John Neumeier

Interview with The Royal Ballet’s Lauren Cuthbertson – so much passion

2 May 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

On 14 March 2020, The Royal Ballet’s principal dancer Lauren Cuthbertson was dancing Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. A rare honour. She was dancing with former Royal Ballet dancer and Mariinsky principal dancer Xander Parish and cheered on by her mother, her boyfriend and his parents. Two days later, they were returning to London on the Gatwick Express when a message arrived: Royal Ballet classes, rehearsals and performances were suspended with immediate effect because of the spread of the coronavirus.

I’d heard from friends in Europe and America that things were shutting down, so I knew what was coming. So we drove out of London, and now I’m in the countryside with my boyfriend and his parents. I’m lucky to have a garden – if I were in London, it would be a very different story.

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

22 March 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Alessandra Ferri has been interpreting Eleonora Duse in John Neumeier’s ballet Duse, most recently in Venice at the beginning of February. Does she feel she has anything in common with Italy’s most famous 19th-century actress?

Much, starting with my approach to a work, stripping away the façades that for me have no part in an art that is an internal journey. You must know yourself, and grow, and have the courage to be true to yourself. It leaves me vulnerable but, at the same time, strong. Also for me, art was always an anchor for me to cling on to during life’s difficult moments.

I think my approach to interpreting a character has remained the same, from Giselle to MacMillan’s ballets: real acting, without outsized gesturing. Two significant roles for Duse were Juliet and Marguerite Gautier, as they were for me. Another interesting coincidence is that Juliet was also her first important character.

Karen Kain to Retire as Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada

25 October 2019 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Karen Kain will retire as Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada in January 2021 and will be named Artistic Director Emeritus. She has been the company’s Artistic Director since 2005. Toronto Life once said, Under the reign of Karen Kain, The National Ballet of Canada has flowered into one of the most thrilling […]

La Scala Ballet Season 2019 – 2020

20 May 2019 by gramilano Leave a Comment

This morning, Frédéric Olivieri, director of La Scala’s ballet company, announced the theatre’s 2019-2020 season: Sylvia 14 December 2019 – 14 January 2020 Music: Léo Delibes Choreography: Manuel Legris based on Louis Mérante and others Story and libretto: Manuel Legris and Jean-François Vazelle based on Jules Barbier and Jacques de Reinach Sets and costumes: Luisa […]

Interview with Alessandra Ferri: Maturing I find myself smiling more

6 April 2019 by gramilano Leave a Comment

I’m enjoying a new chapter in my life having the fortune to play women of my age and not romantic roles like the Giselles, Carmens, Juliets, Manons… all wonderful, but enough, they’re part of another Alessandra. Now I’m a 55-year-old with the knowledge of how extraordinary that is. Alessandra Ferri, now in Milan for a […]

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

14 August 2018 by gramilano Leave a Comment

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 his DNA. His parents, both former dancers, run a dancing school, Professione Danza, in Parma, the city where Gabriele spent the first […]

Zakharova, Bolle and Manni are excellent Principals in La Dame aux Camélias, but Andrijashenko steals the show at La Scala

5 January 2018 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle have both danced the lead roles in John Neumeier’s La Dame aux Camélias, but never together. La Scala united its two Étoiles for the opening of its ballet season. Usually a new production marks the event, but there is nothing new about Jürgen Rose’s slightly dusty sets, though his costumes […]

National Ballet of Canada brings its stars to Paris in Neumeier’s Nijinsky

23 August 2017 by gramilano 1 Comment

The National Ballet of Canada brings John Neumeier’s ballet Nijinsky to Paris in October. The performances mark the National Ballet’s return to Paris for first the time in 45 years. Nijinsky will run from 3–8 October at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The company’s Artistic Director, Karen Kain, announced the principal casting earlier today. Principal Dancer Guillaume Côté and First Soloists Skylar […]

Nicolas Le Riche appointed head of the Royal Swedish Ballet

3 July 2017 by gramilano 5 Comments

Nicolas Le Riche will direct the Royal Swedish Ballet beginning autumn 2017. He has signed a five-year contract with the Royal Swedish Opera and will arrive in Stockholm mid-August. Birgitta Svendén, CEO of the Royal Swedish Opera, said, I am very proud to present Nicolas Le Riche as the new ballet director for the Royal […]

Bolshoi Ballet in cinema 2017-2018

7 June 2017 by gramilano 1 Comment

The Bolshoi have released their cinema screening programme for the next season. Four are live broadcasts and four have already been transmitted. This is the 5th year that the Bolshoi has been broadcasting to cinemas. The season’s main event is the Russian premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet. His Flames of Paris is also in […]