Italy dance gala bans Russian ballerina, irking League party
The Straits Times
ROME, March 17 - Celebrated Russian ballerina Svetlana Zakharova has been excluded from a dance gala beginning in Rome this month, organisers said, in the latest political dispute over the participation of Russian artists in cultural events in Italy. Read more at straitstimes.com.
ROME, March 17 - Celebrated Russian ballerina Svetlana Zakharova has been excluded from a dance gala beginning in Rome this month, organisers said, in the latest political dispute over the participation of Russian artists in cultural events in Italy.
A star of Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre, Zakharova has been a vocal supporter of President Vladimir Putin. She had been due to perform at the "Les Etoiles" gala in the Italian capital on March 20 to 21.
The gala's organisers said that in deciding to exclude Zakharova they had received "institutional communications ... that have highlighted the symbolic responsibility of cultural institutions in the current context".
They did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who had sent the communication. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in the war and of sanctions against Russia.
They said there was a risk of the event being "misunderstood or exploited", despite their hope to build bridges through art.
Zakharova's exclusion comes after a contested decision by the Venice Biennale art exhibition to reopen its Russian pavilion - which has been closed since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine - for this year's edition which runs from May to November.
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