Dance as revolution: Bolle, Abbagnato and Copeland between art, discipline and rebirth

If they had found it at the bottom of the sea it would have been a Riace Bronze. A sculpted physique even in his fifties, a perfect body, now athletic, now Apollonian, now Dionysian in the portraits of his photographic books, in particular the one among the ruins of Pompeii. A physical structure not easy to hover in the air if it were not for thepowerful muscles. “Not having the weight of gravity is the dream for a dancer.”

Roberto Bolleis one ofItalian excellencesknown in the world, the first in history to have simultaneously become “star” della Milan staircase e dell’American Ballet Theatre di New York. He was only 15 years old when the legendaryRudolf Nureyevchose him to play the role of Tadzio in “Death in Venice”. Choice rejected: too young. But fate was sealed.

The career and philosophy of Roberto Bolle

Moving away from the family at an early age was not easy: the distance from home, the loneliness. But he was left free to choose his own path. Since then he has performed in all the majorsstages of the worldin Italy and abroad. In splendid settings beyond the theatres: the Cathedral Square of Milan, Piazza Plebiscito in Naples, the Colosseum in Rome, the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, the Boboli Gardens in Florence, the Ancient Theater of Taormina, Piazza San Marco in Venice… up to Piazza San Pietro in the presence of John Paul II. Art and history backdrops forexceptional dance performances. He paired with the biggest stars of various decades,Carla Fracciincluded. Since he was a child, he was born in Casale Monferrato in 1975, his vocation presented itself without the possibility of doubts: “I wanted to be adancerAn ever-increasing artistic journey, carried out withpassion, sacrifice, disciplineconstant search forperfectionof beauty. Any regrets if you were to look back? “I have had too much – he declared – to have regrets”, faithful to the words of Nachman Braslaw: “Every day you have todanceeven if only in thought”. Hours and hours, a torture training in front of the mirror, at the barre. Since he made his debut in the first essay at the Scuola della Scala in the “Carnival of Animals”. He played the frog. Maybe someone kissed him and he became a sort of Prince Charming. “Work, sacrifice yourself – he says – theresults will come“. He had no preclusions whatsoever, he danced the classic, as well as the modern, even to the music of Marilyn Manson. He grew as an artist, he grew as a man.

Social commitment and the success of On Dance

He combines his profession with a series ofcharitable initiativesof solidarity: “I like to be good, I think it’s a secret of happiness. I’m a decent boy, the one that all mothers would like to have…”. Books, films, ENI testimonials for a campaign for a “new energy”, which goes hand in hand withdanza. But the real apotheosis was in Milan at the Arco della Pace, on a wonderful late summer morning. Two thousand two hundred teenagers from all over Italy, mostly girls, all magically taken away from their cell phones and dressed in red and white. To the various proposals of “On Dance” 12,140 people took part. “The Arch of Peace – said Bolle – is a wonderful and symbolic place, we hope that thisenergy of peaceit is instilled in us and in the historical moment we are living in”.

Eleonora Abbagnato: passion and ambition

“They told me I was fat.” TodayEleonora Abbagnatoshe is a blonde sylph, a dragonfly. If you ask what thedanzahe answers sincerely: “Passion and ambitionat 50 percent”. Classical ballet, with forays into “pop”, as in a video clip ofVasco Rossi. Professionalism acquired at the school ofCarla Fracci. Today he directs the dance troupe ofRome Opera House. One art, many schools: “Every method is correct – he declared – you have to take the best everywhere. The French school is more fluid, the Russian is more classic. Talents are rare, but you immediately notice if a little girl has a different light”. The “étoiles” look like when they hover in the airangels in flight. A suggestion that only theballetcan give. “I’ve always danced. All my life I’ve done nothing but dance. Since I was a child, I’ve never taken classes, I’ve never seen ballet in person. In a way, I didn’t find ballet, it found me.”

Misty Copeland: the black swan and the multiethnic revolution

Pure instinct andathletic strength. Dancer and acrobat,Misty Copelandhas been defined as “theblack swan“One truerevolutionin an art that had always been the prerogative of the white race. The landing for a finish linemultiethnic. Prima African American dancerin the 75 years ofAmerican Ballet Theatrefrom which she left at 42. “A dream since I was thirteen.” A cover of “Time”, reported as one of the most influential people in the world, even a Barbie in a bright red costume like “In the Firebird”. He was also part of Obama’s advisors. Yet her body is different from that of many prestigious colleagues, but she did not give up, despite a vertebral fracture, a tibia injury andracial prejudices. Demonstrating that “theblack girlsthey are fantastic” and that nothing can be denied to them in “a huge step forward” for the community they represent. A story, as often happens for the color of the skin, which has been a continuous challenge to adversity, from poverty to San Diego in California, often in a single hotel room with five brothers, the state subsidy, but strong in a faith: “Thedanzait is the hidden language of the soul.” And Misty Copeland is a great soul: today she helpsyoung dancersthe Boys and Girls Club argues, bluntly addresses the problem ofinequalitiesconsiders it its mission to guarantee a chance toblack ballerinas: “Be strong, be beautiful. And firmly believe that anything is possible.”

Dance as an elixir of longevity and health

La danzait’s not just art, it’s alsotreatment, salute. Fights certain types of inflammation, controls itstressenhances resistance andmuscle strengthhelps you acquire flexibility, speed, dexterity, increases self-esteem and by promoting communication, fights againstdepression. Un elixir of life? In fact it is onelongevity pilltriggering processes that delay aging. There are many cases.Alessandra Ferriwith a return after an abandonment of the stage that lasted six years, she arrived in Vienna at the age of 62, at the Wiener Staatsballett. After rejecting La Scala, as that was the moment he decided to quit. “You listen to the Wiener Philharmoniker orchestra and it gives you shivers, it must be the same for dance.”Luciana Savignanoshe even returned at the age of 81, she will still dance the “Bolero”, “after a devastating loss”, the death of her husband. “The cardinal vice of dancers? Narcissism. The mirror should sometimes be thrown away. But dance isamore, courage, energy. Life and art together. As long as there is one there is the other”. The imperative:dance, dance, dance. It is no coincidence that Rudolf Nureyev stated that “Every man should dance, throughout his life. Not be a dancer, but dance”.