dance

A look at the English National Ballet School’s Summer Performance 2020

12 July 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Courageously, the English National Ballet School has worked with its students to produce new works – marvellously put together with some impressive editing by BalletBoyz and Manilla Productions – to create an end of year show, showcase, and celebration. The resulting film is given a bonus lift by Alessandra Ferri wishing the students good luck for their futures and adding some positive words that they can carry with them – indeed, that we can all carry – in this odd time.

Each of the three years of the school(16 to 19-year-old students) has worked with a different choreographer via Zoom. Then each student has

The Mariinsky Theatre opens its door to opera and ballet performances

11 July 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

After last night’s socially distanced concert by Denis Matsuev at the Mariinsky Theatre – which was streamed live on the theatre’s YouTube channel – the mini-season for the Stars of the White Nights festival will continue today with a concert performance of Samson et Dalila this afternoon, followed by a ballet gala this evening with Ekaterina Kondaurova, Alina Somova, Viktoria Tereshkina, Kimin Kim, Xander Parish, and Vladimir Shklyarov.

The gala will be repeated tomorrow, Sunday 12 July, in the afternoon, followed by

In conversation with Marianela Nuñez

9 July 2020 by gramilano 7 Comments

The Royal Ballet’s Argentinian principal dancer, Marianela Nuñez, is in lockdown in Buenos Aires. She went there to be near her family and partner, because now home, for Nela, is London, which also happens to be home to her beloved company at The Royal Opera House.

We caught up via Skype in June: I was in my office in Milan, and Nela was 11,000 km away, sitting against an orange wall which steadily turned maroon then almost black as the day drew in.

Lockdown in Argentina! How’s that working out?

It’s very strict here. We started lockdown at the same time as England, pretty much – I know you in Italy started earlier. There were only a few cases, but obviously here there are more difficulties compared to Europe, and they were worried that the health system would collapse.

World premiere of The Creatures of Prometheus/The Creatures of Capucci at the Spoleto Festival in Italy

4 July 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Beethoven and haute couture – not the first pairing that comes to mind.

Le Creature di Prometeo/Le creature di Capucci (The Creatures of Prometheus/The Creatures of Capucci) celebrates this surprising coupling. Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the Festival of Two Worlds are co-producers of this semi-staged concert which receives its world premiere at the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto on 28 August 2020 with a preview on 1 August at the Nervi International Festival of Music and Ballet near Genoa.

#OurHouseToYourHouse: tonight’s Royal Opera House’s 2nd live concert and next week’s programme

20 June 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Tonight is the second of the Live from Covent Garden concerts at 7.30pm BST which will be broadcast via the Royal Opera House website from Covent Garden. These are the first live performances at the Royal Opera House since the building closed its doors to the public on 17 March.

Tonight’s concert includes a performance of Albert Schönberg’s reduction of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with tenor David Butt Philip, mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and soloists of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Principal dancer of The Royal Ballet Vadim Muntagirov will perform Frederick Ashton’s Dance of the Blessed Spirits. The solo was initially created in 1978 for Anthony Dowell and is a showcase of balance and poise.

Marquee TV – the Netflix for the arts – now streaming MacMillan’s Mayerling

18 June 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Marquee TV has been called “the new Netflix for the arts” with its global streaming TV service for dance, opera and theatre. It has a pleasing interface and, more importantly, some great content collaborating with The Royal Opera House, English National Ballet, the Royal Shakespeare Company and many others. As part of a collaborative response […]

[Video] Where We Are – top UK dancers are alone/together with a different take on isolation

12 June 2020 by gramilano 1 Comment

There have been many film montages of dancers, musicians and others from the performing arts, celebrating their art in lockdown, reconnecting with their audience and colleagues via solo performances edited together to form a piece. Many have been upbeat, some funny, but a new video adds a mood that feels truthful after three months of lockdown.

Where We Are is a beautifully produced dance piece coming in at just under three minutes. Anguish dominates, and even if the English National Ballet’s Jeffrey Cirio says, “I’m so hopeful,” he only looks it for a split second. The final utterance of “I’m so…” by The Royal Ballet’s Francesca Hayward leaves the cast of five without words as they wander away from the camera, downcast and perplexed.

[Interview] Meet Nikisha Fogo, San Francisco Ballet’s new Principal Dancer

10 June 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Swedish ballerina Nikisha Fogo will soon take up a new position in a new company when she becomes a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet. After seven years with the Vienna State Ballet, passing through the ranks from the corps de ballet to first soloist, director Manuel Legris’ decision to leave the company after ten years (he will take over at La Scala in December 2020) was a stimulus for her to move on.

When the Opera House in Vienna cancelled its performances from the 11 March, Fogo stayed in Vienna, not knowing whether it would be possible to finish the season, not being able to go home to Sweden, or on to San Francisco to find an apartment and settle in

Italy’s first post-lockdown dance event is announced

9 June 2020 by gramilano 1 Comment

After theatres were forced to close their doors three months ago, in Italy there is some tentative nudging to open them creating a chink of hope.

As with the Arena in Verona, Pesaro and other summer Festivals that are putting on concerts or semi-staged presentations, Daniele Cipriani’s dance gala for the Ravenna Festival is a sign that art and artists are still with us.

Royal Opera House announces its first live performances since lockdown

4 June 2020 by gramilano 1 Comment

The Royal Opera House has announced its ‘Live from Covent Garden’ project: a series of three unique performances to be broadcast live via YouTube and Facebook from Covent Garden.

The first concert, on 13 June at 7.30 pm, will be hosted by the BBC’s Anita Rani and the Royal Opera House’s Director of Music, Antonio Pappano. A select group of musicians, artists and performers will be part of the first live concerts since the theatre closed its doors to the public on 17 March.