Teatro alla Scala Company

The present day of Teatro alla Scala can boast a glorious past whose roots go back centuries to the 1778 inauguration of the world’s most celebrated musical theatre.

Illustrious choreographers, such as Jean-Georges Noverre, Gasparo Angiolini, Salvatore Viganò, were to exert great influence on dance in Europe, even before the founding in 1813 of the Imperial Dance Academy of . From here Carlo Blasis, the illustrious dancer, teacher and theorist brought Ballet into the romantic period, contributing to the technical innovation of its style. In , Enrico Cecchetti, propagated the teaching of the Italian academic technique and by way of Serge Diaghilev’s Russes, which he had joined, elevated its status in this new era.

Dance at La Scala entered the twentieth century also with renowned choreographers linked to the , like Mikhail Fokin and Leonide Massine.

From the free and expressionist dance of Middle-Europe of the thirties and forties, came, above all, Aurel Milloss. Arturo Toscanini gave him the task of reuniting the lost threads of the Scala company after the Second World War. For his repertoire, he not only chose great musicians, renowned set designers and painters, but also illustrious guests such as .

In the fifties and sixties, La Scala became a stage open to the best names of the then artistic panorama. Roland Petit made his début in 1963, Maurice Béjart in the seventies, and many guest stars were added like , beginning in 1965 a very close collaboration with the Milanese theatre.

Under Makhar Vaziev’s direction from 2009 to 2015, the Company embraced a set of precise artistic standards, reinvigorating the 20th century’s most refreshing and influential ballet repertoire, reviving the necessary classics, providing young choreographers with creative opportunities and drawing celebrated musical directors to the ballet rostrum.

The unfailing expressive, technical and interpretative appeal of Teatro alla Scala’s etoiles - Svetlana Zakharova, Roberto Bolle and Massimo Murru - guest artists, principals, newly appointed soloists and the many Corps de Ballet members frequently selected for major roles have ensured the company’s continued artistic renewal. From October 2016 the direction of the Ballet Company has been entrusted to Frédéric Olivieri.

In recent years the company has expanded its visibility with debut performances in France, Russia, USA, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, China, and now for the first time, Australia for the 2018 QPAC International Series where they will perform only in Brisbane.

For this season, alongside Teatro alla Scala’s great Principal Dancers Nicoletta Manni and Claudio Coviello, superstar guest artists to appear at the 2018 QPAC International Series include David Hallberg Principal Dancer of , Principal Dancer at and Maria Eichwald Principal Dancer at Stuttgarter Ballet and international guest for some of the world’s most prestigious companies*.

The cast mix will enchant audiences as Nicoletta Manni partners with David Hallberg and Maria Eichwald with pairs with Claudio Coviello in , and Leonid Sarafanov partners with Nicoletta Manni in .

*casting is subject to change without notice.