La Valletta – National Historical Dance Company makes its debut at the 19th Century Grand Ball

A debut in an old-world spectacle is destined to leave its mark in a new geographical setting. The National Historical Dance Company, managed and directed by Nino Graziano Luca, made its debut at an extraordinary international event: “The 19th Century Grand Ball – The Italian Ball in Malta”, the fourth after the success in Astrakhan (Russia), Kuala Lumpur (Malesia), and in Vienna, during the celebrations of the bicentenary of Congress. More than 100 dancers in period costumes opened the ball in the halls of the Casa del Commun Tesoro, which was built by the Cavalieri di Malta (Order of Malta) for the safekeeping of the Order’s treasures. Mr Nino Graziano Luca said: “We express our thanks to the Knights, the Italian Embassy and the Cultural Institute in La Valletta, which sponsored the initiative. The National Historical Dance Company is proud to stage this event, also as a tribute to La Valletta’s designation as the European Capital of Culture in 2018”. The ball opened on the notes of a mixed repertory of Italian and English pieces of music commemorating historical figures memorable for the island of Malta, such as intellectual Michelangelo Refalo and composers Charles Camilleri and Paolino Vassallo, who were commemorated in celebrations for the 160^th anniversary of their birth. A particularly evocative moment was when the Company danced the Mazurka from a scene from The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) around the fountain in Piazza San Giorgio before the cameras of Rai and of Television Malta (TVM) and at the presence of the Minister of Culture, Owen Bonnici, the Mayor of La Valletta, Alexii Dingli, the President of the Chamber of Fashion Malta, Juliana Scerri Ferrante, who accepted the invitation of the director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Salvatore Schirmo, to attend the Grand Gala of Fashion and Culture.