Reece Clarke and Myriam Ould-Braham are last-minute guests at La Scala
After a spate of injuries during the run of La Bayadère at La Scala, which ended last week, the company has invited two last-minute guests to complete the casting of the Manon performances that begin on 8 July.
The Royal Ballet principal dancer Reece Clarke will dance with Nicoletta Manni for the opening and again on 10 July for a performance that will be transmitted on Medici.tv. Timofej Andrijashenko, who should have been dancing in these performances, was injured during the penultimate performance of La Bayadère, and had to cancel the final performance of the run where he and Alice Mariani were filling in for another indisposed couple.
That couple was the frequently paired dancers Vittoria Valerio and Claudio Coviello. After Valerio’s injury, it was impossible for the company to find a suitable partner in time for Coviello, but now Myriam Ould-Braham from the Paris Opera Ballet will dance with him in Manon on 13, 16, and 18 July.
Virna Toppi and Marco Agostino will dance as scheduled on 11 and 17 July.
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.
