(A few) International Dance Day events – 29 April 2026
Today (some of) the world celebrates International Dance Day – Wednesday 29 April 2026 – and many initiatives have arrived in gramilano’s inbox over the last few days. Here is a selection.
Siamo Danza gala
On Italian television, Rai1 this evening, there is a gala programme curated by former Paris Opera Ballet étoile and current director of Rome Opera Ballet, Eleonora Abbagnato, and staged in her home town, Palermo.
I’ve been told that with some fairly simple VPN tricks, the programme can be followed live tonight and for the following week from outside Italy.
Siamo Danza presents classical and contemporary works with a central idea that “dance is not just something you do, but something you are”.
There are performances by last year’s Dancing with the Stars winner, Nikita Perotti, and the well-known television dancer Samuel Peron. Principal dancers Alice Mariani from La Scala, Salvatore Manzo from Teatro San Carlo Theatre in Naples, Michele Satriano from Rome Opera Ballet, together with the company’s corps de ballet, represent the three main Italian ballet companies. The smaller company based in Palermo’s Teatro Massimo is represented by Alessandro Casà and Martina Pasinotti. Italian choreographers and dancers Sasha Riva and Simone Repele will present one of their pieces.
International guests include Gareth Haw (English National Ballet), Paul Marque (Paris Opera Ballet), Madeline Woo (San Francisco Ballet), Giorgi Potskhishvili (Dutch National Ballet), Friedemann Vogel (Stuttgart Ballet), Andrea Sarri (Paris Opera Ballet), and others.
Eleonora Abbagnato will dance the flying kiss pas de deux from Angelin Preljocaj‘s Le Parc and works by Roland Petit, Giuliano Peparini, and Benjamin Pech.
The Rose International Dance Prize
The Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London chose today to announce the nominees for its Rose International Dance Prize. The second edition of the biennial award will take place in January and February 2027, with all the nominated works receiving public performances in London venues. Winners for both prizes will be announced at a ceremony on 6 February 2027 at Sadler’s Wells Theatre after the final performance has concluded.
The biennial prize is for new dance creations in any style, with emphasis on choreography, distinctive style and performance quality. There are two categories: the Rose Prize, for productions of a minimum duration of 55 minutes that can be presented at mid-to large-scale venues; and the Bloom Prize, for a production between 30-50 minutes and for choreographers with a maximum 10 years of experience. The winner of the Rose Prize will be awarded £40,000, with £15,000 awarded to the winner of the Bloom Prize.
The four works nominated for the Rose Prize are:
13 & 14 by TAO Dance Theater/Tao Ye (China)
Lived Fiction by Stopgap Dance Company (UK)
umuko by Dorothée Munyaneza/Cie Kadidi (Rwanda/UK/France
Delay the Sadness by S-E-D/Sharon Eyal (France)
The three works nominated for the Bloom Prize are:
IT’S THE END OF THE AMUSEMENT PHASE by Chara Kotsali (Greece)
Islands by Wang Yeu-Kwn & Shimmering Production (Taiwan)
Repertório N.3 by Davi Pontes & Wallace Ferreira (Brazil)
Let’s Dance International Frontiers
The Let’s Dance International Frontiers 2026 kicks off today, and Leicester’s dance festival will continue until 9 May 2026 at Curve Leicester and other city venues. LDIF celebrates dance, cultural diversity, and artistic innovation through live performances, masterclasses, workshops, and film, and was founded 16 years ago by its Artistic Director, Pawlet Brookes MBE, who is also the CEO of the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage.
A highlight is the 1 May premiere of I See You, You See Me by Leicester-born choreographer and dancer Dak Mashava, who is currently performing in Cabaret in London’s West End – he has just become Associate Artist at Curve Leicester:
The piece that I’m presenting is a duet that navigates the nuances and complexities of a queer relationship. I feel that there are still a lot of untold stories, especially through the medium of dance, that share the black and queer experience…
Happy 90th Birthday, Zubin Mehta
International Dance Day is celebrated on the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, who was born on 29 April 1727 and is considered the creator of what became known as ‘ballet’ in the 19th century.
The conductor Zubin Mehta was born on the same day in 1936, and today celebrates his 90th birthday, conducting Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Florence, where he was principal conductor at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino from 1985 until 2017. Mehta chose Beethoven’s Ninth to celebrate his birthday because “Friedrich Schiller’s text of the famous Ode to Joy says everything, it speaks of peace and brotherhood, which is what the whole world hopes for at this moment. And I believe this text – music can be a tool of brotherhood.”
Buon compleanno to both maestri!
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.
I managed to see the gala. Thank you.