Viviana Durante: Difference between revisions

| caption = Viviana Durante as Aurora in ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1994)

| years active= 1984–20131984–2020

'''Viviana Durante''' (born 8 May 1967) is an Italian [[ballet dancer]], considered one of the great dramatic ballerinas of recent times.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rogai|first1=Natasha|title=The Importance of Emotion|journal=Dance Journal/HK|date=October–November 2016|volume=18|issue=5|page=16}}</ref> She was a principal dancer of [[The Royal Ballet]], [[American Ballet Theatre]], [[Teatro alla Scala]] and [[K-Ballet]]. She is currentlythe Directorartistic director of Dance at [[English National Ballet School]] and Artistic Director of the Viviana Durante Company,.<ref>{{cite withweb which|title=Viviana sheDurante occasionallyBecomes performsArtistic Director of English National Ballet School |url=http://www.enbschool.org.uk/news.php?ref=viviana-durante-becomes-artistic-director-of-english-national-ballet-school |website=English National Ballet School |access-date=17 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Craine |first1=Debra |title=Viviana Durante: How Isadora Duncan drew me back to the stage |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/viviana-durante-interview-how-isadora-duncan-drew-me-back-to-the-stage-h82gswkvx |website=The Times |accessdateaccess-date=31 December 2019}}</ref>

Durante was born in Rome and started ballet there at the [[Teatro dell'Opera di Roma]] aged six. Spotted by ballerina [[Galina Samsova]], she joined the lower school of the [[Royal Ballet School]] at White Lodge in [[Richmond Park, London]]. A year later, she featured in a [[Thames Television]] documentary entitled ''I really want to dance''. Shortly after graduating to the upper school, aged 17, she joined the Royal Ballet Company. Two years later, she attracted national attention when she took over as Odette/Odile in mid-performance, never having been taught the role.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.enbschool.org.uk/staff.php |title=English National Ballet School - Staff |publisher=[[English National Ballet School]] |accessdateaccess-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> At 21, she became the company's youngest principal dancer, and a year later, in 1990, she became the youngest artist to receive the Evening Standard Ballet Award.

At the Royal Ballet, Durante danced all the main roles in ballets by Sir [[Kenneth MacMillan]] (''[[Manon]]'', ''[[Romeo and Juliet (ballet)|Romeo and Juliet]]'', ''[[Mayerling (ballet)|Mayerling]]'', ''Different Drummer'', ''My Brother, My Sisters'', ''Requiem'', ''Elite Syncopations'', ''Gloria'', ''[[The Prince of the Pagodas]]'' and ''Anastasia'', for which she was nominated for a [[Laurence Olivier Award]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/olivier_awards/ |title=Olivier Awards with MasterCard – Official Site |website=Officiallondontheatre.co.uk |accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2016}}</ref> Sir [[Frederick Ashton]] (''[[Cinderella (Ashton)|Cinderella]]'', ''[[La fille mal gardée (Ashton)|La fille mal gardée]]'', ''Rhapsody'', ''[[Ondine (ballet)|Ondine]]'', ''[[A Month in the Country (ballet)|A Month in the Country]]'', ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''Symphonic Variations'', ''[[Les Patineurs (ballet)|Les Patineurs]]'', ''[[Birthday Offering]]'', ''[[Scènes de ballet (Ashton)|Scènes de ballet]]'', ''Thaïs pas de deux'') and from the classical repertory (''[[Swan Lake]]'', ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', ''[[Giselle]]'', ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]'', ''[[La Bayadere]]'', ''[[Don Quixote (ballet)|Don Quixote]]'', ''[[Les Biches]]'', ''[[Raymonda]]'', ''[[Diana and Actaeon]]'', ''Sylvia pas de deux'').

She created roles in many new works including MacMillan's ''[[The Judas Tree (ballet)|The Judas Tree]]'' and ''[[Winter Dreams (ballet)|Winter Dreams]]'' (based on [[Anton Chekhov]]'s ''[[Three Sisters (play)|Three Sisters]]''); [[Wayne McGregor]]'s ''Fleur de Peux''; [[Ashley Page]]'s ''Pursuit'', ''Piano'', ''Bloodlines'', ''...now languorous, now wild...'' and ''Cheating, Lying, Stealing''; Will Tuckett's ''Present Histories''; [[David Bintley]]'s ''Tombeaux''; and [[Amedeo Amodio]]'s ''[[Cabiria]]''.

In 1995, she appeared in the title role of a ninety-minute version of [[Tchaikovsky]]'s ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]'', which was telecast on [[Great Performances]] by [[PBS]] during the Christmas season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0323993/|title=Great Performances (1971– ) : The Sleeping Beauty |website=IMDb.com|accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2016}}</ref> In 1998, Durante made a return to the Rome stage as a guest artist in Prokovsky's production of the Tchaikovsky ballet, one of many international guest appearances.

In 1999, a disagreement between Durante and The Royal Ballet, reportedly following her request for a cast change after she was dropped by a partner, blew up into a national media storm.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/1999/apr/19/features11.g22 |title='I gave the Royal Ballet the best years of my life. And this is how they thank me' &#124; Stage |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 April 1999 |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |accessdateaccess-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> After what the media called a 'dazzling 12-year career' as one of British ballet's major stars,<ref>{{cite news|last=Alexander |first=Stuart |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/stars-bring-grandeur-and-power-to-a-magical-revival-629751.html |title=Dalton's thrilling battle |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2016}}{{dead link|date=JuneAugust 20202021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Durante left the company in 2001 to pursue a freelance career.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4720288/Farewell-for-now-Viviana.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112085157/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4720288/Farewell-for-now-Viviana.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 November 2012 |title=Farewell for now, Viviana |last=Brown |first=Ismene |date=30 March 2000 |work=The Telegraph |accessdateaccess-date=25 June 2020 |url-access=limited}}</ref>

Durante is a patron of [[The Hammond School]] and New English Ballet Theatre. She is a regular juror at competitions including the [[Prix de Lausanne]] and the Beijing International Ballet Competition. In 2010, a work choreographed by Durante premiered at Dance Base, Edinburgh,<ref>{{cite web|author=Rebecca King |url=http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/100244-elegantly_tearful |title=Elegantly Tearful |publisher=The Skinny |date=19 August 2010 |accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2016}}</ref> and the same year she collaborated with [[Richard Eyre]] on a dance adaptation of the film [[Truly, Madly, Deeply (film)|Truly, Madly, Deeply]].<ref>{{cite web|author=David Benedict |url=https://variety.com/2011/legit/news/directors-revived-u-k-stage-in-2011-1118047982/ |title=Directors revived U.K. stage in 2011 |work=Variety |date=30 December 2011 |accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2016}}</ref>

Durante holds diplomas in dance education from the Royal Ballet School and Trinity College, London.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Royal Ballet School celebrates Diploma of Dance Teaching 2014-16 Graduate success|url=http://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/2016/11/25/the-royal-ballet-school-celebrates-diploma-of-dance-teaching-2014-16-graduate-success/|website=Royal Ballet School|accessdateaccess-date=30 November 2016}}</ref> In 2016, she returned to The Royal Ballet as a regular guest coach.<ref>{{cite web|title=Viviana Durante|url=http://www.roh.org.uk/people/viviana-durante|website=Royal Opera House|accessdateaccess-date=30 November 2016}}</ref> In 2017, she founded Viviana Durante Company which debuted with Kenneth MacMillan: Steps Back in Time at the [[Barbican Centre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2018/event/kenneth-macmillan-steps-back-in-time|title=Kenneth MacMillan: Steps Back in Time|publisher=[[Barbican Centre]]|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> In 2020 the company premiered Isadora Now at the same venue.<ref>{{cite web |title=Isadora Now: Triple Bill |url=https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2020/event/viviana-durante-company-isadora-now |website=Barbican |access-date=25 February 2020}}</ref> Durante was the consultant and wrote the foreword for the 2018 [[Dorling Kindersley|DK]] book Ballet: The Definitive Illustrated History.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ballet by DK|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/366677/ballet-by-dk/9781465474780/|website=Penguin Random House|accessdateaccess-date=9 October 2018}}</ref> SheIn 2019 she was appointed Director of Dance and in 2020 Artistic Director at [[English National Ballet School]].<ref>{{cite inweb 2019|title=Staff |url=http://www.enbschool.org.uk/staff.php |website=English National Ballet School |access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref>

Critics noted Durante's combination of immaculate technique and acting ability, often describing her as a blend of Latin passion and British coolness.<ref>{{cite news|author=David Lister |date=12 April 1999 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/does-a-prima-ballerina-bounce-1086731.html |title=Does a prima ballerina bounce? |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |accessdateaccess-date=25 June 2020}}</ref> Her ''Anastasia'' was widely appreciated, her ''Manon'' (with Russian dancer Irek Mukhamedov as Des Grieux, in particular) has been called the definitive interpretation, and the recording of her performance in ''The Sleeping Beauty'' has been perhaps most influential. Critics called her 'the most dramatic of dancers',<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ballet.co.uk/links/dancers_rb_principals_99.htm |title=ArchivedBallet.co RB copyPrincipals |access-date=6 March 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020306224524/http://www.ballet.co.uk/links/dancers_rb_principals_99.htm |archive-date=6 March 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and an 'unsurpassable actress' (''The Independent'') and 'the future of ballet in Britain' (''Mail on Sunday'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.viviana-durante.com/press/ |title=Press |website=Viviana-durante.com |date=20 June 2014 |accessdateaccess-date=25 November 2016}}</ref>

Durante married the British author and journalist [[Nigel Cliff]] in June 2009.<ref name="The Times">{{cite news |title=Birthdays: Viviana Durante |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/birthdays-viviana-durante-zgbvnfbrs5t |accessdateaccess-date=25 June 2020 |work=The Times |date=8 May 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> They have a son, and live in London.<ref name="DanceTabs">{{cite news |last1=Parry |first1=Jann |title=Interview – Viviana Durante: Ballerina, mother, teacher and coach of MacMillan's Anastasia |url=https://dancetabs.com/2016/11/interview-viviana-durante-ballerina-mother-teacher-and-coach-of-macmillans-anastasia/ |accessdateaccess-date=22 December 2019 |work=DanceTabs |date=8 November 2016}}</ref>

*1991 ''[[Winter Dreams (ballet)|Winter Dreams]]'' ([[Royal Ballet]])

*1994 ''[[Mayerling (ballet)|Mayerling]]'' (Royal Ballet)

[[Category:PrimaItalian prima ballerinas]]