Alice Mariani: me, between Odile and Odette: "Dancing Swan Lake, what a challenge"

It is every ballerina's dream, every little girl's fairy tale. Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" returns tomorrow to La Scala with choreography by Nureyev/Petipa, sets by Ezio Frigerio, costumes by Franca Squarciapino; on the podium Vello Päh. On July 10 and 15, Alice Mariani and Navrin Turnbull, together for the first time, will star in the most romantic ballet in history. Navrin will be Siegfried, Alice Odette, a princess transformed into a swan by a spell, and then become his rival Odile. An absolute talent, an uncommon musicality.

Alice Mariani, prima ballerina at La Scala, being the protagonist of Swan Lake means inheriting the great interpretations of the ballerinas of the past. Does it weigh on you?

"A little bit, yes, there have been incredible artists, unique like Natalija Makarova, you can never copy them. I am a different dancer, I can learn from them by watching videos and trying to transform their teaching, the inclinations of the hand, the looks into my type of dancer. I am Alice, I bring my being a dancer, my history to this role".

It will be two contrasting figures: White Swan/Black Swan.

"Odette/Odile, it is difficult to interpret two opposites in the same evening. Odette with her fragility, vulnerability, the particular movement of her arms, in contrast with those of her body, so precise, certain softnesses, as if she were swimming in water, make her a truly complex figure to bring on stage. In Odile I want to highlight sensuality, femininity, confidence. The Black Swan is not bad, she just wants to seduce the prince. For us dancers, dancing the Lake is always a challenge, a journey; it is also this year in which we are perfectly in shape, after Paquita".

How will you communicate the conflict between Odette and Odile on stage? "The choreography helps to show the character of both. The emotions you experience on stage, the lights, the many movements, the atmospheres remind both me and the audience that on stage there are two different young people, even if it is the same dancer who plays them".

Have you ever felt as vulnerable as Odette?

"When I came to Milan for the first time, after passing the exam to enter the Accademia della Scala, I was 13 years old. It was a delicate moment in my life, I was leaving my family, the city where I grew up to enter such a rigorous school. Today I know that it was very hard for my parents too, they were brave; they gave me the opportunity to try a new path without knowing where it would take me. They have always been close to me with all their love, even when I worked abroad they never missed my debut".

Is she as certain as Odile?

"When I left the Dresden company and applied to enter La Scala. I was confident in my professionalism and knew they would take me. Today the Theater, Milan are my home, they give me security, I am aware of the work I have done and I know I can still go forward."

Odette/Odille is living a wrong love story. And she?

"I'm great with Federico, ours is a great love story. When I lived in Germany, he attended a doctorate in the Netherlands to be closer to me. When I met him I immediately understood that he was the right guy for me even if at the beginning I felt lost, I felt too young for a definitive relationship. We've been together for 15 years, this makes us happy".