all, friends are friends.… [continue reading]

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Carlos Acosta brings a touch of Cuba to the Royal Opera stage

April 24, 2014, 6:17 am
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Carlos Acosta 500x450 Carlos Acosta brings a touch of Cuba to the Royal Opera stageRoyal Ballet Principal Carlos Acosta will bring Cubanía, a programme of Cuban dance inspired by his homeland, to the Royal Opera House in July. The mixed programme contains world premieres and award-winning contemporary dance which will be accompanied by a live onstage Cuban house band. Cubanía is devised by Acosta and he will perform during the evening.

Uniting dancers and choreographers from The Royal Ballet, Rambert, Cuban National Ballet and Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Acosta will dance in a new piece by Cuban choreographer Miguel Altunaga, and will also partner Royal Ballet principal Zenaida Yanowsky in Edwaard Liang’s poignant duet Sight Unseen.

The programme includes Tocororo Suite, a semi-autobiographical piece set in the streets of Havana choreographed by Acosta; Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, the Cuban national contemporary dance company; and two world premières by Cuban choreographers.… [continue reading]

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Evan McKie leaves Stuttgart for his hometown and joins The National Ballet of Canada

April 26, 2014, 1:31 am
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Evan McKie Paquita 500x331 Evan McKie leaves Stuttgart for his hometown and joins The National Ballet of CanadaCanadian Evan McKie returns to his roots after thirteen years with the Stuttgart Ballet and joins The National Ballet of Canada as Principal Dancer. McKie trained at Canada’s National Ballet School, then the Kirov Academy of Ballet and finally the John Cranko School. He joined the Stuttgart Ballet in 2001 and he has been a Principal Dancer there for the past five years.

McKie has been Principal Guest Artist with The National Ballet for the past two seasons.

Karen Kain, Canadian Ballet’s Artistic Director, said,

One of the finest dancers of his generation, Evan McKie is acclaimed internationally for his artistry and dramatic sensibility. His recent guest appearances have thrilled Toronto audiences and I am so pleased to welcome him to the company as a Principal Dancer.… [continue reading]

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From Lombardy to London: interview with the Royal Ballet’s Valentino Zucchetti

April 28, 2014, 1:37 am
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Valentino Zucchetti by Andre Uspensky 392x500 From Lombardy to London: interview with the Royal Ballets Valentino Zucchetti

Valentino Zucchetti by Andre Uspensky

Italian dancer Valentino Zucchetti is one of a large number of Italian dancers who go abroad to find work and realise their dreams.

Italy has few ballet companies, and La Scala is the only one with an international profile, the others — Rome, Palermo, San Carlo — have few permanent dancers, drafting in extras to do repertoire pieces. Italian dancers are virtually forced to leave home and find fortune elsewhere:  Federico Bonelli at The Royal Ballet, Ambra Vallo at Birmingham Royal Ballet, Vito Mazzeo at San Francisco and now with the Dutch National Ballet, Eleonora Abbagnato and Alessio Carbone in Paris, Silvia Azzoni in Hamburg, Claudio Cangialosi in Dresden, and then there’s Mara Galeazzi, Alen Bottaini and many others who have now left the stage.… [continue reading]

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Ukrainian ballerinas perform anti-Putin Swan Lake in front of tanks

May 3, 2014, 1:29 am
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Ukrainian ballerinas perform anti Putin Swan Lake in front of tanksIn Odessa four brave cygnets danced to Tchaikovsky’s music in front of military tanks.

The Ukrainian ballerinas were outside Odessa’s military history museum, and, reports The Moscow Times, “was a nod to a Soviet-era tradition” when “state-run television traditionally aired classical music during periods of great change in the Soviet Union.”

Oleksiy Honcharenko, who presents the event on the YouTube clip, said,

For millions of Soviet people, a televised performance of  Swan Lake signaled a change in the country’s leadership — either the death of the Secretary-General, or his ouster as a result of a coup.

Because Vladimir Putin has made a fatal mistake by unleashing aggression against Ukraine, today Odessa, as a cultural capital, performs for him this portentous work.… [continue reading]

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Help Kickstart Cystal Ballet’s new collaboration with the New English Ballet Theatre

May 4, 2014, 3:44 am
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DSC 4263 copy 333x500 Help Kickstart Cystal Ballets new collaboration with the New English Ballet Theatre

Crystal Ballet by David West

Crystal Ballet, who brought you the specially choreographed and filmed ballet pieces for digital release only, are aiming towards their second project.

It is their first commission as a production company and they will be working closely with the New English Ballet Theatre, a new London-based ballet company, shooting their rehearsal period and interviews with the choreographers before the opening at the beginning of July at London’s Peacock Theatre.

After NEBT’s successful début season in 2012, it will return with a mixed bill programme: Tryst – devotion and betrayal, with new works from some of the UK’s top choreographic talents.

The evening will open with Orbital Motion, by The Royal Ballet’s Valentino Zucchetti, set to music by Philip Glass; there will be a brand new work from The Royal Ballet’s Kristen McNally; and a piece by former Dutch National Ballet dancer Daniela Cardim Fonteyne’s Tangents, which uses music from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. … [continue reading]

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Osipova and Vasiliev re-united in London, Moscow & Orange County: Solo For Two

May 7, 2014, 4:37 am
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Natalia Osipova and Vladimir photo by Sergei Bermeniev 305x500 Osipova and Vasiliev re united in London, Moscow & Orange County: Solo For Two

Natalia Osipova and Vladimir photo by Sergei Bermeniev

Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev are re-united in Solo For Two this summer at the London Coliseum.

They will dance three diverse pieces including two world premières commissioned by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and Ardani Artists.

The opening piece is yet to be confirmed; it will be followed by Passo by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, danced to the British electronic music duo Autechre and English traditional folk music. The last piece is a new work by Arthur Pita called Facada, with music by Frank Moon, Phil King and traditional Portuguese fado.

Ohad Naharin is being hailed as one of the world’s preeminent and most compelling contemporary choreographers.… [continue reading]

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La Scala Ballet School shows off its new talent

May 9, 2014, 3:53 am
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Serenade photo by Lidia Crisafulli 500x333 La Scala Ballet School shows off its new talent

Serenade — photo by Lidia Crisafulli

The La Scala Theatre Ballet School’s ‘end-of-year’ show opened last night, the first of a week’s run at Milan’s Teatro Strehler.

The packed theatre had a good number of proud mums and dads, grandparents, and wide-eyed little brothers and sisters, as all good dance exhibitions should have, but as this is La Scala there were a good number of theatre professionals, critics, and well-known dancers too.

The school’s director, Frédéric Olivieri, has mounted a mini–Études to show off his students, called Presentazione. During this ‘antipasto’ all 208 students are indeed presented, after which most of them disappear as this series of evenings is designed to showcase the older and, above all, graduating students.… [continue reading]

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New on YouTube: Bournonville’s Napoli Divertissements with the Paris Opera Ballet, 1985

May 13, 2014, 9:28 am
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New on YouTube: Bournonvilles Napoli Divertissements with the Paris Opera Ballet, 1985 After having seen the La Scala Ballet School’s ‘end of year’ performance of the Bournonville’s Napoli Divertissements, I went digging around to find other versions to watch, and found that on YouTube there are surprising few clips. One is of the Ballet Rambert’s end of year show.

Digging around in the old VHS tapes that are (very) slowly getting transferred to digital formats, there was a bad quality black and white video from 1985. Bad quality video, but high quality dancing.

It is in black and white as it was copied from a French tape, back in the days when France used a different system to everywhere else in the Europe. It is of the Paris Opera Ballet performing in quite a small theatre (can anyone identify it?) in 1985.… [continue reading]

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English National Ballet dance in front of massive WW1 paintings

May 14, 2014, 7:59 am
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English National Ballets Anton Lukovkin dances in front of a painting by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope at the National Portrait Gallery London 700x465 English National Ballet dance in front of massive WW1 paintings

English National Ballet’s Anton Lukovkin dances in front of ‘Naval Officers of World War I’ by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope at the National Portrait Gallery, London — photo by
Jorge Herrera

English National Ballet will present a First World War themed world première at the National Portrait Gallery this Friday 16 May for one night only as part of Museums at Night and the Gallery’s Late Shift programme.

The site-specific dance performance is inspired by David Jones’s seminal First World War poem In Parenthesis and is choreographed by English National Ballet Associate Artist George Williamson, with the National Portrait Gallery’s massive full-length group portraits of First World War officers as a dramatic backdrop. The work which will make use of several gallery spaces evokes the poet’s experience of life on the front during the First World War.… [continue reading]

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Nudity + Dance = What exactly? The critics on Olivier Dubois’ Tragédie

May 14, 2014, 11:24 am
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5 Tragédie Olivier Dubois photo François Stemmer 500x318 Nudity + Dance = What exactly? The critics on Olivier Dubois Tragédie

‘Tragédie’ Olivier Dubois — photo François Stemmer

French choreographer Olivier Dubois’ dance work Tragédie has been creating quite a stir. All major papers attended, and there was quite a lot of commotion from publications not usually known for their interest in contemporary dance. Well it was because the dancers were, as my Grandmother would have said, in the nuddy. Always grabs the headlines. Even got me writing this.

As Graham Watts commented in his Dance Tabs review,

That nudity sells seats was yet again proven by the crowded throng at Sadler’s Wells. Never before can I remember seeing a queue for the gents with a longer line than that for the ladies as there was at the end of this show.… [continue reading]

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