Vienna State Ballet

[Interview] Meet Nikisha Fogo, San Francisco Ballet’s new Principal Dancer

10 June 2020 by gramilano Leave a Comment

Swedish ballerina Nikisha Fogo will soon take up a new position in a new company when she becomes a principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet. After seven years with the Vienna State Ballet, passing through the ranks from the corps de ballet to first soloist, director Manuel Legris’ decision to leave the company after ten years (he will take over at La Scala in December 2020) was a stimulus for her to move on.

When the Opera House in Vienna cancelled its performances from the 11 March, Fogo stayed in Vienna, not knowing whether it would be possible to finish the season, not being able to go home to Sweden, or on to San Francisco to find an apartment and settle in

Manuel Legris to take over as head of La Scala’s ballet company

18 February 2020 by gramilano 5 Comments

The whispering in the corridors of La Scala has come to an end as, finally, it has been confirmed that Manuel Legris will take over from Frédéric Olivieri as Ballet Director. Legris, currently in the same position in Vienna, will assume the role in Milan at the end of this year. He already knows the […]

Dance in Italy – Spoleto Festival’s Dance Gala with Abbagnato, Vogel, Frola, Dato and many more on 30 June

25 June 2019 by gramilano Leave a Comment

There are many, many Italian dancers scattered around companies throughout the world. Some are in the corps de ballet, others are principal dancers, but all continue the tradition that made Italian dancers some of the most famous of all. Even leaving the men aside, we have Pierina Legnani (noted as ‘maybe’ being the first to […]

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 […]

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

28 July 2018 by gramilano Leave a Comment

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 organised a celebration with the Vienna State Ballet, and many more tributes have been staged to doff a hat […]

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

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 every day. Like all Russian companies, the Bolshoi has few dancers from outside the ex-Soviet borders in its ranks. However, Makhar Vaziev, […]

Meeting Davide Dato, the Italian ballet star who’s finally hitting the headlines in his homeland

6 March 2017 by gramilano 2 Comments

Salsa, merengue and mambo… that’s how I started dancing. So says Davide Dato, Principal Dancer at the Vienna State Ballet. Many classical dancers began in their living room imitating Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, but the Caribbean dances for Dato were not just a phase. I started when I was very young, with my sister Greta. Our […]

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 all Russian companies, has almost no dancers from outside the ex-Soviet borders. Tissi arrives via the Makhar Vaziev connection, the ex-director of […]

To Carla Fracci, on your 80th Birthday, from your colleagues and friends

20 August 2016 by gramilano 22 Comments

Today is the 80th birthday of the Italian ballerina, Carla Fracci. She was born in Milan on 20 August 1936. To celebrate we asked fellow ballerinas, as well as actresses and designers she has worked with, for messages and best wishes on a very special day. with thanks to Merrill Ashley – Aurora Benelli – Rebecca Bianchi […]

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

22 September 2015 by gramilano 6 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 has injured his neck, will be replaced with the young Jacopo Tissi who, after graduating from La Scala’s ballet school in June last year, has […]