La Scala dancers Petra Conti and Eris Nezha, a couple on and off-stage, are promoted to first dancers on the Bolshoi stage

Last night, after the final performance of the George Balanchine's ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Teatro alla Scala company at the newly restored Bolshoi Theatre, two of the company's youngest dancers were promoted to primi ballerini (first dancers).

La Scala ballet's director Makhar Vaziev (ex-director of the Mari­in­sky) has been grooming the pair for a while, their first big break being a Giselle two seasons ago. The news is particularly touching as the dancers are a couple offstage as well as being partners frequently in front of an audience.

The photo was taken on stage as the pair took in the news, and Sig.na Conti placed it on her Facebook profile.

In bocca al lupo!

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.