Here's what makes the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony special

MILAN — Inside a cavernous tent near Milan’s San Siro stadium, classically trained dancers from La Scala’s academy mimicked Nordic walkers and figure skaters during a rehearsal Saturday for the opening number of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony, which will take place on Feb. 6. The young dancers are among some 1,200 volunteers who have been rehearsing since November in the tent large enough to mark the actual stage while Italian Serie A soccer wrapped up its final soccer matches before turning the iconic stadium into an Olympic venue. “The preparation of the Olympic ceremony is a very complicated journey but also an exhilarating journey, because you get to meet all these volunteers, dance classes, normal people,’’ opening ceremony creative director Marco Balich told The Associated Press during a rare behind-the-scenes tour. Volunteers include Balich’s butcher, the head of his office and an 88-year-old widow. “And all of them join in to create something for the nation, for the joy of being part of a huge event like the Olympics,’’ said Balich, the proWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times