Roberto Bolle discovered his passion for dance when he was very young. He began studying in Piedmont, his region of origin, until the age of 12 when he entered the Ballet School of La Scala Theatre in Milan.

The last time that Nureyev appeared at La Scala Theatre to stage his production of Nutcracker, he who was considered at the time to be a legend, noticed Roberto in the studio. He asked the deeply moved fifteen-year-old boy to do some exercises at the bar. After some days Nureyev chose him to perform Tadzio in Death in Venice. This meeting was to influence Roberto’s destiny forever.

Only twenties Roberto debuts in the starring role of Romeo. In this role, in July of the following year, he will be promoted Principal Dancer by Elizabeth Terabust, beginning an outstanding international career.

Roberto performed Sigfried for the first time with the international star Altinai Asylmuratova at the most impressive English concert hall in a huge new production by Derek Deane, which included 70 swans, acrobats and jugglers. For the first time the young Italian artist, just twenty-two, met some members of the Royal Family such as Princess Margaret and the beautiful and unforgettable Lady Diana.

On St. Valentine’s Day The Times devoted a front-page article to Roberto which further added to his enormous international popularity. In the same year Roberto danced in Aida in Cairo which was the first time in 50 years that this production had been performed there. The Keope and the Kefren pyramids set the stage and were an exceptional background to Aida.

After three years of restoration, the Royal Opera house opened the season and celebrated its reopening with The Nutcracker. Roberto was invited to dance at the prestigious theatre for the first time with Darcey Bussell. Since this performance, the exceptional partnership with Darcey has continued and they have danced in many classical and contemporary ballets together. He was elected as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador .

The United Kingdom and the entire British Commonwealth celebrated Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth’s Golden Jubilee. The highlight of the celebration was held on Saturday 1st June and was a great event at the Royal Palace.  Roberto, the only Italian artist invited, performed the Black Swan pas de deux with Zenaida Yanowsky in the fabulous setting of the throne room at Buckingham Palace.

International Star, in these years Roberto was invited to dance in the most prestigious theatres in the world: Mariinsky – Bol’šoj –Opéra – Metropolitan Opera House. Theaters where only the most famous étoiles have ever performed.

On April 1st Pope John Paul II met youngsters at St. Peter’s Square. Roberto danced a solo to Mozart’s Ave Verum choreographed by Renato Zanella, in the square.

In 2008, after 8 years of enormous successes gathered all over Italy and abroad, the by-then famous “Bolle and Friends” Gala began looking for locations that would normally be considered highly unusual for the typical ballet requirements.  Locations, at this point, had become as important and peculiar to the “Bolle and Friends” appointment as the repertoire performed on stage. Just to mention a few places where the gala took place: the Coliseum in Rome, Duomo Square in Milan, Plebiscito Square in Naples and San Marco square in Venice. Well beyond Italian borders, the gala reached audiences in Athens, (Greece), Instanbul (Turkey), Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan) and finally New York City, (United States).

For the 2009 Spring Season at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, he performed as a Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre: it was the first time that a male Italian dancer had joined the Company as a Principal. The World Economic Forum awarded Roberto Bolle Young Global Leader 2009. An Athlete In Tights is a photography book realized by Bruce Weber that celebrates his three-years collaboration with Roberto Bolle. In this book, which is largely pictorial, Bruce Weber has captured the convergence of artistic and physicality in Roberto.

Robert Wilson, the famous choreographer, performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound and lighting designer created Perchance to Dream, a series of 30 video portraits featuring Roberto Bolle, presented in New York in December. In 2012 some of them were projected on giant screens placed in Times Square, New York. Roberto Bolle met also Peter Greenway , who wanted him to represent the Italian art at Shanghai Expo 2010. His virtual images of Roberto Bolle dominated the Italian Pavillon. As UNICEF Ambassador, he went for the second time to Africa.

In November 2012 he was appointed Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by Giorgio Napolitano, the President of the Italian Republic, for his support to the Italian culture. In July the Gala Roberto Bolle and Friends took place at the Arena of Verona. It was the first time after more than 19 years a ballet had been performed in such an amazing location.
About 10 thousand people attended the Gala.

Roberto Bolle and Friends Gala took place on September 17th 2013 at New York City Center. This special Evening was the highlight event of the project: 2013 – The Year of Italian Culture in the United States.

In 2014 he was awarded the Unesco Medal, conferred in Paris, for the universal cultural value of his artistic work, “in recognition of his contribution to the promotion of the ideas of Unesco through dance as a living cultural expression and as a vector for dialogue”. Always in 2014 Bolle has been chosen as the star of the new ENI campaign “Rethink Energy” for which he made an incredible spot directed by Fabrizio Ferri.

In April of 2015 was released by Rizzoli the book “Voyage into beauty” with images of Luciano Romano and Fabrizio Ferri of him in some of the symbols of the Italian artistic heritage, such as the ruins of Pompei, Piazza San Marco in Agrigento, the Colosseum and the Baths of Caracalla, where the harmony of gestures and the balance between the dancer and the places evoke a profound reflection on art and the exceptional nature of our heritage. Always in 2015 Roberto Bolle approaches for the first time to the cinema as a director participating in choral project “Milan 2015”, a documentary film divided into six episodes with as many directors. The film was successfully presented at the Venice Film Festival.

In October 2016 Raiuno, the main Italian TV channel, devoted him a prime time Saturday evening with the show event “Roberto Bolle – La mia Danza Libera” with the participation of dancers from International ballet Companies along with musicians actors and singers!

Always in 2016 Italian cinemas have released “Roberto Bolle – L’Arte della Danza”, a documentary film adapted from 2015 summer tour “Roberto Bolle and Friends”, through some of the unique places of the italian cultural heritage: Arena di Verona, Teatro Grande in Pompei, Terme di Caracalla in Rome.

2018 opened with a new tv show broadcast by Raiuno: Roberto Bolle – Danza con me, which was a huge success watched by about 5 million people.

On January he also performed in “The Seasons” a world premiere ballet performance opening the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2018 in Davos (Switzerland).

In June 2018, he was the Artstic Director and performer of the first edition of “OnDance | Accendiamo la danza”, the great feast of all dances that took place in Milan and that it will return in 2019 with the second edition.

In September 2018 he received the Honor of “Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic”.

The beginning of 2019 saw him once again starring in the tv show on Rai1 “Danza con me”, acclaimed by critics and the public, also the 2020, 2021 and 2022 editions were very successful.
In March 2019 the TV documentary, he himself created, “This night has opened my eyes” was broadcast on Sky Arte.

Artistic Director and Performer for the second edition of the festival of all dances that took place in Milan from May 26th to June 2nd 2019

Thursday, 20th June 2019, Roberto Bolle with his partner Hee Seo, gave the farewell to the scenes of New York’s ABT. On this occasion he performed one of his favorite ballet: L’Histoire de Manon by Kenneth MacMillan.

#abtfamily

“OnDance | Accendiamo la danza” had its third edition in Milan in 2020, both in presence and streaming. A great challenge due to the health emergency, but an important signal of the desire to return to dance and share with the public.

In 2021 he created the multimedia project OnDance – Le Masterclass in collaboration with Tim Vision with a rich program of ballet and other styles classes.

In June 2021, he was awarded the title of Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella.

From 1 to 6 September 2021, he is once again Artistic Director and performer of the fourth edition of OnDance | Accendiamo la danza, in Milan.

On 7 September 2021 Roberto Bolle is the protagonist of “L’Opera Meravigliosa. Roberto Bolle per il Duomo di Milano”, an evening in support of the restoration of the Main Spire of the Duomo of Milan.

In February and March 2022 he represents Italy with his gala “Roberto Bolle and Friends” in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, respectively on Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre’s stage at EXPO2020 and at the Emirates Palace Auditorium.

On 18 and 19 March he dances on Boléro’s red table at the Cirque Royal in Bruxelles, with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne Company, and on June 3rd he performs “Apollo” at the Opening Night of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

The 2022 summer tour of Roberto Bolle and Friends Gala opens in June with eight performances at Teatro degli Arcimboldi in Milan to continue during July in the traditional locations in Rome, Florence, Verona and two new venues: the Parchi di Nervi in Genoa and the Teatro Antico in Taormina.
In august, he flies for the first time in Brisbane, Australia, where he is among the artists of BIG – Ballet International Gala.

The beginning of September marks the return of the fifth edition of OnDance festival to Milan with a great BalloinBianco in Piazza Duomo, a ballet class held by Bolle himself attended by 1607 ballet students from all over Italy. A strong image to communicate that dance must be defended and supported.

Two the appointments in October and November – the 27. Festival Internacional de Ballet de La Habana “Alicia Alonso” in Cuba and the Ballet Gala Concert in Zagreb – while in December he is in Muscat, Oman at the Royal Opera House Muscat with his Gala Roberto Bolle and Friends.

In May 2023 he is at the Teatro Arcimboldi in Milan with 7 dates of the show “Roberto Bolle and Béjart Ballet Lausanne” where he stars in “Boléro.” Also in May, an international stop at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires for Mauro Bigonzetti’s ballet “Caravaggio.”

In July, he opened the 2023 edition of the Baalbeck International Festival (Lebanon) with his Roberto Bolle and Friends Gala, and in August he is again in Australia for the Ballet International Gala in the cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.