Dorothée Gilbert and Hugo Marchand (Paris Opera Ballet), Jacopo Tissi and Alena Kovaleva (Bolshoi Ballet), Bakhtiyar Adamzhan (Astana Opera, Kazakhstan), Tatiana Melnik (Hungarian National Ballet), Constantine Allen, Anna Tsygankova, Young Gyu Choi and Rebecca Storani (Dutch National Ballet), Sergio Bernal (Spanish National Ballet) Daniele Cipriani’s galas, Les Étoiles, have … [Read more...] about Photo album: Gala Les Étoiles at Ravenna Festival with international ballet stars
Black Swan
Derek Deane on 20 years of his Swan Lake ‘in the round’
Swan Lake 'in the round' has been performed for 7 seasons at the Royal Albert Hall since its conception in 1997, so this year marks its 20th anniversary. It has also been seen in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide to record breaking attendances for ballet in Australia. In all, Derek Deane’s Swan Lake has been seen by more than 750,000 people. What a thrill it was to … [Read more...] about Derek Deane on 20 years of his Swan Lake ‘in the round’
Svetlana Zakharova: When they cut my costume in half
Svetlana Zakharova knows that a lot of jealousy surrounds her but she's fought for her rightful position in the dance world since she was a child: It was a tough struggle at the Vaganova Academy. I was ten, and several times I just wanted to leave everything to return home to my family. This does not mean that the world of dance is the one portrayed in the movie Black Swan, … [Read more...] about Svetlana Zakharova: When they cut my costume in half
Maria Riccetto answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
Q&A When did you start dancing? When I was 6. Why did you start dancing? My mother thought it would be great for me, and my parents needed to find something for me to do after school. Which dancer inspired you most as a child? I remember watching Cynthia Harvey and Misha's Don Q a LOT!!! Which dancer do you most admire? Alessandra Ferri. Her quality and … [Read more...] about Maria Riccetto answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition
Natalia Osipova and Claudio Coviello début in Nureyev’s Swan Lake
Prince Siegfried sleeps on his throne and in his dream he sees the evil Rothbart carrying off a white swan into the sky. This is how Rudolf Nureyev's version of Swan Lake begins, and ends. The ballet seen as a Freudian nightmare, the young prince who finds escape in his head instead of taking up the reins of power and choosing a bride. Claudio Coviello, who has only just … [Read more...] about Natalia Osipova and Claudio Coviello début in Nureyev’s Swan Lake
Critics round-up: Peter Schaufuss’ Tchaikovsky Trilogy
This promises to be the most fun critics round-up yet. Rarely have reviews been so unanimously foul. Being that there was so little to save, the critics left their stars in the drawer, and polished their metaphors with seeming glee. No amount of special pleading, of aesthetic jiggery-pokery, can excuse Schaufuss’s weird libretto as it plays its fatuous game by way of crass … [Read more...] about Critics round-up: Peter Schaufuss’ Tchaikovsky Trilogy
Roberto Bolle: I conquered America… ABT, Black Swan and solitude
After Roberto Bolle's Romeo and Juliet with the American Ballet Theatre in New York, Italy's gossip magazine Chi sent their editor Alsonso Signorini to interview him, and photographer Fabrizio Cestari to snap the dancer in various iconic Big Apple locations. You are among the few Italians who have made it in America. Was it difficult? It happened naturally. It began in 2007 … [Read more...] about Roberto Bolle: I conquered America… ABT, Black Swan and solitude
An interview with Daniil Simkin
While American Ballet Theatre Dancer Daniil Simkin was in Taipei City in Taiwan for an international ballet gala, the Taipei Times took the opportunity to ask him a few questions: You come from a dance family, but I have heard you had a rather unconventional upbringing, in terms of schooling for a dancer. Daniil Simkin: Yes, both of my parents were dancers and both of … [Read more...] about An interview with Daniil Simkin
Top 10 actors on IMDb in 2011
International Movie Database's Top 10 Stars list this year: Natalie Portman Mila Kunis Johnny Depp Emma Stone Chris Hemsworth Olivia Wilde Jennifer Lawrence George Clooney Ryan Gosling Christian Bale Why Portman? “You can see why,” says IMDb managing editor Keith Simanton. “She won a Best Actress Oscar for Black Swan, was in the news welcoming a son … [Read more...] about Top 10 actors on IMDb in 2011
Ken Russell dies at 84
Ken Russell, the British director of "Women in Love" and "The Devils", has died at the age of 84. In a statement his wife said, It was completely unexpected. He had recently agreed to direct the feature film Alice In Wonderland The Musical and he was working on the script and casting of that." Russell began his directing career with the BBC and went on to make some of the … [Read more...] about Ken Russell dies at 84