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Roberto Bolle: dancers need a perfect body, a great face, and passion

ByGramilano Reading Time: 3 minutes

Roberto Bolle in Fashionisto, Fall 2013For the autumn/fall issue of Fashionisto, has been photographed by Brent Chua for a fashion shoot wearing Prada, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana.

Bolle is a Principal with the American Ballet Theatre and an Étoile at La Scala. While slipping out of his Prada jacket and pulling on his Armani trousers, he talked about the differences:

In America, it’s different because there are dancers who come here from all over the world, Cuba, Russia, and from Italy… it’s really an international company with the best dancers in the world. In Italy, it’s very different. Dancers go to school in and they want to join the company where most of the dancers are Italian. It’s a good company but it’s not comparable.

I wonder how soon it is before the La Scala management read that!

Roberto Bolle in Fashionisto, Fall 2013
Roberto Bolle in Fashionisto, Fall 2013

is famously enamoured with fashion, but no ballet dancer has done as many fashion spreads as Roberto Bolle.

It’s quite normal to become involved in fashion when you live in Milan. I remember, at 20, I received invitations to see the fashion shows in Milan. I became a friend of Stefano Gabbana, Donatella Versace, Giorgio Armani and all the major designers.

Ballet is hard #1:

Dancing is hard work but at the end of the day it’s an expression of emotion. It’s the most beautiful thing for a dancer to express the emotion of their character. You feel the emotion and you give it to the public.

Ballet is hard #2:

Ballet life is very difficult and demanding. You have to possess a lot of qualities. Nowadays a ballet dancer has to have a perfect body, great face, movement and the passion to dance.

Certain famous dancers of the (recent) past wouldn’t have even begun their careers had these rules been in place then! Bolle meanwhile will grace the cover of another few magazines in the build-up to his Roberto Bolle and Friends in New York on 17 September.

Roberto Bolle and Friends is at the New York City Center on 17 September 2013.

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Graham Spicer, aka 'Gramilano', is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Italian ballerina Carla Fracci.

Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.

He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.

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