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Virna Toppi: “Carla Fracci taught us to be ourselves, inside and outside the stage”

When the news of the very serious conditions in which it poured Carla Fracci it spread to the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, for the corps de ballet engaged in the rehearsals it was a blow to the heart. “Until two months ago he was here in the room explaining to us Giselle, to sing, to dance, to laugh and joke with us. When the superintendent general arrived to speak to our manager and he came back to break the news, there was a collective shock. An eerie atmosphere soon set in; from then on we weren’t even able to try ».

We reach Virna Top by phone a few hours after the announcement of the disappearance of the iconic étoile. The 29-year-old prima ballerina della Scala has a clear and precious memory of Carla Fracci, who just recently met the Scala Ballet Company to hold two masterclasses in streaming on Giselle, one of his most iconic roles.

“She was with us for two weeks, giving us notions about a ballet that no one else could have known better than her. Even when she came to the room, after years of not coming back, she was really happy. It is a bit as if he had bid farewell to what was still “his” theater. “

What is Carla Fracci’s distinctive trait, the element that more than anything else has characterized her style?
«Its clarity, its naturalness, its spontaneity. As it was on stage she was in the room. And as it was in the hall it was outside the theater. What he taught us is the importance of always being ourselves, inside the scene and outside. Indeed, even more so within the scene: because this is the only way to convey emotions that are real, that truly belong to us ».

Icon of skill and source of inspiration for all dancers. Was it for you too when you started dancing?
“Absolutely yes, since I was a little girl I looked at her photos, I listened to her words in interviews, I looked at her Giselle on YouTube: it has always been a source of inspiration in many ways. Also for his grace, his determination, his perseverance and his desire to work. It is and will always be a point of reference for us dancers ».

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