Danza & Danza International – January/February 2019

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.