This is the story of a woman. A strong, but naive young woman who is living her journey of life to become a full-complete woman.
She has to deal with the difficulties of growing up, being responsible, being a mother, being a model of inspiration to follow. She is embracing the message of resilience, dancing how many personalities are painting her soul.
This collaboration with the artist Nicholas Palmquist, started with his personal family story about how he wanted to create a piece dedicated to his mother. A woman who had to grow too fast, facing the difficulties to grow up a family even before to define herself. A woman who faced the reality of holding responsibilities, being a model of inspiration for others, before to be a model for her. Nicholas wanted to portrait her journey of a young woman struggling for identity, still attached to her past, gasping in her memories. We see her fighting for herself and her family. At the end, we see her accepting herself making her imperfections her best part. She found resolution in her life; she is following her destiny as a mature strong woman.
When Nicholas shared with me this story, I was in tears how I felt this story so close to mine. As a dancer, I should grow up too fast, always hanging out with people older than me, sacrificing many times “normal life” occurrences with my peers. This, sometimes, made me feel not accepted and I struggle a lot. I moved by myself at 18een years old in New York to follow my dream and many times I felt I was not enough. But now, after four years in this city, I embrace myself, my possibilities and qualities, transforming my imperfections into my strongest qualities. I started this process in New York as a teenager, now I’m a young woman.
Unfortunately, this dance piece has never been performed live cause pandemic, so we decided to transform it in a video, and in this precarious situation, I decided to add another layer.
This city that shaped me, during the pandemic I was not able to recognize her. I was never in my room, my life was a circle of 24/7 dancing in the studio, creating art with other artists. Walking in the streets surrounded by tall buildings that will never stop to surprise me. But now, those buildings, this life is far. I can just see the skyline from my rooftop. I can just see my friends through phone calls, and I can dance just by myself in my room. This is not the New York we know; this is not the dream city that everyone craves to visit, but now it is the new reality we have to face. What is the real New York?
Choreography Nicholas Palmquist
Concept- collaboration Sara Pizzi and Nicholas Palmquist
Interpretation Sara Pizzi
Videographer Alice Castro