Italian étoile Roberto Bolle published his latest book, Parole che danzano
Étoile at Teatro alla Scala since 2004, he has danced for kings, queens, princes, popes, and has worked for the world’s greatest theatres, from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow to the Royal Opera House in London, from Opéra National de Paris to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. Roberto Bolle is an amazing artist who, with his magnetic charisma and groundbreaking ideas, has been able to bring ballet to a very wide audience without trivializing it.
Parole che danzano
The cover of Parole che danzano on ScuolaScuola Instagram page. Are you following us?
Parole che danzano is the third book by Roberto Bolle, published last November. While the previous book, Viaggio nella bellezza, portrayed Bolle in stunning poses in some of Italy’s most iconic places such as Pompeii and the Colosseum, consolidating his role as one of the country’s cultural ambassadors to the world, Parole che danzano is a more intimate work. We could define it as an emotional dictionary: the acclaimed dancer has chosen ninety-nine meaningful words from acqua to volontà, many of which are accompanied by a photograph, to describe his personality and tell some anecdotes about his life and career. A photographic autobiography where he defines ballet as his life since the very beginning, when he attended the Dance Academy in Vercelli and discovered a new world where he felt comfortable, a sort of refuge from reality. However, the life of a young and talented dancer is not a bed of roses: at the age of 12 he was chosen by the Ballet School of La Scala, which meant leaving his family to move to Milan, a challenging and painful change as well as an unmissable opportunity. He was only 15 when Rudolf Nureyev discovered his talent; nevertheless, Roberto realized that he had a special gift some years later, in 2002, when he was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. His debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, where he partnered Alessandra Ferri on the occasion of her farewell to the stage, was so successful that in 2009 he was appointed principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre, becoming the first dancer in the world to hold this position both at La Scala and in New York.
Verona Arena is among the venues of Roberto Bolle and Friends
Thanks to his outstanding ability to combine excellent technique with emotions, Roberto Bolle is doubtlessly one of the most acclaimed dancers of our time. However, what makes him so popular is his ability to interact with the audience and create something new. In 2000, he organized the first Roberto Bolle and Friends gala. This annual event used to take place in small Italian theatres and was a way to bring ballet to small towns, making it less exclusive. Over the years, the show has grown so much that it has reached some really iconic venues, such as Piazza Duomo in Milan, the Verona Arena, the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, the Boboli Gardens in Florence, the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. And it is worth mentioning that these breathtaking historic places had never hosted ballet performances before. But Bolle’s role as a pioneer goes beyond these initiatives. As he strongly believes that classical ballet needs innovation to appeal to younger generations and a wider audience, he has embarked on an experimental path with choreographer Massimiliano Volpini, resulting in extremely successful shows such as Dorian Gray, Wave and Prototype, whose great impact on the audience is due to the interaction between technology and live dance. Since 2018 Roberto Bolle has also been host and screen writer of Danza con me, the prime-time TV show broadcast on Rai 1 on January 1st.