Roberto Bolle gala at Verona Arena, with 'Passage' and more

Showcasing international dance stars and multifaceted repertoire

(ANSA) - Verona, July 21 - Ballet star Roberto Bolle performs at the Verona Arena on Tuesday with dancers from leading European and American dance companies in his Roberto Bolle and Friends gala, which features a repertoire ranging from the 18th century to contemporary compositions.

The final piece of the evening will be a pas de deux with Russian dancer Polina Semionova, currently a principal with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), called Passage. It was inspired by a short film of the same name, directed by Fabrizio Ferri, starring Bolle and Semionova and presented at the 2013 Venice Film Festival. "With Marco Pelle's choreography, Passage is so beautiful and has such a strong impact, that we absolutely wanted to bring it to the larger public; so, we started thinking of a way to make a live version for the theatre," said Bolle.

"Essentially, it's the story of a man in search of himself, until the moment that darkness enters. The true passage starts there. At that moment, dance becomes an essential instrument for bringing man from the dark to the light, from slavery to freedom," Bolle explained. Also performing in the gala will be South Korean Hee Seo, American Cory Stearns, Russian Daniil Simkin, and American Julie Kent, all principal dancers with ABT; Albanian Eris Nezha, a principal at the Boston Ballet; Spaniard Alicia Amatriain and Canadian Jason Reilly, both principal dancers at the Stuttgart Ballet; and Skylar Brandt, a member of the Corps de Ballet at ABT.