Meet Lívia Pinheiro

We were lucky to catch up with Lívia Pinheiro recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lívia, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.

From a young age, the ballet world was my safe space. With my classmates we were like a family, we grew up and learned not only about dance, but about ourselves and life together. My teacher taught us about the african phylosophy of Ubuntu, ¨I am because we are”, so in a world of competitions that usually push young dancers to be hostile with one another, she created an envirolment where sharing, caring and supporting each other was the most important thing.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a professional ballet dancer currently working in Germany. To be able to work with people from all over the world, with the most diverse back ground, all coming together with the same passion and willing to share and connect through this art form is the most exciting thing. We create and discover together, portraing life, living through the eyes of different characters, giving voice to stories. I love how abstract and personal dance is for each person, how no matter if there’s a story or not, it is up to the viewr to interpret and decide what it means to them.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Discipline, love and trust are the key to the success as a dancer to me. Discipline to show up for yourself everyday even when it feels too hard. Trust in the process, that we each have an unique path and that when it is time the questions will be answered and things will start to make sense. Love, because it will be very hard and frustrating, but the love for the art, for connecting, sharing and healing through it will be the anchor that will remind you everyday why you chose this path

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert is a book that I think is a must read for everyone, specially for those who live and work in the creative field.
“There is no theft; there is no ownership; there is no tragedy; there is no problem. There is no time or space where inspiration comes from- and also no competition, no ego, no limitations. There is only the stubbornness of the idea itself, refusing to stop searching until it has found an equally stubborn collaborator”
“Your own reasons to create are reason enough. Merely by pursuing what you love, you may inadvertently end up helping us plenty. (“There is no love which does not become help” taught the theologian Paul Tillich.)”

Contact Info:

• Instagram: liviaopinheiro

Image Credits

Cinderella and DreamWave: Ida Zenna
in red dress: Gregory Batardon
Portrait: Nasser Hashemi
Child: personal archive