The icon of ballet Carla Fracci has died

The famous dancer and icon died at 84, after an unforgettable career.

Carla Fracci was born in 1936 in Milan. And there, she studied ballet at the famous Theater La Scala. During the decades of her career, the dancer charmed not only Italy. But the entire world.

Ballet is life

Fracci made her debut in 1955 on the stage of Piermarini theater. While she was 19 when she first danced on stage, Fracci started dancing when she was 10. She graduated in 1954 thanks to teachers like Vera Volkova. Still, her career started almost by chance when two friends of her family suggested it.

”At the beginning I didn’t understand the sense of repetitions, sacrifice, and of total commitment, both mental and physical,” Carla Fracci said often.

Until the 1970s, she danced for international and foreign companies, from the Royal Ballet to the Stuttgart Ballet, and she was even a guest at the American Ballet Theatre. From the 1980s, Fracci directed too. She worked at the San Carlo of Naples, the Arena of Verona, and the Opera of Rome. There, she stayed until 2010, teaching and inspiring the new generations.

She inspired young dancer with her classical and charming roles. In ballet, Carla Fracci loved being Juliet and even Giselle. With her passion and talent, she made ballet accessible. It wasn’t an art for the elite, but a show worth seeing. By everyone. And that’s how she charmed Italians and foreigners. By dancing on the tip of her toes.

The reactions to the death of Carla Fracci

Because she was an example that went beyond dance, everyone was touched by her death.

“She honored our country, with her elegance, her artistic commitment, and the hard work. I express my sorrow to the family and to the dance world that loses a precious and unforgettable reference,” said the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

The Theater La Scala expressed the same feelings: “the theater, the city, and dance, we lose a historic figure, a legend, that left a strong mark on our identity. And who gave a crucial contribution to the prestige of Italian culture in the world.”

And Dominique Meyer, voice from La Scala, added, “she intimately united her name with this theater. We will always think of her with fondness and gratitude, remembering the smile of our last days together, when she felt like she had come back home.”

Even orchestra director Riccardo Muti was speechless.

”She will live in the heart of her supporters and I am one of them,” said Muti to ANSA, “I will always remember her as a great dancer and an extraordinary professional. And I will remember her here at the Scala, a theater that was the center of her world.”

The hashtag #CarlaFracci is trending on Twitter and even politicians are expressing their sorrow. Indeed, Carla Fracci touched everyone. Thanks to her talent, grace, and beauty, she inspired dancer worldwide. And not just dancers. By nearing the world of ballet to the people, she brought beauty to everyone. She was inclusive -and so is dance.

The news of her death comes only a few days after the death of artist Franco Battiato, another icon of Italian culture. One sang, the other danced. And fans love to imagine them perform together now.