The gala "Roberto Bolle and Friends" had turned in the hands of Roberto Bolle, here in the role not only as a performer but also as Artistic Director, in a powerful cultural tool for the dissemination of dance, annually attracting thousands of fans.

 

Due to his intense international experiences, Bolle has managed to recreate each time for each of these events as a magic performance, bringing together top dancers from around the world, while producing lively and surprising programmes, which have entertained so many audiences.

 

From the great classics to the newest choreographies, the "Roberto Bolle and Friends" brought together every year the best of the dance in the world, offering a rare cultural possibility and breaking taboos that defined ballet only as an art niche.

 

 

Programme
Prototype Reloaded
Conceived and choreographed by Massimiliano Volpini, this is a self-deprecating humorous work, which gave us Roberto Bolle as a kind of dance cyborg eventually tempered with more human instincts. It looks like a protest against the digital way of life. In his jeans and sleeveless shirt, Roberto Bolle will dance in front of a projection screen, presenting a combination of the designer, choreographer, film producer and contemporary composer's works.

 

Carnival in Venice
The Carnival of Venice is a comédie-lyrique in a prologue and three acts by the French composer André Campra. The libretto is by Jean-François Regnard. In one critic's assessment, "In a magisterial act of conflation, this composer blends the styles of Lully, Lalande, Monteverdi and Cavalli and manages also to foreshadow Handel and Rameau. He dreamt up a multi-hued score, capable of recapturing in Paris both the carnival spirit in general and that of the legendary Venice in particular."

 

Vertigo
Set to Johann Sebastian Bach's Chaconne for Solo Violin and Four Voices, in Vertigo, the Belgian choreographer and stage designer Stijn Celis questions freedom amidst restrictions and searches for a place of harmony.

Don Quixote (Pas de Deux, Act III)
The popular Pas de Deux is from Act III of the ballet Don Quixote. In this Pas de Deux, it's a challenge to the male dancer's lifting, rotating and jumping techniques, as well as to the female dancer's toe balance ability, rotation skills, etc., The 32 swings of the last coda (the ending allegro of the dance) is an iconic difficulty in ballet dance.

 

Qualia
Qualia, meaning a raw and sensory experience, marked Wayne McGregor's debut on The Royal Opera House stage.

 

Les Bourgeois
For years, Belgian choreographer and ballet director Ben Van Cauwenbergh (Antwerp, 1958) was one of the star dancers of the Royal Ballet Flanders and London Festival Ballet (which is English National Ballet now). This is why Les Bourgeois—with which Van Cauwenbergh makes his debut at Introdans in 2018—is a popular item at ballet galas and competitions.

 

Rencontre
Rencontre, a new choreography for Roberto Bolle after Prototype, is also a multimedia ballet based on René Aubry's music and Staff Sas' photos. Roberto Bolle takes up the most evocative visual effects of the Prototype extended version, the new dreamy creation by Massimiliano Volpini interpreted by Melissa Hamilton and Roberto.

 

 

 

Artistic Director: Roberto Bolle
Presenters: Roberto Bolle, Adiarys Almeida, Taras Domitro, Melissa Hamilton, Liudmila Konovalova, Dinu Tamazlacaru