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- dance, opera, photography...

Margot Fonteyn

[Review] A new dance biography: “Dynamo, Michael Somes – A Life in the Royal Ballet”

27 September 2023 by Jann Parry 1 Comment

Dynamo-Michael-Somes-A-Life-in-the-Royal-Ballet-crop-jpg

Jann Parry reviews Sarah Woodcock's lovingly written biography of The Royal Ballet's "almost legendary figure", Michael Somes For Royal Ballet aficionados of a certain age, Michael Somes was an … [Read more...] about [Review] A new dance biography: “Dynamo, Michael Somes – A Life in the Royal Ballet”

Dynamo – Sarah Woodcock’s new biography of The Royal Ballet star Michael Somes

23 September 2023 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Michael Somes, photo by Anthony Crickmay

Michael Somes is the unsung hero of the Royal Ballet - the dynamo driving performances as dancer and partner to Margot Fonteyn and as overseer of performances in the company's greatest years. Somes … [Read more...] about Dynamo – Sarah Woodcock’s new biography of The Royal Ballet star Michael Somes

The Fonteyn 2023 – RAD’s The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition

25 July 2023 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

The Fonteyn

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) will mount The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition (The Fonteyn) from 22-29 October 2023 in London – it will be the first in-person The Fonteyn competition … [Read more...] about The Fonteyn 2023 – RAD’s The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition

[Interview] The authentic and passionate Laura Morera – a career without limits

29 April 2023 by Paul Arrowsmith 3 Comments

Laura Morera in Song of the Earth. Photo by Tristram Kenton, ROH, 2015

After 27 years with The Royal Ballet, Laura Morera's final performance at the Royal Opera House is on 17 June in Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia Act III. She dances on the company’s visit to … [Read more...] about [Interview] The authentic and passionate Laura Morera – a career without limits

Tributes to the great ballerina Lynn Seymour who has died at 83

9 March 2023 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Lynn Seymour as Juliet, 1965 crop

8 March 1939 – 7 March 2023 Lynn Seymour died on 7 March 2023 at the age of 83. The Royal Ballet announced: “The Royal Ballet is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Lynn Seymour on 7 March on … [Read more...] about Tributes to the great ballerina Lynn Seymour who has died at 83

[Review] Awakening the Beauty. Two Royal Ballet Auroras: Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Mayara Magri

27 January 2023 by Jonathan Gray 3 Comments

Mayara Magri in The Sleeping Beauty, photo by Andrej Uspenski-03

Guest author Jonathan Gray sees two Sleeping Beauty casts at The Royal Opera House, London TitleThe Sleeping BeautyCompanyThe Royal BalletVenueThe Royal Opera House, LondonDate17 and 19 January … [Read more...] about [Review] Awakening the Beauty. Two Royal Ballet Auroras: Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Mayara Magri

[Review] Thick & Tight presents “Tits and Teeth – a retrospective of a dazzling career”

26 January 2023 by Matthew Paluch Leave a Comment

Eleanor Perry & Daniel Hay-Gordon in Queen Have & Miss Haven't, photo by Rosie Powell-01

Matthew Paluch sees Thick & Tight's "Tits and Teeth – a retrospective of a dazzling career" TitleTits and Teeth – a retrospective of a dazzling careerCompanyThick & TightVenueShoreditch Town … [Read more...] about [Review] Thick & Tight presents “Tits and Teeth – a retrospective of a dazzling career”

[Review] Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker at La Scala – lacking fizz

26 December 2022 by Gramilano 6 Comments

23 - Nutcracker - ch Rudolf Nureyev with Agnese Di Clemente. Photo by Brescia e Amisano, Teatro alla Scala

The return to La Scala of Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker after 16 years gives back a well-loved production after the theatre flirted with versions by Duato and Balanchine, and it marks another step in … [Read more...] about [Review] Rudolf Nureyev’s Nutcracker at La Scala – lacking fizz

The Royal Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty returns – also in cinemas

15 December 2022 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Yasmine Nagdhi and Matthew Ball in The Sleeping Beauty, photo by Bill Cooper, The Royal Ballet 2017 ROH

This season, The Royal Ballet’s production of The Sleeping Beauty returns to the Royal Opera House, from Monday 16 January until Tuesday 6 June 2023. The ballet was first presented at Covent Garden … [Read more...] about The Royal Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty returns – also in cinemas

Dame Beryl Grey: an obituary by Mary Clarke

12 December 2022 by Gramilano 6 Comments

Beryl Grey as the Lilac Fairy as photographed by Gordon Anthony for the 1946-1947 season brochure of Sadler's Wells Ballet at The Royal Opera House

Beryl Grey, who has died at the age of 95, was a ballerina, director, administrator, and patron of many dance organisations, who had a distinguished international career but was quintessentially a … [Read more...] about Dame Beryl Grey: an obituary by Mary Clarke

Fracci Gala: La Scala celebrates Carla Fracci

13 April 2022 by Gramilano 2 Comments

GALA FRACCI - Giselle - photo by Brescia e Amisano © Teatro alla Scala

How to celebrate a great dancer on stage? How to evoke memories of their artistry without creating a parody of their talent? Certainly, with Carla Fracci and the American Ballet Theatre video of … [Read more...] about Fracci Gala: La Scala celebrates Carla Fracci

Anna Rose O’Sullivan answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

14 February 2022 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Anna Rose O'Sullivan as Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty - photo by Helen Maybanks ROH 2019-crop

When did you start dancing? I started dancing around the age of 4 and I instantly fell in love with ballet. As a young child I would put performances on for my family using the fireplace hearth as … [Read more...] about Anna Rose O’Sullivan answers the Gramilano Questionnaire… Dancers’ Edition

Royal Opera House: new ballet and opera streams

20 December 2021 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Zenaida Yanowsky as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as Armand in Marguerite and Armand. © ROH, 2017. Photographed by Tristram Kenton.

Wayne McGregor’s The Dante Project is available from the Royal Opera House’s streaming service from Monday 20 December at 19.30 GMT (20.30 CET). The Guardian said: For his new ballet, Wayne … [Read more...] about Royal Opera House: new ballet and opera streams

Violetta Elvin, Royal Ballet prima ballerina, dies at 97

1 June 2021 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Violetta Elvin in 1953

The great Russian dancer, Violetta Elvin, dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet Company and prima ballerina of The Royal Ballet, died on 27 May at the age of 97. Elvin had lived in Vico Equense in the … [Read more...] about Violetta Elvin, Royal Ballet prima ballerina, dies at 97

Remembering Carla: ballet legend Carla Fracci dies at 84

27 May 2021 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Carla Fracci 1964 Giselle photo Erio Piccagliani crop

This is the obituary I never wanted to write, and I certainly didn’t think I’d be writing it in 2021: Carla Fracci has died at 84, someone I imagined being exceptionally spritely well into her 90s. … [Read more...] about Remembering Carla: ballet legend Carla Fracci dies at 84

‘Marguerite and Armand’ and ‘Cendrillon’ in streaming from Royal Opera House

14 January 2021 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Zenaida Yanowsky as Marguerite and Roberto Bolle as Armand in Marguerite and Armand. © ROH, 2017. Photographed by Tristram Kenton. (2)

The Royal Opera House continues its #OurHouseToYourHouse programming, which features online broadcasts, musical masterclasses, and cultural highlights that can be accessed around the … [Read more...] about ‘Marguerite and Armand’ and ‘Cendrillon’ in streaming from Royal Opera House

The Royal Academy of Dance uncovers unseen footage of Margot Fonteyn

2 December 2020 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Dame Margot Fonteyn at the RAD

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) has revealed that it has discovered footage of its former President, Dame Margot Fonteyn, never seen before and which will be available to view as part of a … [Read more...] about The Royal Academy of Dance uncovers unseen footage of Margot Fonteyn

Dancing Times, the world’s oldest dance magazine, celebrates 110 years

1 October 2020 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Dancing-Times-logo-1

1910 saw George V ascend to the throne, the trial and execution of Dr Crippen, the publication of E M Forster’s Howard’s End and the birth of Alice Marks, later Alicia Markova, the country’s first … [Read more...] about Dancing Times, the world’s oldest dance magazine, celebrates 110 years

Bolshoi dancer, a descendant of the Tsar’s ballerina lover, to dance in Rome

16 January 2020 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Eleonora Sevenard in Coppelia photo Mikhail Logvinov

Eleonora Sevenard, the young promising new Bolshoi soloist (she danced both Phrygia and Kitri at Covent Garden during the company's latest tour) will be dancing with her boyfriend, Bolshoi principal … [Read more...] about Bolshoi dancer, a descendant of the Tsar’s ballerina lover, to dance in Rome

David Hallberg becomes Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet in the 2019/2020 Season

3 October 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

David Hallberg as Albrecht and Natalia Osipova as Giselle in Giselle, The Royal Ballet © ROH, 2018. Photographed by Bill Cooper 2

David Hallberg will become a Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet in the 2019/2020 Season. Hallberg has a long association partnering Royal Ballet Principal dancer Natalia Osipova. During … [Read more...] about David Hallberg becomes Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet in the 2019/2020 Season

Photos and full programme of Margot Fonteyn, A Celebration with The Royal Ballet

9 June 2019 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Darcey Bussell, Gary Avis in Fascade, photo Andrej Uspenski ROH

Last night, 8 June 2019, The Royal Ballet celebrated the centenary of the birth of its most famous ballerina, Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was born on 18 May 1919. A performance of The Firebird, … [Read more...] about Photos and full programme of Margot Fonteyn, A Celebration with The Royal Ballet

A blue plaque for Dame Margot Fonteyn

30 May 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Margot Fonteyn's blue plaque at e Elm Grove, Ealing

Peggy Hookham, later to be known as Margot Fonteyn, was born near Reigate station, moved to Waldeck Road in Ealing when she was two, and soon after that her family moved to the other side of the … [Read more...] about A blue plaque for Dame Margot Fonteyn

Dancing Times, May edition – including Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column reviewing world premieres of Winterreise and Carmen

26 April 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Dancing Times May 2019 Danza in Italia crop

Dancing Times’ May issue is out now, with a glorious cover featuring Margot Fonteyn – the only dancer to be given the title prima ballerina assoluta by The Royal Ballet – who was born 100 years ago on … [Read more...] about Dancing Times, May edition – including Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column reviewing world premieres of Winterreise and Carmen

Four Auroras – Fonteyn, Sibley, Jenner and Park with The Royal Ballet in 1972

22 April 2019 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Fonteyn 1946 47 Season Presentation Brochure crop

Philip Hope-Wallace was the music, theatre and dance critic for The Guardian from 1959 until he died, twenty years later. The obituarist in The Times called him "a critic of the arts as wise and … [Read more...] about Four Auroras – Fonteyn, Sibley, Jenner and Park with The Royal Ballet in 1972

Interview with Alessandra Ferri: Maturing I find myself smiling more

6 April 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Alessandra Ferri Io Donna

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 … [Read more...] about Interview with Alessandra Ferri: Maturing I find myself smiling more

The world’s ballet Étoiles army arrives in Rome, conquering with its art

7 January 2019 by Gramilano 3 Comments

La Bayadère by Alexei Ratmansky withPolina Semionova, photo by Yan Revazov, Staatsballett Berlin

It’s become an annual event in Rome – after the Christmas holidays and the last bite of panettone, comes the Daniele Cipriani Entertainment dance gala with some of the best and biggest names in ballet … [Read more...] about The world’s ballet Étoiles army arrives in Rome, conquering with its art

Two beautiful volumes from Amici della Scala: 80 years of costumes at La Scala and the designer Coltellacci

1 October 2018 by Gramilano 2 Comments

La sonnambula, Tosi e Callas, 1957 Foto Piccagliani

Vittoria Crespi Morbio, the writer of an exceptional collection of books produced by the Amici della Scala, has written monographs on important artists who have collaborated with Teatro alla Scala – … [Read more...] about Two beautiful volumes from Amici della Scala: 80 years of costumes at La Scala and the designer Coltellacci

Preview: Nureyev the film is a glorious celebration of an exceptional life

12 September 2018 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Nureyev the film 7

Nureyev is an important new documentary about Rudolf Nureyev’s extraordinary life which will be shown in cinemas around the UK from 25 September. BAFTA nominated directors Jacqui and David Morris … [Read more...] about Preview: Nureyev the film is a glorious celebration of an exceptional life

Exciting celebration of Rudolf Nureyev’s life with world ballet stars at Spoleto, tonight 28 July

28 July 2018 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Xander Parish As Armand, Photo By N Razina 01

2018 marks 80 years since Rudolf Nureyev was born and 25 since he died. La Scala in Milan have marked the occasion with a series of Gala celebrations and performances of his Don Quixote, Manuel Legris … [Read more...] about Exciting celebration of Rudolf Nureyev’s life with world ballet stars at Spoleto, tonight 28 July

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

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GRAMILANO

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan, aka ‘Gramilano’. 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. He wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.

Since 2022, Gramilano is pleased to welcome guest authors: Alisa Alekseeva, Paul Arrowsmith, Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel, Jonathan Gray, Marina Harss, Matthew Paluch, Jann Parry, Graham Watts, and Deborah Weiss.

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