DANZA&DANZA International Magazine July/August Back Issue

We used to think of Carla Fracci as being eternal – and in some ways the lady of Italian dance is, having left her mark on the history and mythology of international ballet. In the pages of this issue we’ve dedicated to Fracci we attempt to capture “Carla’s secret”, her power as a collective, cross-generational legend. We asked four personalities from the dance world who knew her well, to write down their memories of her: Gheorghe Iancu, Paul Chalmer, John Neumeier and Carolyn Carlson.
The Venice Dance Biennale and a summer packed with major festivals are the springboard for us to look to the future. And to other women too, iconic in their own way. The resilient Maguy Marin continues to blaze her own trail, and features in our cover story and the young choreographer Oona Doherty who intrigues us, award-winning surprise in Venice Biennale (Silver Lion 2021).
On the subject of iconic women, this summer harks back to Anna Pavlova and her most famous solo, The Dying Swan: four incredibly intense minutes of conscious agony, with the poignant melody that ‘speaks of’ the death of a solitary, feminine bird. Now, it seems the time has come to ‘stir it up’ again with original re-writes and a contemporary aesthetic.
Last but not least, we take a deep dive into Virtual Reality: it has captured the imagination of many dancemakers, not just because of the pandemic, but as a natural technological development.