umenitsa - Patrasso - Grimaldi Group

Photos by Paolo Vitale
• Your journey in the world of dance
began when you were a child. Tell
us about those beginnings and how
you became interested in musicals.
It all started at my mother’s ballet
school in Rome; I started studying
classical dance when I was only
7. My life-changing opportunity
came later when, during a summer
dance school, I was offered a
scholarship at the Urdang Academy
of Performing Arts, the last song
& dance school left in London’s
West End. That’s where I got my
passion for musicals and that’s
where I learned to sing and act as
well as dance…and I realised that
this what I wanted to do in life.
• You’ve always devoted a
lot of time to instruction. Do
you find it easier to dance or
to teach others to dance?
It depends who I’m working with.
I like dancing but equally I also
like teaching. Italy’s overflowing
with talent – there are so many
good young prospects out there.
When I came back to this country
after years abroad, I thought I’d
find pretty much a “wasteland” in
terms of production of musicals.
How wrong I was! Italy’s got
loads of talent, there’s huge
interest in musical comedy and
there are more performers here
than there are abroad. That’s
why I like the idea of being able
to convey to young Italians what
I’ve learned over the years.
• Is “Broadway On the Sea”
part of this teaching project?
Most definitely. The event was
designed for young people of
various ages so that they could take
part at the same time in dance,
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events
Eventionboard
ROBERTO GIUFFRIDA, dancer, choreographer and dance instructor
with an international reputation teamed up with Arianna
Bergamaschi to produce “Broadway On the Sea”, an entertaining
learning experience for young performers of musicals.
singing and acting lessons with
classes arranged according to their
degree of preparation. On the ship
we were able to arrange practice
rooms, rehearsal halls and dance
studios just like in the best schools
of performing arts. Our main
strengths were the location and
the teaching staff. In addition to
Arianna and myself, instruction was
given by Manuel Frattini, Andrè
De La Roche, Angelo Di Figlia,
Andrea Spina and Matteo Mazzoli,
who all committed themselves to
the cause body and soul. They
not only passed on their technical
and professional skills but also
shared their personal experiences
with their young charges. And it
was this combination of “useful
and enjoyable”, “business and
pleasure”, “study and holiday”
that made “Broadway On
the Sea” such a success.
• Do you plan on introducing
any changes for the next
edition of the event in July?
Arianna and I feel that the 3
full days of lessons, which this
year will be preceded by a
preliminary session ashore on the
Saturday morning at a facility in
Civitavecchia, should be capped
off by individual performances
by everyone in front of all the
teachers. This is a way for them
to put into practice what they’ve
learned and I think they’d benefit
greatly from it: contending with
“stage fright” and dealing with the
adrenaline rush will help them to
mature as artists and one minute
on stage can be more constructive
than 10 hours of tuition.
marenostrum
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