Ballet, the triptych of McGregor, Maillot and Naharin at La Scala

The third production of the new Ballet Season, the much-awaited McGregor/ Maillot/ Naharin triptych, arrives at the Scala from 18 to 28 March, plus a charity evening on 31 March reserved for the Niguarda Hospital Foundation. Full of novelties, it will be a debut for the La Scala corps de ballet, which will perform the three works on the bill for the first time, and for the national audience, as two of the three productions have never before been performed in our country.

Novelty but also continuity: the signature of Wayne McGregor, with whom Frédéric Olivieri had inaugurated in his previous directorships a collaboration that has continued steadily, is now renewed with one of the most representative pieces, Chroma, for the first time on an Italia stage, on the 20th anniversary of its creation. The name of Jean-Christophe Maillot enters the Scaligero Ballet programme for the first time, his artistic vision highly articulated, with a profound and delicate work, Dov è la luna, in its national premiere, in which Roberto Bolle also takes part in the opening performances. Disruptively closing the triptych Minus 16, one of the most distinguished manifestos of Ohad Naharin's originality and his innovative movement language.

Chroma explores the drama of the human body and its ability to communicate emotions and deepest thoughts. It is an inventive work that earned Mc Gregor an appointment as resident choreographer of the Royal Ballet 20 years ago and has since entered the repertoire of the world's major companies. Loved by audiences and critics alike, Chroma is a classic of contemporary ballet. The soundtrack, based on Joby Talbot's original music and his arrangements of the music of the American rock band The White Stripes, intersects with the essential, minimalist designs of architect John Pawson. The cast ranges from Nicoletta Manni to Timofej Andrijashenko.

Designed for seven dancers, Where is the Moon explores shadow and light in search of the bodies hidden within them. This monochromatic work, with its chiaroscuro tones, shakes up and expands the vocabulary and technique of classical dance, pushed to its extreme limits by the choreographer. On stage, Leonardo Pierdomenico performs the piano works of Aleksandr Skrjabin: a selection of Preludes from op. 9, 11, 13, 16, the Etude op.42 No.5 and Vers la Flamme op.72. Starring Maria Celeste Losa and Roberto Bolle.

Minus 16, premiered for the Nederlands Dans Theater 2 in 1999, is based on pieces from other works in Naharin's repertoire, including Mabul (1992), Anaphaza (1993) and Zachacha (1998). On stage, a cast of 23 dancers perform choreography that moves freely between delicate, everyday gestures and violent jerks, to a soundtrack that ranges from Dean Martin to mambo, from techno to traditional music, and includes one of Naharin's best-known compositions Echad Mi Yodea ("Who knows one?") that leads the dancers to follow the repetitive rhythm of the piece by reciting the 13 verses in unison.