top of page

In honor of Rita Romanelli, principal dancer at the San Carlo in Naples

art director and fashion designer Alessandro Chelazzi, photo Mary Ianniciello 

dancer Anna Rupe, make up Stella Izzo, hair Susy Chelazzi, backstage Sara Sbriglia 

video Armando Taddeo, dance school Rita Romanelli - Rossella Cocco

9.jpg

GABRIELE blazer Isaac Dewhirst, trousers J.Lindeberg, belt Boss, shoes Zign

SIRENO shirt Bläck, trousers COS, belt Boss, shoes Zign

11.jpg
21.jpg
3.jpg
6.jpg
17.jpg
14.jpg
19.jpg
12_edited.png
10.jpg
8.jpg
5.jpg

THE BALLAD OF
BEAUTY

ALESSANDRO CHELAZZI
MARY IANNICIELLO

text by
Raffaella Celentano

When passion and art engage in a dialogue and meet the desire to celebrate beauty, wonderful projects are born. Uniting dance, art, and fashion into a single, grand dialogue is no small feat and requires a perfect balance, so that no part of the story overshadows another and everything is in harmony. To this harmony, a life story must be added, to bear witness to what has happened and, in some way, can accompany us in the future. This is The Ballad of Beauty. A hymn to beauty, a journey through the senses culminating in a cathartic purification in the marvelous act of dance.

Dance comes to life, is experienced, and is narrated in its multifaceted complexity. It then joins with passion, love, and memory, transforming into a complete celebration. This hymn to beauty is conveyed through two protagonists: two women united by their unconditional love for dance. A love that goes beyond life's difficulties, beyond pain, and beyond suffering. Rita Romanelli and Anna Rupe, both dancers, have dedicated their lives to the art of dance, overcoming significant challenges and transmitting their passion in different ways.

Rita Romanelli was the principal dancer at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Beside her, in life and career, were her husband Attilio Cocco, also a principal dancer at the San Carlo, and their daughter Rossella, now the director of the Rita Romanelli Dance School, a place that has become a symbol of love and a tribute to her extraordinary career as a dancer.

Anna Rupe, also a dancer, has dedicated her life to dance. Today, she transforms into the absolute protagonist of this project, dancing and reliving the places of the Rita Romanelli Dance School, a sacred place for her, where she grew up first as a student and later as a dance teacher.

Anna dances, poses, and wears. She dresses and reveals herself in her elegance, speaks through her body, and lives dance in all its complexity and beauty. In this project, Rita and Anna engage in a dialogue. They find themselves united in a dreamlike whirlwind of faces, bodies, clothes, and stories. A dancing dream, set in a magical place, which is both a starting and ending point for those who love, dream, and live dance.

The Ballad of Beauty thus becomes a tribute not only to beauty and dance but to two women united by their passion for this marvelous art. The project becomes an invisible thread connecting Rita and Anna, reminding us that our passions, if nurtured and fully lived, can remain intact, beyond difficulties and beyond life itself.

"Ever since I was very little, I spent more time in a dance studio than in a real home. My parents were principal dancers at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, so it was natural for me to get close to this world from a young age.

My mother, Rita Romanelli, chose to have me by her side as much as possible, taking me every afternoon to their dance school. This allowed me to become more and more passionate, eventually becoming a dancer and then a teacher.

My wonderful mother passed away prematurely at the age of 45. My pain is constant, but I am proud and honored to have been her daughter. Even if only for a short time, she managed to make me appreciate this sublime art that is dance, and above all, she taught me the best way to convey passion to my students: with devotion, heart, respect, sweetness, and seriousness in a professional yet loving environment."

- Rossella

Alessandro Chelazzi, Mary Ianniciello

The Ballad of Beauty

bottom of page