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 had tried to save when she returned en pointe for the last time eighteen months ago, will close, announced director Francesco Bianchi. Of the last remaining 17 dancers, 5 are near pensionable age and, says Bianchi, “Twelve dancers don't constitute a corps de ballet”. He added,
It is a painful decision. I have a king-size bed but only a quilt for a single. If we hadn't made this decision, we would have found ourselves once again in the same state as 2013.
In 2013 the whole of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino risked closure. Now, closing the ballet company, he hopes to save the orchestra and chorus.
Addio to another Italian dance troupe.
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.
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