La Scala ballerina, Antonina Chapkina, in intensive care after hit by tram

Russian ballerina Antonina Chapkina is in a stable condition after having been hit by a tram outside Milan's Central Station.

Apparently distracted – she was wearing headphones connected to her phone – she ignored a red traffic light and walked onto the tramlines, though police are examining closed circuit video to confirm the exact dynamics of the accident.

Chapkina was hit on her right side causing her to fall and hit per head heavily on the edge of the pavement; luckily her body didn't go under the tram. A CAT scan has excluded brain damage though she does have cranial fractures. Her condition, which seemed critical in the first hours after the accident, is now stable and she is conscious, though sedated.

Antonina Chapkina is a beautiful and graceful new addition to the La Scala company, having trained at the Bolshoi and the Mikhailovsky in St Petersburg.

La Scala's Managing and Artistic Director, Alexander Pereira, said,

We are awaiting further updates… what has happened is tragic and we all hoping that she will recover as soon as possible.

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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.