In 2008, Italian dancer Roberto Bolle sure loved the exposure. He was the male muse of fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo, posed for Bruce Weber, and landed the cover of both GQ Germany and L’Officiel Hommes — photographed here by Milan Vukmirovic (above).
All the media attention was great, he explains in L’Officiel, not so much for him, but for ballet. “I think a dancer like me should be more open to the outside world, take his art beyond the dance community, using all types of media, all available channels,” he says. “People have a limited interest in ballet because the media don’t get them interested. It’s a vicious circle. I’m trying to build a bridge between dance and the mass media, and ultimately the public. It’s important for the future of dance.”
There’s no doubt Roberto’s generous endeavor will generate public interest and attract new talents to ballet, but there’s more than a hint of vanity in there too. We remember him boasting in GQ: “My body is a perfect instrument.” Well, he pushed it a bit further in L’Officiel: “It’s true that physical beauty matters in my profession. But every line of work has it’s icons, people who raise above the others, and eventually become messengers. Beauty also gets the attention of great photographers, and helps with the bridging I was talking about earlier.”
What is 32-year-old Roberto Bolle dreaming of? “I worked with Rudolf Nureyev, I danced in Paris, Moscow, New York. I danced for Pope John Paul II. But I’d love to dance to the choreography of Béjart, for instance, it’s something I haven’t done.”
And the future? “I’d like to stay in Italy, in the realm of dance. And run a dance company. Teaching, I’d love that.”
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