golden_slave Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Hi all of you! I just discovered this AMAZING site thanks to an Internet friend of mine who is an active member on this forum, too. I'm 28, female, and I'm from Italy, I'm a long time balletomane and a beginner amateur ballet student. Since my english is very poor (unfortunately!) I don't know if I will be able to partecipate in discussions very much, but be sure that I follow and enjoy immensely all of your threads, especially the ones concerning US and UK companies. Congratulations to the admins of this fabulous community! Bye, golden_slave (despite of the nickname I'm a female, yes ) Quote Link to comment
GianninaM Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Welcome to Ballet Alert, golden_slave; we're very glad that you've found us. Thank you for your compliments and we hope you enjoy the board. We have a sister site for dance students that you might enjoy. It's Ballet Talk for Dancers which is accessable at the upper right hand corner of this page. There you will find many adult students like you, and there is a lot of information and encouragement for you. You will have to register again, and it would be nice if you used your same name so that we know you. Enjoy everything! Giannina Quote Link to comment
puppytreats Posted January 27, 2011 Share Posted January 27, 2011 Hi all of you! I just discovered this AMAZING site thanks to an Internet friend of mine who is an active member on this forum, too. I'm 28, female, and I'm from Italy, I'm a long time balletomane and a beginner amateur ballet student. Since my English is very poor (unfortunately!) I don't know if I will be able to partecipate in discussions very much, but be sure that I follow and enjoy immensely all of your threads, especially the ones concerning US and UK companies. Congratulations to the admins of this fabulous community! Bye, golden_slave (despite of the nickname I'm a female, yes ) Dear Golden Slave: Welcome. I am a new amateur beginner, as well. I have watched a lot of Italian ballets. I would be interested in learning about the perception of ballet in Italy. Recently, Silvie Guillem was quoted, during a press conference given in anticipation of a performance of Manon at La Scala, criticizing the administration of La Scala and indicating it did not support artists. I was interested in the basis for this commentary. Also, I am interested in the perception of Roberto Bolle and Alessandra Ferri (and to a lesser extent, Beatrice Carbone) in Italy, both inside and outside of ballet circles. What is the celebrity culture like and why do ballerini seem to considered so much a part of the celebrity culture (e.g., appearing in tabloids and on so many red carpet events)? Perhaps my perception is off based on the few articles I have read, and the poor translations I have obtained of these articles! Thank you, pt Quote Link to comment
golden_slave Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 Dear Giannina and puppytreats, thank you for your welcome. @Puppytreats: Recently, Silvie Guillem was quoted, during a press conference given in anticipation of a performance of Manon at La Scala, criticizing the administration of La Scala and indicating it did not support artists. This is so sad but true. Fundamentally, this is a political issue. Our government (led by in-famous Silvio Berlusconi ) doesn't support very much cultural institutions. Through the last years they reduced more and more the amount of public money given to public schools, universities, research centers, museums, libraries, opera houses and so on. As you may have heard or read, this is a BIG issue nowadays in Italy (especially as all this damages the public education system). Some minor ballet/theatre companies have been forced to close (like the one of Genova's Teatro Carlo Felice). Theaters don't have the economic resources to support workers. Dancers are often underpaid, or they work under a short-term contract (MANY of the young dancers usually playing leading roles at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma or at La Scala are currently working under this type of contracts) There are few opportunities for younger people (the ONLY two étoiles at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Mario Marozzi and Laura Comi, are almost fifty years old!). Perhaps my perception is off based on the few articles I have read, and the poor translations I have obtained of these articles! Once more, I fear it's so. Ballerini are not popular at all in Italy (except among ballet fans, of course). The only ballet dancer that is a media celebrity is Roberto Bolle, but I think this is largely due to his good looks ;) And then, of course, there is Carla Fracci, a national icon. But that's all. Most people find ballet 'boring and old-fashioned', especially the young ones. On the other hand, there's plenty of young girls and teens who take ballet (or jazz dance) classes, but this happens mainly because they want to be like the girls they see in 'reality shows' (which are very popular here). They (and often their teachers too) have no ballet culture. They often don't even know the names of the most famous dancers, or are never been to a show at a theatre! You can often hear someone say 'Roberto Bolle is the best ballerino in the world', but in 90% of cases it's because he's the ONLY ballerino they actually know Just to let you know, however, Bolle isn't appreciated so much by Italian ballet fans (TRUE fans, I mean). Many people think that, while being a technical monster, he is not that good at interpretation, that he's a bit stiff, 'absent' and 'cold' on stage (& I think so, too). Ferri is - or better, was - instead very appreciated, mostly for her acting and interpretation skills (some find she has some technic faults, but this doesn't bother me at all). I hope my reply satisfied you in some way I would have liked to write so much more, but as I said before my English is not fluent at all Goodbye! Quote Link to comment
golden_slave Posted January 27, 2011 Author Share Posted January 27, 2011 I have watched a lot of Italian ballets. Excuse me, just curious... which ballets did you watch? --- & one more question, for Giannina (since she's a moderator, I see): why am I not able to see any members' profiles (not even my own)? When I try clicking on it a message appears which says that I need to be a full member to do that. Quote Link to comment
GianninaM Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 golden_slave: in order to see the profiles you need to be a Member, which involves 10 posts from you (substansive posts, not things like "me too", or "Hi, there" etc.). To all: this is a forum for welcoming new members. Other topics should go in the appropriate forum, for example European Companies or Everything Else Ballet; there they will get more viewers and attention. Feel free to continue your interesting discussion on another forum of your choice, and we hope you enjoy your discussions. Giannina Quote Link to comment
golden_slave Posted January 28, 2011 Author Share Posted January 28, 2011 golden_slave: in order to see the profiles you need to be a Member, which involves 10 posts from you (substansive posts, not things like "me too", or "Hi, there" etc.). To all: this is a forum for welcoming new members. Other topics should go in the appropriate forum, for example European Companies or Everything Else Ballet; there they will get more viewers and attention. Feel free to continue your interesting discussion on another forum of your choice, and we hope you enjoy your discussions. Giannina Ok, thank you for information! Quote Link to comment
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