Glauco di Lieto

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1) What is your favourite ballet? Or role?
I’ve always had a soft spot for Romeo and Juliet. The Prokofiev score is incredibly powerful, really evocative and of course the story is still the most romantic ever written. I think the emotions it conveys are universal and therefore it’s one of those ballets that will be around forever, in one form or another. And I’ve been lucky enough to perform the role of Romeo a few years ago, which was very special.

 

2) How do you relax whilst on tour?
Actually one of the good things about being on tour is that it gives me the opportunity to do a lot more reading. I do love a good book but when I’m at home I am rarely in the mood to read. In a theatre dressing room, though, there’s not much else to do. In fact, I probably owe it to all the touring we do that my brain cells haven’t been completely wiped out by too much TV!

 

3) What is your favourite meal/type of food?
My wife Jo and I always cook together and we now have a wide repertoire of risottos. My personal favourite is the smoked haddock version - very tasty!

 

4) What made you take up dance as a career?
I was always a very hyperactive child. Sitting behind a school desk was a terrible torture for me, and my mum had to find ways for me to channel my physical exuberance. After a few years of judo and gymnastics, I was introduced to my sister’s ballet teacher and he convinced me that I had the potential to make it as a dancer. I gave it a go and fell in love with it straight away.

 

5) Which is your favourite ballet company?
Oh, that’s easy: Scottish Ballet! Though I’ve heard that Paris Opera aren’t too bad either...

 

6) What is or has been your favourite venue to perform in?
I love performing in the open air. When I worked in Italy I danced on a stage set within the ruins of the Roman baths of Caracalla, truly spectacular. Of course that’s less likely to happen in Scotland, though we did dance outdoors when we went to Sintra, in Portugal, a few years ago, which was fantastic.

 

7) What is your greatest extravagance?
The first item Jo and I included in our wedding list was a DVD home cinema system with surround sound, which my best man Erik and his girlfriend Vassilissa (also dancers with Scottish Ballet) kindly bought us. Of course we then realised our old TV wasn’t really up to scratch so we had to get a new widescreen one. Watching movies is now one of my favourite things!

 

8) Describe yourself in five words
Ambitious in a gentle way.

 

9) If you hadn’t taken up dance as a career, what else would you be doing?
When I was about 12 my mum suggested I should choose between dancing and playing guitar, which I had also taken up, and just concentrate my efforts on learning one properly. I didn’t hesitate much, but I guess if I couldn’t have carried on dancing – who knows, I might have been in a band now!

 

10) Who would you be on Stars In Their Eyes?
It would have to be one of the great crooners like Frank Sinatra or Andy Williams. I know it’s not cool, but I don’t care. I’m a romantic and, I suppose, a bit cheesy too.

 

11) If you could be stuck in a lift with anyone, who would it be?
I’d love to meet David Dickinson (from Bargain Hunt) and ask him a few tips on finding good bargains! I also think he would be great fun to talk to.

 

Biography

 

Glauco trained at the Teatro dell’Opera BalletSchool in Rome. He danced with Aterballetto before joining English National Ballet, where his soloist roles included The Sleeping Beauty (Gold and Silver pas de trois), The Nutcracker (Fritz, Nutcracker Doll and Gopak), Napoli (pas de six), Coppélia (Escorts), SwanLake (Neapolitan), and Alice in Wonderland (White Rabbit).

 

Since joining Scottish Ballet in 1997, Glauco has danced soloist and principal roles in Page’s Cheating, Lying, Stealing, The Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Soft Underbelly, 32 Cryptograms,Nightswimming into day, Cinderella (The Equerry), Fearful Symmetries and The Sleeping Beauty, Darrell’s Tales of Hoffmann (pas de trois), Cinderella (pas de six) and Othello (Iago), Cohan’s Aladdin (Diamonds), Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), North’s Carmen (Lucas), Death and the Maiden (Death), Bach Dances (Bach), Ashton’s The Two Pigeons (lead man) and Façade, Davies’ White Man Sleeps,  Balanchine's The Four Temperaments and Rubies, Darrell's Five Rückert Songs, Forsythe’s Artifact Suite, Petronio’s MiddleSexGorge and Pastor’s In Light And Shadow. 

 

 Glauco trained at the Teatro Dell’Opera Ballet School in Rome. He danced with Aterballetto creating a role in Amodio’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream before joining English National Ballet, where he danced in The Nutcracker (Fritz) and Alice in Wonderland (White Rabbit). Since joining Scottish Ballet, Glauco has dance principle roles in Page’s Cheating, Lying, Stealing, The Nutcracker (The Nutcracker), Soft Underbelly, 32 Cryptograms,Nightswimming into day, Cinderella (The Equerry), Fearful Symmetries and The Sleeping Beauty,  Ashton’s The Two Pigeons, Darrell’s Othello (Iago), North’s Romeo and Juliet (Romeo), Carmen (lucas) and Death and the Maiden (Death), Pastor’s In Light And Shadow andLoosmore’s Chasing Ghosts. In Italy, Glauco was a finalist at the Rieti Dance Competition, he performed at the Spoleto International Dance Festival and, in 2007, was awarded the Leonide Massine prize for achievement in dance.

 

Quotes

 

CINDERELLA 2006/2007
.Criticaldance.net, 10 Dec 2006 – Glauco Di Lieto and Paul Liburd almost stole the show as the prancing equerry and dancing master

 

.Edinburgh Evening News, 05 Jan 2007 – Glauco Di Lieto as the Prince Equerry is able to dance the steps with perfection

 

CINDERELLA 2005-2006
Page’s Cinderella
. The Herald, 3 January 2006 - Paul Liburd and Glauco di Lieto, in cahoots (and a relationship), add to the humour as knowingly camp courtiers.