Roberto Bolle facts for kids
Roberto Bolle (born March 26, 1975) is a famous Italian ballet dancer. He is known for his amazing performances around the world. He is a top dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and a main dancer, called an étoile, at the La Scala Theatre Ballet in Italy. Roberto also often performs as a special guest with many of the world's best ballet companies. These include The Royal Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet.
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Early Life
Roberto Bolle was born in Casale Monferrato, Italy. He grew up in a small town called Trino in Piemonte. He started learning ballet when he was just seven years old at a local school. When he was twelve, he was accepted into the famous La Scala theatre ballet school in Milan.
In 1990, a very famous dancer named Rudolf Nureyev noticed Roberto. Nureyev wanted Roberto to play a role in an opera called Morte a Venezia. However, the theater did not allow Roberto to take the role because he was too young at the time.
Career Highlights
In 1996, when Roberto was twenty, he performed in the ballet Romeo and Juliet. After this, he was made a principal dancer at La Scala. A year later, at age 21, he decided to become a freelance dancer. This meant he could dance with many different companies around the world.
Since then, Roberto has starred in many famous ballets. These include Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, and Giselle.
Roberto has danced for many top ballet companies. These include the Royal Ballet in London, the Tokyo Ballet, and the National Ballet of Canada. He has also performed at the Staatsoper in Berlin and the Vienna State Opera.
Derek Deane, who was the director of the English National Ballet, created two special shows for Roberto. These were Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. Both were performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Roberto also performed in Aida at the pyramids of Giza in Egypt. This was for the 10th anniversary of the Opera Theatre in Cairo. He later performed it at the Arena in Verona, which was shown live around the world.
In October 2000, Roberto opened the season at the Covent Garden Opera House in London with Swan Lake. In November, he was invited by the Bolshoi Ballet to celebrate the 75th birthday of a famous dancer named Maya Plisetskaya. The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was also there.
In June 2002, Roberto danced for Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee. He performed a part of Swan Lake with Zenaida Yanowsky at Buckingham Palace. This event was shown live on BBC to many countries.
During the 2003–2004 season, Roberto was promoted to Étoile (a very high rank) at La Scala Theatre. On April 1, 2004, he danced in front of Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square for a youth day celebration. Later that year, he danced at the re-opening of La Scala Theatre after it was fixed up.
In December 2005, Roberto performed in Sylvia at the Covent Garden Opera House. This performance was shown on BBC on Christmas Day.
Roberto Bolle danced at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. He performed a special solo dance created just for him. About 2.5 billion people around the world watched this ceremony.
In 2007, he danced for the first time with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) as a guest artist. This was for the farewell performance of another famous dancer, Alessandra Ferri.
In 2009, Roberto became a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. This was the first time an Italian male dancer joined the company as a principal. The New York Times newspaper described him as "utterly gorgeous (in both looks and dance)."
In June 2019, Roberto Bolle left the American Ballet Theatre. His last performance with the company was as Des Grieux in Manon, dancing with Hee Seo.
Other Work
Roberto Bolle has also appeared in many fashion magazines and advertisements. For example, he was featured by Ferragamo in 2008. He also appeared in Vogue US magazine in 2009 with supermodel Coco Rocha. Roberto also has a special agreement with fashion designer Giorgio Armani, who provides him with clothes.
Since 1999, Roberto has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. This means he helps UNICEF with their important work. In 2006, he visited Sudan to see schools and hospitals there. By June 2007, he had helped raise over $655,000 for projects that support education and health in Sudan.
See also
In Spanish: Roberto Bolle para niños
