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Sergei Polunin

Sergei Polunin’s Rasputin show in Milan is cancelled

30 December 2022 by Gramilano 6 Comments

Sergei Polunin in Rasputin

After many weeks of indecision, the Teatro Arcimboldi Milan, where Sergei Polunin was due to have danced two performances of his dance work based on the story of Rasputin, has cancelled the … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin’s Rasputin show in Milan is cancelled

Pro-Putin dancer Sergei Polunin’s show to be staged in Milan in January

22 December 2022 by Gramilano 8 Comments

sergei polunin social media post 2022

On 28 and 29 January 2023, the Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan will present Rasputin, a project by and starring Sergei Polunin – the ‘rock star of world dance’ according to the theatre’s … [Read more...] about Pro-Putin dancer Sergei Polunin’s show to be staged in Milan in January

Sergei Polunin now boasts three Putin tattoos

12 August 2022 by Gramilano 5 Comments

Sergei Polunin's tattoos, August 2022

Three days ago on Instagram and two hours ago on VK, the dancer Sergei Polunin posted an image of his torso with the well-known central tattoo of Vladimir Putin, together with two more Putins on his … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin now boasts three Putin tattoos

Extraordinary dancers will dance for Ukraine in Naples and Milan

26 March 2022 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Ballet for Peace

Some of the dance names that have been making headlines recently will dance for Ukraine in two upcoming galas in Italy: Olga Smirnova, Victor Caixeta, Jacopo Tissi, Iana Salenko, Anastasia Matvienko … [Read more...] about Extraordinary dancers will dance for Ukraine in Naples and Milan

Sergei Polunin cancels Milan show. Reason? Injured Achilles.

14 March 2022 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Sergei Polunin in Rasputin

Sergei Polunin’s much-delayed show, Rasputin has been cancelled… again. First scheduled for April 2020 it was moved to July 2020, then October 2020, then June 2021, then February 2022, and finally to … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin cancels Milan show. Reason? Injured Achilles.

Sergei Polunin: 700 years of inferno, purgatory and paradise

5 September 2021 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Sergei Polunin in Paradiso, photo by Silvia Lelli

The Ravenna Festival has commissioned a new dance piece, Dante Metànoia, with choreography for Purgatory by Sergei Polunin, Inferno by Ross Freddie Ray and Paradiso by Jiří Bubeníček. The sole dancer … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin: 700 years of inferno, purgatory and paradise

Sergei Polunin on Liam Scarlett, Russian gays, and getting rid of his Putin tattoo

1 May 2021 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Sergei Polunin, Free - A life in images and words crop

In an interview with The Telegraph’s Louis Wise, Sergei Polunin dodges the hand grenades he launches about comments in the past about homosexuals and women, and his jaw-dropping Vladimir Putin tattoo. … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin on Liam Scarlett, Russian gays, and getting rid of his Putin tattoo

Sergei Polunin on being a father and the coronavirus

2 April 2020 by Gramilano 1 Comment

Sergei Polunin in Rasputin

In mid-January, Sergei Polunin became a father to a son, Mir. What sort of father am I? I follow my instincts. It’s interesting treading the boards of different stages during a lifetime. Having a … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin on being a father and the coronavirus

Danza&Danza Awards 2019 announced

10 January 2020 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Sylvia with Martina Arduino and company, photo Brescia e Amisano Teatro alla Scala

The critics of the Italian magazine Danza&Danza (which also has an edition in English) huddle together at the beginning of each year to decided the ‘best’ of the previous year in Italian dance and … [Read more...] about Danza&Danza Awards 2019 announced

Interview: Who is Jacopo Tissi? The Bolshoi’s enigmatic Italian star talks about Moscow, Milan and London, “It certainly wasn’t easy”

4 October 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Jacopo Tissi in Swan Lake crop

Three years ago, Jacopo Tissi left La Scala to join the Bolshoi Company in Moscow. Makhar Vaziev, the Company’s current director, was previously the director at La Scala and had seen Tissi’s work. It … [Read more...] about Interview: Who is Jacopo Tissi? The Bolshoi’s enigmatic Italian star talks about Moscow, Milan and London, “It certainly wasn’t easy”

Interview with Sergei Polunin – Verona’s new Romeo

24 August 2019 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Sergei Polunin, Romeo and Juliet, Verona 2019

On the eve of the debut of a new Romeo and Juliet at Verona’s Arena with choreography by Johan Kobborg and with Sergei Polunin and Alina Cojocaru in the title roles, Polunin talked with Vogue Italia’s … [Read more...] about Interview with Sergei Polunin – Verona’s new Romeo

Interview with Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru on the eve of their new Romeo and Juliet

13 August 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Johan Kobborg's Romeo and Juliet with Sergei Polunin and Alina Cojocaru, Verona 2019

Johan Kobborg asked David Umenoto to design the sets for his Romeo and Juliet which has its world premiere in Verona’s vast Arena on 26 August. The commission came about after Kobborg had seen an … [Read more...] about Interview with Johan Kobborg and Alina Cojocaru on the eve of their new Romeo and Juliet

Royal Ballet’s Valentino Zucchetti is Mercutio in the Kobborg-Polunin-Cojocaru Romeo and Juliet

8 August 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Valentino Zucchetti in Rhapsody, The Royal Ballet © ROH, Johan Persson 2014

On the 26 August, there will be a single performance only of Johan Kobborg’s new production of Romeo and Juliet with Sergei Polunin and Alina Cojocaru in the title roles. But when the theatre in … [Read more...] about Royal Ballet’s Valentino Zucchetti is Mercutio in the Kobborg-Polunin-Cojocaru Romeo and Juliet

Sergei Polunin on sex change, his new girlfriend, and manning up

16 June 2019 by Gramilano 10 Comments

Romeo and Juliet with Sergei Polunin

In an interview, before several appearances in the Italian peninsula over the next two months, Sergei Polunin said, I deeply believe in love. It’s a universal feeling; everyone wants to love and be … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin on sex change, his new girlfriend, and manning up

London Theatre Direct halts ticket sales for Sergei Polunin’s London performances

22 May 2019 by Gramilano 2 Comments

Sergei Polunin, London Palladium

The ticket sales and distribution company London Theatre Direct has announced that it will stop selling tickets to Sergei Polunin’s London Palladium shows. A press release says, London Theatre … [Read more...] about London Theatre Direct halts ticket sales for Sergei Polunin’s London performances

Rights group asks for Polunin ballet in Verona’s Arena to be cancelled

15 May 2019 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Sergei Polunin's tattoo of Vladimir Putin on his Instagram account, CREDIT INSTAGRAM

A full-page article in today’s Corriere della Sera, a major Italian newspaper, has the headline: Polunin, the bad boy of dance “is homophobic”. After recent Instagram postings which were widely … [Read more...] about Rights group asks for Polunin ballet in Verona’s Arena to be cancelled

Photo album: Osiel Gouneo as Spartacus with the Bayerisches Staatsballett

7 April 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Spartacus with the Bayerisches Staatsballett © Luca Vantusso 2019 1

The Bayerisches Staatsballett is the first Western European company to dance Yuri Grigorovich’s Spartacus, which he created in 1968 for the Bolshoi Ballet. It has become the trademark Soviet ballet. … [Read more...] about Photo album: Osiel Gouneo as Spartacus with the Bayerisches Staatsballett

Dancing Times, February edition – including Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column with La Scala’s new Nutcracker

29 January 2019 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Dancing Times February 2019 crop sm

Cover girl for the February edition of Dancing Times is Ballet Black’s Isabela Coracy, photographed by Angela Zaremba, who is the Dancer of the Month. It was announced recently that Ballet Black will … [Read more...] about Dancing Times, February edition – including Gramilano’s Danza in Italia column with La Scala’s new Nutcracker

Rights for Ralph Fiennes’ Rudolf Nureyev biopic acquired by Sony

27 August 2018 by Gramilano 3 Comments

The White Crow

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired rights to Ralph Fiennes' film The White Crow. The film is based on Julie Kavanaugh's book Rudolf Nureyev: The Life, directed by Fiennes and written by David Hare … [Read more...] about Rights for Ralph Fiennes’ Rudolf Nureyev biopic acquired by Sony

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

Yanowsky’s Back! Making a comeback faster than Frank Sinatra

21 September 2017 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Zenaida Yanowsky as the Red Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland © Johan Persson, ROH 2011

Frank Sinatra famously retired in 1970 only to make a comeback three years later, after which he continued to sing into the '90s. Former Royal Ballet Principal Zenaida Yanowsky is making a faster … [Read more...] about Yanowsky’s Back! Making a comeback faster than Frank Sinatra

Sergei Polunin returns to dance with Natalia Osipova at The Royal Ballet

11 April 2017 by Gramilano 17 Comments

Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin in Marguerite and Armand, photo by Bill Cooper ROH

Former Royal Ballet Principal Sergei Polunin will partner Natalia Osipova in June, when he returns to dance in Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand. Other casting sees another former Royal Ballet … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin returns to dance with Natalia Osipova at The Royal Ballet

In pictures – Ardani Artists’ Tour de Force III at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts

14 October 2016 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

Tour de Force III at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts was subtitled, a Dance Spectacular. In effect, the event brought many exceptional talents together, as is Ardani Artists’ custom, and it was … [Read more...] about In pictures – Ardani Artists’ Tour de Force III at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts

Guillaume Côté’s choreographic gem starring Greta Hodgkinson now available worldwide

2 February 2016 by Gramilano Leave a Comment

National  Ballet of Canada Principal Greta Hodgkinson stars in Guillaume Côté's new choreographic piece Being and Nothingness. It was first performed under the wing of the Company in Toronto in 2013. … [Read more...] about Guillaume Côté’s choreographic gem starring Greta Hodgkinson now available worldwide

Dance photographer Rick Guest… what lies beneath

21 December 2015 by Gramilano 4 Comments

Rick Guest is a photographer who’s highly polished style has led him to work with some of the biggest international brand names – Nike, Ferrari, BMV – yet he fell into photography by chance. I was … [Read more...] about Dance photographer Rick Guest… what lies beneath

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  

Yasmine Naghdi – the birth of a ballerina

29 September 2015 by Gramilano 3 Comments

Yasmine Naghdi was born on 25 March 1992 in London. Everyone I meet says, 'Where are you from?', and I say, 'I’m from London', and they say, 'No, where are you really from?'. Well, she has an exotic … [Read more...] about Yasmine Naghdi – the birth of a ballerina

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

Sergei Polunin replaces David Hallberg in Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty at La Scala

14 September 2015 by Gramilano 6 Comments

Sergei Polunin will replace David Hallberg in the performances of Alexei Ratmasky's The Sleeping Beauty at Milan's Teatro alla Scala. Polunin will partner Svetlana Zakharova for three performances … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin replaces David Hallberg in Ratmansky’s Sleeping Beauty at La Scala

Sergei Polunin “I’m tired of being a rebel… I want to be a role model”

17 June 2015 by Gramilano 8 Comments

Sergei Polunin was in Milan recently to partner Natalia Osipova in Giselle after David Hallberg was forced to withdraw. There was great curiosity and excitement among the La Scala ballet crowd to see … [Read more...] about Sergei Polunin “I’m tired of being a rebel… I want to be a role model”

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GRAHAM SPICER

Writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like. I was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. My scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times. I write the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.

You can find me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or follow my Facebook page.

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