DANZA&DANZA International Magazine Jan/Feb Vorige editie

We open the first issue of the New Year with warm wishes to all our readers and the announcement of the Danza&Danza Award winners for 2018. It has become tradition for us to publish our jury’s selection of all that was excellent in the previous year of dance. Our cover story features one of the winners: Olga Smirnova, a Bolshoi Ballet star with elegant technique and impressive stage presence. She took up our invitation to tell her story with an in-depth interview, revealing her preference for certain roles and choreographers.
We met Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten following the recent announcement of the end of their appointment as artistic directors of the Ballet National de Marseille. In the interview they discuss the joy and pain of a journey that was not always plain sailing.
Also in this issue we introduce you to eighteen-year old Maria Khoreva, a dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet and newly crowned First Soloist – a rapidly rising star on the Russian and world ballet scene that we’ll definitely be hearing more from. To mark the 100th anniversary of Merce Cunningham, dancer, choreographer and era-defining artist, we wanted to take the opportunity to retrace his art through his own words. A variety of excerpts taken from interviews and texts that he left behind for future generations make up our feature dedicated to the brilliant choreographer, who will be remembered through many events and by many companies in coming months.
In addition to dance news from Italy and the world, you will also find many reviews and shopping recommendations. We wish to dedicate this and all future issues to Mario Bedendo (1926-2018), founder and former long-standing director of this publication, as well as creator of the D&D Awards, who passed away last November in Milan.