An Italian dancer lands gracefully in Denver
Colorado Ballet dancer
Domenico Luciano practices at the Colorado Ballet studios on Jan. 13 in Denver. Luciano is learning multiple parts for the
ballet's upcoming production of “Alice (in wonderland),” including Lewisg Carroll, the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. The production will be at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House Feb. 19-28.
On a recent afternoon, a slender man in black leaped and whirled on the battleship-gray floor of Colorado Ballet’s main dance studio, a lithe woman slipping in and out of his wiry arms near an open book at their feet. The choreographer running the rehearsal counted cadence: And one and two and three and turnaround ... and five and six and put her down in arabesque in front of the book. The man was Domenico Luciano, one of three male principals with the state’s largest ballet company. He was rehearsing the role of Lewis Carroll, one of three he will play in the ballet’s February production of “Alice (in wonderland).” He also will
dance as the Mad Hatter and Cheshire Cat.
It’s been quite a trip down the rabbit hole for Luciano, 37, who arrived in the United States in 2004. His first stop was with the Tulsa Ballet, in Oklahoma. A year later he was hired as principal dancer by Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in Houston. He joined Colorado Ballet in 2013.
Dance is his passion and his avocation, a combination everyone should be so lucky to enjoy.
“For me it’s the physicality and athleticism being combined with live music,” Luciano said. “That’s really key for me. Moving through space with music is pretty exciting. The human body is built for that.
“We all have rhythm and respond to beats.”
Luciano owns a classic dancer’s build: tall and slim, but with a wiry strength. He has hazel eyes and a head topped by a taut tangle of black curls.
Luciano got his start in dance through his younger sister, who was taking ballet. He was involved in martial arts, and after his dojo session was over he would wait around for her class to end, watching and absorbing the movement.
He found he could duplicate the instructor’s moves better than she could, sometimes to her consternation.
“It always looked very easy to me,” he said. “I just fell in love with the art form. But there were no guys in the class, which kind of slowed me down as far as expressing a desire to join. I was sort of, ‘Oh, ballet’s for girls.’
“But the teacher pressed me to do it. I was 13, and I think I felt old enough and confident enough to ask.”
It did not take long for the instructor to identify him as a talent worth cultivating, and he was encouraged to audition at the Teatro di San Carlo Ballet School at the Opera House in Naples, Italy. He made the cut. “I really started when I was 14, which is superlate for ballet,” he said.
Luciano was sent to an accelerated class, which squeezed eight years of training into a five-year process. “It was really stressful but really mind-opening,” he said.
While at a ballet summer camp in France, a scout for a ballet company in Düsseldorf, Germany, asked him to audition. He landed a job and moved there. He was 20.
“It was my first time out of Italy,” Luciano said. “I didn’t speak any German. I liked the city, but it was not easy. There was so much to learn. I didn’t re-up the next year, even though it was great money and opportunity. I think I knew I needed to grow more.
“It think it was a good wake-up call,” he said. “It was kind of a cold shower, but it showed me what I could do.”
Luciano returned to Italy and soon landed four job offers, including one at La Scala in Milan. He opted for one in Florence, the MaggioDanza Compagnia del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.
In 2004, he moved to the U.S. (His family remains in Italy.)
Over the course of his career, Luciano has played the lead in “Dracula” and had roles in “Giselle” (Albrecht), “Romeo and Juliet” (including Romeo) and the male lead in “Orfeo and Eurydice.” The role he dreams of dancing is Des Grieux in the ballet “Manon,” choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan.
So what is his favorite role to date?
“That’s a hard question,” he said. “Probably the latest one. But I did love playing Albrecht in ‘Giselle.’ It was my first big role to combine acting and dance. It was the first time I really felt plugged in.”
Luciano’s preferred dance form is the story ballet.
“The acting part is really fun for me, diving in and exploring the character,” he said. “It’s a kind of intellectual experience going on at the same time as the physicality.”
At age 37, Luciano isn’t exactly in the twilight of his career. But he is an athlete, and time takes its toll, as a certain Denver Broncos quarterback can attest. Still, because of his late start, Luciano has less wear and tear on his joints and tendons than most of his peers.
“When I get to 40, then I’ll check in with my body,” he said. “In the meantime, I’m being proactive about taking care of my body and preventing injuries.”
That brings us to Luciano’s preferred leisure-time activities.
“Rest is good,” he said with a laugh. “I like cooking. My father’s side of the family was in the restaurant business. And I like books and movies.”
The Colorado Ballet corps is off from April to July, which means time in warm climates. (His hometown of Naples is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea.) “I love tropical beaches,” he said. “I definitely feel at home with my feet in the sand.”
He and his partner have been together for a year, and he has a daughter from a previous relationship.
Luciano would jump at the chance to remain in the ballet world after his onstage career ends. Although he is a trained accountant, he also has worked in dance as an assistant to the director, a teacher and a costume designer.
He also has choreographed and is rehearsing his own work, “Attraversiamo,” set to debut Feb. 6 at the Black Box Theater at the Armstrong Center for Dance in Denver.
“I feel very lucky and privileged to experience my life this way, where going to work isn’t really going to work,” he said.