Alice Bellini, who graduated from The Royal Ballet School last year, has won this year’s People’s Choice Award at the annual Emerging Artists competition held by English National Ballet to promote its new talent. The People’s Choice Award is voted for by audience members so represents how an artist communicates with the public. This is my first season with English National … [Read more...]
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...]
Dance injuries from the ballet dancer’s point of view: top stars share their experiences
To get an insider's view of dance-related injuries, some leading dancers talked to Gramilano about their experiences – how they coped both physically and mentally – and gave advice to help keep a dancer injury-free. Principal dancers from the world’s top companies took time out to share some unpleasant memories in the hope that their misfortunes may serve as … [Read more...]
How to stage a ballet… Maina Gielgud explains
The indefatigable Maina Gielgud is a freelance stager, guest teacher and coach. In 1983, two years after leaving her successful and varied career as a dancer, she became Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet, where she stayed for a remarkable fourteen years. It was the beginning of a long second career in company administration and teaching. She later became Artistic … [Read more...]
Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya dies at 89
Maya Plisetskaya died of a heart attack today in Munich. She was 89. The director of the Bolshoi Ballet, Vladimir Urin, said, She died of a severe heart attack. The doctors tried everything, but there was nothing they could do. Mikhail Shvydkoi, former Russian Minister of Culture, said, I always thought that Plisetskaya would live forever. We were preparing to celebrate her … [Read more...]