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- dance, opera, photography...

Jacopo Tissi

Photo album: Gala Les Étoiles at Ravenna Festival with international ballet stars

26 July 2019 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Diamonds (from Balanchine's Jewels) with Alena Kovaleva and Jacopo Tissi © Graham Spicer, Daniele Cipriani Entertainment 6

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), … [Read more...] about Photo album: Gala Les Étoiles at Ravenna Festival with international ballet stars

Les Étoiles dance gala closes the 2019 Ravenna Festival

15 July 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Hugo Marchand © James Bort

The Ravenna Festival was founded in 1990 by Cristina Mazzavillani Muti, with a rich programme which includes symphonic and chamber music, opera, drama, dance, ballet, musical theatre, jazz, and ethnic … [Read more...] about Les Étoiles dance gala closes the 2019 Ravenna Festival

Danza in Italia column returns in the latest issue of Dancing Times

25 October 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Dancing Times November 2018

The latest issue of Dancing Times magazine, November 2018, is being shipped to newstands as I write. The new Danza in Italia column looks at Rudolf Nureyev's Don Quixote at Teatro alla Scala, with … [Read more...] about Danza in Italia column returns in the latest issue of Dancing Times

Review: Three casts for La Bayadère with the Bolshoi at La Scala

20 September 2018 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Shadows In La Bayadére, Photo By Damir Yusupov, 2008

How secretly gratifying it is when wine experts trip up, rating High Street plonk higher than the Premier cru. Ballet music could benefit from unlabelled listening. Minkus is routinely pooh-poohed, … [Read more...] about Review: Three casts for La Bayadère with the Bolshoi at La Scala

Meet Francesco Gabriele Frola — National Ballet of Canada and English National Ballet’s new Principal Dancer

14 August 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Francesco Gabriele Frola. Photo By Karolina Kuras, 2016 01

Italian ballet dancer Francesco Gabriele Frola has been promoted to Principal Dancer of the National Ballet of Canada and at the same time becomes a Principal at English National Ballet. Dance is in … [Read more...] about Meet Francesco Gabriele Frola — National Ballet of Canada and English National Ballet’s new Principal Dancer

Photo Album and full casting – Bolshoi dancers in Milan

23 July 2018 by Gramilano 5 Comments

Margarita Shrainer As Gamzatti In La Bayadére, Photo By Damir Yusupov, 2018

After an 11-year absence, the Bolshoi Ballet returns to Milan. In 2007, the company came with La Fille du Pharaon and The Bright Stream. From 7 to 13 September they will be at La Scala with La … [Read more...] about Photo Album and full casting – Bolshoi dancers in Milan

Emerging young talent at La Scala excel in Petit, Béjart and Preljocaj

6 May 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Défilé, photo by Marcello Chiappalone

The Ballet School of La Scala’s Academy have just finished a short run of their “end of year” show. For many, it will be their last appearance as students. An effective défilé by the school (and La … [Read more...] about Emerging young talent at La Scala excel in Petit, Béjart and Preljocaj

Bolshoi Ballet’s Italian dancer, Jacopo Tissi, on his first year in Moscow and dancing Diamonds at the Lincoln Center

12 July 2017 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Jacopo Tissi in Le spectre de la rose, photo by Alexander Yakovlev

Last August, young ballet dancer Jacopo Tissi, resigned from the La Scala Ballet to accept the offer a contract with the Bolshoi Company. As I wrote last September, it’s not something that happens … [Read more...] about Bolshoi Ballet’s Italian dancer, Jacopo Tissi, on his first year in Moscow and dancing Diamonds at the Lincoln Center

BALLET2000’s Special New Year Issue… in English, Italian and French Editions

8 February 2017 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Ballet2000, Fracci

BALLET2000’s Special New Year Issue, is on the newsstands now. It looks back on a year in dance with, says editor Alfio Agostini, …the best shows, trendiest dancers, most significant companies and … [Read more...] about BALLET2000’s Special New Year Issue… in English, Italian and French Editions

La Scala dancer Jacopo Tissi joins the Bolshoi

13 September 2016 by Gramilano 14 Comments

Jacopo Tissi, the young Italian dancer who is starting to make waves, has been offered a contract with the Bolshoi Ballet Company. That’s not something that happens every day. The Moscow company, like … [Read more...] about La Scala dancer Jacopo Tissi joins the Bolshoi

BALLET2000 Prix presents Maya Plisetskaya Awards in Cannes

3 August 2016 by Gramilano 2 Comments

The first edition of the Awards handed out by the dance magazine BALLET2000 were in 2004 when Maya Plisetskaya was presented with the main Prix for her career and during which she danced Ave Maya … [Read more...] about BALLET2000 Prix presents Maya Plisetskaya Awards in Cannes

BALLET2000 Prix dedicates Cannes gala to Maya Plisetskaya

24 July 2016 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

In a week's time, the BALLET2000 Prix will host its annual event in Cannes, this year dedicated to the memory of Maya Plisetskaya. When the prize was launched, in 2004, then known as Les Étoiles de … [Read more...] about BALLET2000 Prix dedicates Cannes gala to Maya Plisetskaya

Sarah Lamb makes her début at La Scala with Claudio Coviello in Manon

21 November 2015 by Gramilano 11 Comments

La Scala sometimes lets down its audience by casting a ‘local’ dancer when the star has cancelled. I apologise if I'm upsetting some of the company, but this is often a deluding experience resulting … [Read more...] about Sarah Lamb makes her début at La Scala with Claudio Coviello in Manon

Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty in Milan casts its magic spell  

9 October 2015 by Gramilano 6 Comments

Alexei Ratmansky’s ‘reconstruction’ of The Sleeping Beauty at La Scala made for one of the most interesting and satisfying evenings that I’ve had in the theatre for a long time. It is charming, it is … [Read more...] about Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty in Milan casts its magic spell  

Sergei Polunin injured and will not dance with Zakharova in Sleeping Beauty

22 September 2015 by Gramilano 7 Comments

Sergei Polunin, who was to replace David Hallberg who is injured, is now injured himself and will not dance the three scheduled performances in Alexei Ratmansky's The Sleeping Beauty. Polunin, who … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin injured and will not dance with Zakharova in Sleeping Beauty

More dancers decide to leave Italy… most never come back

25 July 2014 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Italy's Got Talent. Lots of it. Sometimes that talent finds it difficult to emerge - it's not always what you know but who you know - and sometimes there's not enough room for everyone to show what … [Read more...] about More dancers decide to leave Italy… most never come back

Carla Fracci at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School celebrations

29 April 2013 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The La Scala Theatre Ballet School was formed 200 years ago, and its students are celebrating with a week of shows at Milan's Teatro Strehler. At last night's opening performance Carla Fracci, maybe … [Read more...] about Carla Fracci at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School celebrations

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Gramilano newsletter 2019

INTERVIEWS

Piazza della Scala, Milan

Dominique Meyer, CEO of La Scala, on the new streaming service, Russia, and audiences

Lawrence Brownlee, © Shervin Lainez

Interview with tenor Lawrence Brownlee on being a black man in America: Cycles of My Being

Nunez headshot cropped

In conversation with Marianela Nuñez

Interview with Roberto Bolle – I am more confident now, not just as an artist but also as a person

Cecilia Bartoli and the Les Musiciens du Prince of Monte Carlo © 2018 Alain Hanel,OMC

[Interview] Cecilia Bartoli: Baroque music is for the soul

Alessandra Ferri an Eleonora Duse © Kiran West

Alessandra Ferri: The art of becoming a couple is the gamble of a lifetime

Delphine Galou © Giulia Papetti

Interview with contralto Delphine Galou: “making music together with love”

Zubin Mehta, photo Brescia e Amisano

Zubin Mehta reflects on a life in music on the eve of his 85th birthday

G-100x100

GRAMILANO

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 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.

Since 2022, Gramilano has been pleased to welcome guest authors: Paul Arrowsmith, Donatella Bertozzi, Georgina Butler, Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel, Jonathan Gray, Marina Harss, Ann Haskins, Lily Hyde, Marta Mele, Matthew Paluch, Jann Parry, Lucía Piquero, Graham Watts, Deborah Weiss, and Lydia Wharf.

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