A book edited by Paola Calvetti and an exhibition curated by Paola Calvetti and Livia Corbò and designed by Margherita Palli at La Scala’s Museum – the dancers of La Scala observed though the lens of Gérard Uféras.
From 2017 to 2023, the photographer Gérard Uféras, who had already published books on the Corps de Ballet of the Paris Opéra and the Bolshoi, regularly returned to La Scala to follow the dancers, maîtres and choreographers in the rehearsal studio, on stage and behind the scenes.
Now, his work is published in a book edited by Paola Calvetti, and with an accompanying exhibition at La Scala, entitled The Hidden Gaze – Dance Behind the Curtain.
The Hidden Gaze – The Book
The volume contains 160 photographs with a section in black and white, mainly dedicated to the rehearsals, and a colour section dedicated to the stage. It contains words by Calvetti, who writes about the photographer and dance, while Valeria Crippa talks about the history and characteristics of the La Scala Company.
Uféras is a silent witness, showing us what the audience does not see. His lens lingers on curious details of a dancer’s life. There is no posing, but he documents the life of La Scala’s dancers today. The book is published on 28 February. Previous photographic records of the company – Luigi Rossi’s book Dance at La Scala 1778 -1970 and the Press Office’s 100-page magazine from 2022 – are both out of print.
The Hidden Gaze – The Exhibition
The book is the basis for the selection of images that forms the heart of the exhibition, which is the first ever that the Teatro alla Scala has produced about its ballet company. The layout, conceived by designer Margherita Palli together with Valentina Dellavia, creates the idea of rehearsal rooms and backstage spaces in the rooms of the Museum.
Alongside the photos are a series of objects and installations underlining the long history of dance at La Scala with Fanny Elssler’s dance slipper, and restored costumes worn by Carla Fracci and Rudolf Nureyev in The Nutcracker. The exhibition rooms feature the Paper Ballerinas – paper sculptures created by Caterina Crepax that retrace the history of the tutu from the nineteenth century to the present day.
The contemporaneity of dance is represented by the video installation Beyond the Veil by choreographer and director Valentina Moar with visual artists Judith Selenko and Peter Venus, composer Bojan Vuletić, and dancer Stefania Ballone and Alberto Terribile. The exhibition is completed by a video edited by Paola Calvetti and Vito Lorusso.
La Scala Theatre Museum – Exhibition “The Hidden Gaze”
Monday to Sunday, from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm (last admission at 5.00 pm)
Tickets
Open: € 15.00 – Full price: € 12.00 – Reduced price: € 8.00
Groups: € 8.00 per person – School groups: € 4.00 per student
Families: €20.00 – valid for two adults + 1 or 2 children up to 5 years old
Junior Family: € 25.00 – valid for two adults + 1 or 2 children between the ages of 6 and 14
Gérard Uféras
Gérard Uféras was born and lives in Paris. From 1984, he began a regular collaboration with the newspaper Liberation, for which he produced numerous reports and portraits and which organized his first exhibition. He participated in the creation of the Vu agency in 1986 and regularly publishes in the French and international press. In addition to photojournalism and his portrait work, he creates advertising campaigns, works in institutional communication, and photographs fashion. Passionate about music and the theatre, he began photographing backstage in 1988.
In 2023 he was made chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et Lettres and in 2024 all of his work entered the collections of the MPP, Media Library of Heritage and Photography which preserves the photographic heritage of France.
The Hidden Gaze – The Book / Photography by Gérard Uféras
The Hidden Gaze – The Exhibition
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 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.
Thanks, thanks, thanks, Love Paola