Luciana Savignano

Luciana Savignano is an Italian ballet dancer born in Milan on 30 November 1943. She received her training at the Ballet School of La Scala and at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, laying the foundation for a career centered at one of the world's most prestigious opera houses.

Her rise within the Italian dance world gained momentum in 1968 when choreographer Mario Pistoni selected her as soloist for Mandarino Meraviglioso, a work set to music by Béla Bartók that drew significant attention to her abilities. By 1972 she had attained the rank of prima ballerina at La Scala. Her association with choreographer Maurice Béjart proved particularly formative; Béjart created roles expressly for Savignano in Leda and the Swan, Ce que l'amour me dit, and La Voce, the last of which was based on Jean Cocteau's La Voix Humaine. Her repertoire extended further to include Romeo and Juliet, Buak, Bolero, Swan Lake, The Taming of the Shrew, Cinderella, A la memoire, Carmina Burana, and Orpheus.

Savignano performed internationally throughout her career, and in 1977 she appeared on Broadway as a guest with Maurice Béjart's Ballet of the 20th Century, the production credited in Broadway records as Béjart: Ballet of the Twentieth Century.

In 1995 Savignano began a collaborative relationship with choreographer Susanna Beltrami, and the two went on to found The Lombard Dance Company together in 1998. Her screen credits include the films Aida (2006) and Mosè e Faraone, o Il passaggio del Mar Rosso (2003), as well as the video documentary Rudolf Nureyev alla Scala (2005) and the television series La plaça de la lluna (1988). Since 2009 she has served as a judge on the Rai 2 talent program Italian Academy.