Exploring Inquiries

Upon revisiting my Module 1 Handbook, a question stood out to me: 'What, in my daily practice, gets me really enthusiastic to find out more about?'. 

Interestingly, upon reflection, I figured out that it was not exactly "what" got me interested in something...but more something along the lines of "what conditions" got me enthusiastic to delve deep into things...

I thrive when I am building quality human interactions and exchanges, when I feel in a safe and supportive environment and when I am physically pushed to grow as a dancer within the realms of a respective practice. 

I resonate to the magical balance of a lighthearted yet profound research process, and above all I respond to kindness and awareness. 

Three teachers came to my mind when pondering on this:

- My beloved artistic gymnastics teacher from my youth, Annabella Cinti.

- My 200h YTT Head Teacher, Christopher (Shane) Perkins.

- And Adriene Mishler, an incredible online Yoga teacher, who made me rediscover the beauty of a daily personal practice. 

Three very different and very diverse human beings which, to me, all share a love for the importance of community building beyond all things in their teaching practice. 

As an artist, what moves me to my core, is the exploration of the embodiment of emotions. I started craving this as a young aspiring performer, and it is an incredibly rare state to achieve. I believe I felt it once, when performing the lead role of Hera in Guido Markowitz's ballet Metamorphosen. I was dancing with my very best friend, Johannes Blattner, and for the first time in my artistic life, I felt ONE with my role, the stage, the choreography, my dance partner, the audience & myself. To this day, I feel blessed for having had the opportunity to live this breathtaking experience. 

Johannes Blattner & Eleonora Pennacchini in Metamorphosen by Guido Markowitz. Picture by Andrea D'Aquino.

When reflecting on what makes me angry or sad...a few things came to mind.

Above all, being made to feel worthless or unseen. Lack of clarity, acknowledgment & respect madden me...but in general, amongst these two feelings, I would say that I experienced sadness more than anger as a dancer.

Illnesses and injuries are incredibly scary, as they carry along with them the fear of not being considered reliable anymore.  You become invisible...or at least, that is how you feel...

Working on building a sense of self-worth is extremely important for dancers, as we need to know who we are beyond our jobs, beyond our bodies, beyond our physical prowess, and beyond the stage. 

At times, I feel like dance schools focus too much on forming the "athlete" and the "artist"... somehow forgetting to build up the human beings behind these two job descriptions as well...

Beyond the undeniable joy that dancing and performing bring to me, making memories with the people that I work with, is one of the most beautiful aspects of my job.

- I love the sense of extended family that is deeply rooted within the dance community.

- I love being surrounded by diversity.

- And I love the international aspect of being part of a professional dance company.

I have truly been blessed, over the years, with a group of wonderful colleagues, and I must thank my directors Guido Markowitz & Damian Gmür, for being so good at always bringing together such an incredible group of dance artists and human beings. 

Among many, beyond being remarkable dancers and performers, some truly showed me how to build a real sense of community:

- Alba Valenciano López, always a ray of sunshine in the studio.

- Jorge Soler Bastida, who always knew how to bring a smile on people's faces.

- Mei Chen, who's natural leadership skills remarkably helped to bring the company together.

- Johannes Blattner, who modeled professionality, kindness and awarness on a daily basis.

Within this context, I feel like I should also give a special mention to two wonderful women, Sarah Deltenre & Elsa Genova, for being such nurturing and supportive ballet masters, and caring motherly figures to many young dancers living miles and miles away from their biological families. 

Eleonora Pennacchini. Picture by Andrea D'Aquino for Ballett Theater Pforzheim.

As far as inquiries and observations go... there is one thing I ask myself often when reflecting on dancers...

Why is it that dancers can hardly sit still?

And I am not talking just physically or movement-wise, but geographically, travel-wise...

Dancers tend to live a very nomadic life. Why?

I often ask myself, what are we seeking? What do we need? What is the drive to our quest?

Is it just in our nature of dancers to want to move? Or is it the result of a pattern in our education?

Are we seeking outwards what we could maybe learn how to explore inwards?