La Scala Theatre Ballet
| La Scala Theatre Ballet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Name | La Scala Theatre Ballet |
| Local name |
Corpo di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala |
| Year founded | 1778 (at La Scala) |
| Principal venue |
La Scala Theatre Via Filodrammatici 2 Milan  Italy |
| Website | www.teatroallascala.org/en |
| Senior staff | |
| Chief Executive | Letizia Moratti |
| Director | Makhar Vaziev |
| Coordinator | Marco Berrichillo |
| Artistic staff | |
| Ballet Mistress | Laura Contardi |
| Other | |
| Parent company | La Scala |
| Associated schools | La Scala Theatre Ballet School |
| Formation |
Etoile Guest Artist Principal Soloist Corps de Ballet Reserve Corps de Ballet |
The La Scala Theatre Ballet (Italian: Corpo di ballo del Teatro alla Scala) is the resident classical ballet company at La Scala in Milan, Italy. One of the oldest and most renowned ballet companies in the world, the company predates the theatre, but was officially founded at the inauguration of La Scala in 1778. Many leading dancers have performed with the company, including Mara Galeazzi, Alessandra Ferri, Roberto Bolle and Carla Fracci. The official associate school of the company is the La Scala Theatre Ballet School (Italian: Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala), a constituent of the La Scala Theatre Academy (Italian: Accademia Teatro alla Scala).
Overview
It is one of the best known Italian ballet companies, and many of its dancers have achieved international fame, such as Mara Galeazzi, Alessandra Ferri, Roberto Bolle, Massimo Murru, and in the recent past, Carla Fracci.
Other personalities of the history of classical ballet associated with the corpo di ballo have been the teachers and choreographers Carlo Blasis and Enrico Cecchetti, the ballerinas Carlotta Grisi, Caterina Beretta, Carlotta Brianza and the prima ballerina assoluta Pierina Legnani, among many others.
Although the company was only founded officially after the inauguration of the Teatro alla Scala in 1778, its history can be traced back to Renaissance courts of Italy, notably in the Sforza family’s splendid palace in Milan, where the classical ballet itself was born as an art form to be later refined at the French court of Louis XIV. The first nucleus of the company was brought to Milan by the choreographer Gasparo Angiolini between 1779 and 1789, as part of his reform of serious opera. Milan was also home to Salvatore Viganò, who experimented his personal interpretation of ballet d’action (which he called “coreodramma”); this in turn later inspired Carlo Blasis and other choreographers.
Many modern choreographers have collaborated with the corpo di ballo, such as George Balanchine and Roland Petit, often to create unique ballets for the company and its étoiles (equivalent of primi ballerini assoluti).
The company's repertoire includes both classical ballets and more modern pieces; among them: Giselle, the Swan lake, Excelsior, the Taming of the Shrew, Carmen, Onegin, Theme and Variations, and many more.
Many of the company members come from the Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala.
Members of the Ballet - 2010-2011 Season
Ballet Company Director
Gelon
Ballet Coordinator
Marco Berrichillo
Chief Ballet Mistress
Laura Contardi
Maîtres and Professeurs
Olga Chenchikova - Lienz Chang
Professeur
Biagio Tambone
Guest Teachers
Michael Denard - Vladimir Derevianko - Piötr Nardelli - Azari Plisetsky
Ballet Inspector
Filippo Russo
Assisting Maestri (Accompanists)
Fabio Ghidotti - Alberto Nanetti - Paolo Piazza - Marcello Spaccarotella
Étoiles
Svetlana Zakharova - Roberto Bolle - Massimo Murru
Guest Artists
Sylvie Guillem - Olesia Novikova - Polina Semionova - Alina Somova - Guillaume Côté - Leonid Sarafanov - Thiago Soares
Principals
Sabrina Brazzo - Gilda Gelati (retired) - Nicolette Manni - Marta Romagna - Petra Conti - Claudio Coviello - Alessandro Grillo - Antonino Sutera - Mick Zeni - Eris Nezha
Soloists
Antonella Albano - Laura Caccialanza - Beatrice Carbone - Sabina Galasso - Deborah Gismondi - Emanuela Montanari - Francesca Podini - Sophie Sarrote - Matteo Buongiorno - Gabriele Corrado - Matthew Endicott - Bryan Hewison - Maurizio Licitra - Riccardo Massimi
Corps de Ballet
Lara Agnolotti - Stefania Ballone - Alessia Bandiera - Raffaella Benaglia - Catherine Beresford - Chiara Borgia - Brigida Bossoni - Daniela Cavalleri - Christelle Cennerelli - Maddalena Cicogna - Serena Colombi - Sonia De Cillis - Azzurra Esposito - Lorella Ferraro - Licia Ferrigato - Chiara Fiandra - Mariafrancesca Garritano - Antonella Luongo - Patrizia Milani - Lara Montanaro - Katia Pianucci - Jennifer Renaux - Serena Sarnataro - Luana Saullo - Giulia Schembri - Daniela Siegrist - Adeline Souletie - Monica Vaglietti - Alessandra Vassallo - Caroline Westcombe - Corinna Zambon - Giuseppina Zeverino - Marco Agostino - Giuseppe Conte - Massimo Dalla Mora - Christian Fagetti - Federico Fresi - Daniele Lucchetti - Salvatore Perdichizzi - Andrea Piermattei - Andrea Pujatti - Antonio Ruggiero - Fabio Saglibene - Luigi Saruggia - Gianluca Schiavoni - Danilo Tapiletti - Massimiliano Volpini - Andrea Volpintesta
Supplementary Corps de Ballet
Emilie Fouilloux - Alessia Passaro - Sofia Rosolini - Claudio Coviello - Antonio De Rosa - Dario Elia - Massimo Garon - Matteo Gavazzi - Andreas Lochmann - Valerio Lunadei - Marco Messina - Mattia Vitelli