Mara Galeazzi (born 1973) is an Italian
ballet dancer
A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...
. She was a Principal Dancer of
The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
.
Early life
Galeazzi was born in
Brescia
Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...
, Italy. At age 10, she started ballet training at
La Scala Theatre Ballet School
La Scala Theatre Ballet School ( it, Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala) is one of the leading classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of La Scala Theatre Ballet, an international ballet company based at La Scala in Mi ...
, where she graduated full marks.
Career
In 1992, at age 18, Galeazzi joined The Royal Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
as an Artist. At the time, she didn't speak any English or know anyone in the company. The following year, while the company was on tour, she replaced an injured Gillian Revie as Mary Vetsera in ''Mayerling
Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), southwest of Vienna. From 1550, it was in t ...
'', with the approval of choreographer Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. E ...
. She was promoted to First Artist in 1995, Soloist in 1998 and Principal in 2003. Her most notable roles in the company include Juliet in '' Romeo and Juliet'', the title role in ''Anastasia
Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...
'', Tatiana in '' Onegin'', the title role in ''The Firebird
''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev' ...
'' and the title role in '' Giselle''.[ She has worked with choreographer such as ]Cathy Marston
Cathy Marston (born 1975) is a British choreographer and artistic director. She was the director of Bern Ballett from 2007–2013. After her tenure, she has choreographed for companies worldwide, including The Royal Ballet, San Francisco Balle ...
, Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...
, Mats Ek
Mats Ek (born 18 April 1945) is a Swedish dance and ballet choreographer, dancer and stage director. He was the manager of the Cullberg Ballet from 1985 to 1993.
Life and career
Ek was born in Malmö in 1945, the son of the Royal Dramatic Theatr ...
, Jiri Kylian
Jiri ( ne, जिरी) is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people..
Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the m ...
and William Forsythe, though she had never originated roles in MacMillan's works.[ Some of her performances were broadcast by the BBC.][
On Galeazzi's performance in ''Onegin'', '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' noted her dancing "truly register the churning of the lovers' guts and the scorched sensitivity of their nerve endings." ''The Guardian'' also noted Galeazzi's portrayal of Mary Vetsera in ''Mayerling'' "is a terrifying blend of the naive and depraved"
As a guest artist, she performed in Italy, Germany and Scotland, including her hometown, Brescia. She has danced with Irek Mukhamedov
Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE (russian: Ирек Джавдатович Мухамедов: tt-Cyrl, Ирек Җәүдәт улы Мөхәммәтев; born 8 March 1960), is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced ...
, Carlos Acosta
Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada (born 2 June 1973) is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of ...
, Tetsuya Kumakawa
is a Japanese ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet.
Early life
Tetsuya Kumakawa was born on 5 March 1972 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. He began studying Ballet at 10 years old; aged 15, he moved to the UK and traine ...
and Edward Watson'
In 2013, Galeazzi left the Royal Ballet, in order to move to Oman to be with her husband, focus on new projects, teaching and charity works. She performed her final performance at the Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
on 13 June, dancing Mary Vetsera in ''Mayerling'', with Edward Watson as her Rudolf. However, her final performance with the company is '' Manon'' in Monaco.
In 2014, Galeazzi returned to the Royal Ballet to dance the role of the mother in Ludovic Ondiviela's ''Cassandra'' at the Linbury Studio Theatre. Later, Galeazzi was asked by Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...
to cover for the leading role in ''Woolf Works
''Woolf Works'' is a full-length contemporary ballet choreographed by Wayne McGregor, composed by Max Richter, and inspired by Virginia Woolf's novels, letters, essays and diaries. The premiere took place on 11 May 2015 at the Royal Opera House. ...
'', which was created on Alessandra Ferri
Alessandra Ferri OMRI (born 6 May 1963) is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before t ...
. Though the work premiered in 2015, Galeazzi did not perform it until 2017.[ She also founded dance company M&T in Motion with Australian choreographer Tim Podesta. In 2016 she made her choreograph debut, which is a piece called ''Remembrance''.][
In 2017/18 guested with Wayne McGregor company with +/-Humans and Three of Codes.
In 2020 started acting courses and performed live first time in public in 2022 .
In 2019 started collaborating with Fabula Collective
]
Selected repertoire
Galeazzi's repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes:[
]
Charity work
In 2005, Galeazzi organised a fundraising gala in Brescia for the research into child leukaemia. In 2007, she founded Dancing for the Children, to help children with HIV in Africa. She had since organised other galas in Africa, London and Italy, for causes including Syrian refugees.[
]
Personal life
Galeazzi is married and has a daughter. Her husband is the Head of Operations of Royal Opera House Muscat. They live in Muscat
Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...
, Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
. She had suffered from a form of kidney disease while she was dancing.[
]
Honours
*Honorary member of Soroptimist International, 2005
*Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
, 2009
Source:
References
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Aspect-My-Journey-Expression/dp/B09BL7SFZ6
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galeazzi, Mara
1973 births
Living people
People from Brescia
Italian ballerinas
Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet
Prima ballerinas
Italian expatriates in England
Italian expatriates in Oman
21st-century ballet dancers
21st-century Italian dancers
Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Aspect-My-Journey-Expression/dp/B09BL7SFZ6