Mention La Scala and the opera company immediately springs to mind but La Scala’s resident ballet company is prized in its own right as one of the greatest of its kind in the world. In November, Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company will come to Australia for the first time in its 240-year history, performing at QPAC for an exclusive Brisbane season.

The company will bring 75 dancers from the Company to perform two classic ballets – Giselle and Don Quixote, choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev (a production similar to the version he created for the Australian Ballet). They will be accompanied by international guest artists David Hallberg (Principal at American Ballet Theatre), Leonid Sarafanov (Principal at Mikhailovsky Theatre), and Maria Eichwald (Principal at Stuttgart Ballet).

Director Frédéric Olivieri with principal dancers Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko at QPAC this week. Photograph courtesy of QPAC

This week a group from La Scala visited Australia to visit the venue, discuss the forthcoming tour, and join community events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney celebrating Italian National Day. They included Teatro alla Scala General Manager Maria Di Freda, Ballet Director Frédéric Olivieri, and Principal dancers Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko,...