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All the stars, the étoiles, have gone on dancing past pensionable age. Roughly speaking, that's 45 for a dancer. For most people this is about the right age, but it changes for those who have charisma. Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Ferri, Savignano, Fracci: they all went on dancing because they had that something extra that makes our profession become an art and not just an athletic activity. That ability to be able to stimulate emotions that the average dancer doesn't have.
Roberto Bolle hit forty this week, and the interview with Chiara Maffioletti in the Corriere della Sera focused on retiring – or not – and passing on the baton.
I will continue to dance as long as I am able to communicate beauty and emotion. It's difficult to say when I will stop but I hope that day will be as far away as possible. Today physical possibilities have changed; the artistic life of a dancer has increased.
It won't be an easy decision to retire and it is not only mine to make. I feel responsable for many people: for the young dancers who see me as an example, and also for those who have believed in me and allowed me to have a role as an ambassador for Italian art and culture.
It's certainly not easy to leave the stage. Dance is a passion that took me over when I was a child and it's my priority every hour of the day, every day. Wanting to remain on stage, with all the emotions that you feel there, is obviously a factor in a decision, but I hope I'll have the awareness and intelligence to know when it's time to say stop.
Certainly, this is an advanced age for a normal dancer, but there are many examples to follow. For me, Baryshnikov working alongside Bob Wilson…
Bolle famously criticised Italian dance icon Carla Fracci when she was director of the Rome Opera Ballet and often danced in its productions.
She is a benchmark for dance. She can dance when she's eighty, fine, but if you are deciding on programming for a company and this all revolves around you, that is wrong. She often chose productions that were based more around her than around the young dancers. It was because of this that I said that she should leave them space.
So will he still be on stage at 50?
Why not? Ten years pass quickly.
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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Oh really, who does this guy think he is! Shouldn’t it be left to others to say that he’s got charisma. He sounds so full of himself:
“… it changes for those who have charisma. Nureyev, Baryshnikov, Ferri, Savignano, Fracci: they all went on dancing because they had that something extra that makes our profession become an art and not just an athletic activity. That ability to be able to stimulate emotions that the average dancer doesn’t have.”
The emotion he gives seems to come from taking his clothes off which gives certain “ballet fans” a thrill. At ABT he looks more like a dancing statue, beautiful to look at but cold to the touch.
Mr. Bolle is in great shape, and he should keep on delighting his audiences!!! If he is “full of himself,” he has a right to be! Can’t argue with the facts. He is a brilliant and sensitive partner as well as an individual performer. I am totally envious–but in a complimentary way.
I think he is capable of dancing even at the age of 40 or more. He is really brilliant. I dont think that heis full of himselt. We must accept the truths he is still brilliant on stage. And when some art is your real passion it is really difficult to leave … i can understand him i think he should keep going on until he could .. and i really think itis too soon for him to leave the stage.and art of dancing still needs him
Having just seen him perform Onegin this week, at 42 years old I saw a far superior dancer to many who are still in their twenties and early thirties. No fatigue or loss of technique was visible anywhere. His superstar status hasn’t lessened at all in his ability and artistry, and no one is going to sit through three acts at the Met Opera just because he does some hot photos in magazines. That’s not why the whole house leapt to a standing ovation when he emerged for his solo curtain call twice. I don’t know how anyone could watch Bolle’s emotion and passion and see a ‘statue’. What must the rest of ABT look like if a principal who is known in dance circles for his passionate performances and incredible agility is considered a statue? Are they all just lumps of rock then?
The fact that he was dancing with Alessandra Ferri is a perfect counterpoint to the notion of retirement. Had she obeyed these restrictions placed on the careers of dancers then I would never have seen her as the sweet, girlish and ultimately tragic Tatiana. It would be a cruel loss to audiences if he were to retire based on an arbitrary age that was set at a time when dancers were leading very different and often unhealthy lives.
Not to mention everything Bolle is doing to popularize and gain funding for ballet all over the world, especially Italy. I’m not sure where the “full of himself” comes from because I’ve never seen anyone else in comments or articles say that about him. It might be a lost-in-translation thing because all he’s saying is the truth that all critics and audiences agree with him about: he’s gotten his status for very good reasons and therefore rules apply differently to him. There’s nothing arrogant in saying that when someone is asking him if he feels pressure to retire. It’s simply the correct answer. Look at his Bolle and friends tours, all of these young dancers are given a part of his limelight to huge audiences. I don’t see anything arrogant in his dedication and pride in his work.