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Amici della Scala celebrates Lila de Nobili with Frigerio, Fracci, Bruson and …
The annual presentation of the latest additions to the series of books produced by the Amici della Scala (Friends of La Scala) is quite an event. It is held in the grand foyer on the first floor of...
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Svetlana Zakharova’s Gala brings the Ukraine to the heart of Russia
Last night, Svetlana Zakharova's Gala Ballet without Borders took place on the Bolshoi stage in Moscow. Ballet stars danced in support of young dancers in war-torn Ukraine. This politically sensitive...
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Casting for Royal Ballet triple bill in March and La fille mal gardée in April
THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS / NEW HOFESH SHECHTER / SONG OF THE EARTHGeorge Balanchine / NEW Hofesh Shechter / Kenneth MacMillan Music: Paul Hindemith / Koen Kessels / Gustav Mahler27, 30 March, 8, 10, 14...
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Carla Fracci’s photo album: opening night at La Scala
One of the most elegant evenings of the Italian cultural calendar wouldn't be complete without one of the Italian artists who symbolises elegance: Carla Fracci.The ballerina, who grew up through the La...
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Zakharova, Nuñez, Lopatin, Soares… starry lineup for Rome Gala
Christmas, New Year and then the Epiphany - the day of the Befana, a sort of female Santa Claus who delivers presents to Italian children for the Twelfth day of Christmas - and Daniele Cipriani...
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Royal Ballet stalwart Derek Rencher dies at 82
Derek Rencher, one of the longest serving members of The Royal Ballet, has died at 82.He joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1953 and was promoted to soloist in 1957 soon after the company was granted...
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Starting over: Pereira’s U-turn at La Scala
The new Sovrintendente at La Scala, Alexander Pereira, has backtracked over his decision to start La Scala performances 5 minutes after the official starting time.The theatre, which has proudly begun...
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Nutcracker-lite at La Scala — très chic Casse-noisette from Geneva
What a disappointment was La Scala's new Nutcracker. A shimmering front-cloth announced "Lo schiaccianoci" as though written in the stars, Tchaikovsky's bewitching overture started and there was that...
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Royal Ballet Onegin casting 2015: débuts for Osipova, Golding and Muntagirov
John Cranko's masterpiece, Onegin, returns to the Royal Opera House at the end of this month. Created for the Stuttgart Ballet in 1965, the Royal Ballet first performed this production in 2001 and...
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Les Étoiles in Rome: Zakharova, Nuñez, Lopatin, Soares…
A good old-fashioned ballet gala: Nutcracker, Don Q, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire… it’s sometimes just what the doctor ordered. Daniele Cipriani’s Les Étoiles injected the audience in Rome with a generous...
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Paul Seaquist, ballet impresario: thinking outside the box
Paul Seaquist is a ballet impresario, which conjures up an image of a Diaghilev figure with a fur-collared coat and silver-topped cane. However, Seaquist is quite different physically: a recent...
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Svetlana Zakharova: When they cut my costume in half
Svetlana Zakharova knows that a lot of jealousy surrounds her but she's fought for her rightful position in the dance world since she was a child:It was a tough struggle at the Vaganova Academy. I was...
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Selfies and Liszt as Milan’s La Scala Museum opens up for Expo 2015
One of the most important music and theatre museums in the world will see its visitors increase exponentially from May of this year. La Scala’s Museum attracts around a quarter of a million visitors a...
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Zakharova’s charity gala money is refused by Kiev school
Culture connects people, and it is a thread which can't be broken by political tensions. When the Malaysia Airlines Boeing was shot down over the Ukraine last year I was on tour with the Bolshoi in New...
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Svetlana Zakharova captured by Vladimir Fridkes’ camera: Still Frame
At Moscow's Multimedia Art Museum an exhibition of photographs by Russian photographer Vladimir Fridkes featuring Svetlana Zakharova has opened and will run until 8 March. The exhibition - called...
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Sergei Polunin’s Take me to Church: pirouettes or politics?
In the week since David LaChapelle’s video with Sergei Polunin went online it has gone viral, even sending this blog offline a couple of times due to the surge in people searching for information about...
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Royal Ballet announces new details about its new Hofesh Shechter ballet
The new ballet by Hofesh Shechter for The Royal Ballet, which can be seen from 27 March until 14 April with Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and MacMillan’s Song of the Earth, still has no title, but...
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Julian Mackay on entering and winning the Prix de Lausanne 2015
Seventeen-year-old Julian Mackay is one of the six winners of this year’s Prix de Lausanne. He is part of the extraordinary Khan-MacKay family which boasts four ballet dancers; something this blog has...
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Another Italian dance company to close
After a series of ‘si’, ‘no’, ‘si’, ‘no’, the decision has been made to axe the corps de ballet in Florence.MaggioDanza, under the umbrella of Il Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, which even Sylvie Guillem...
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@teatroallascala — the world’s most famous theatre goes digital
Social media is revolutionising how theatres and their artists communicate with audiences and fans. Teatro alla Scala, which has an august, though often severe, reputation is, surprisingly, emerging as...
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