We recently connected with Jonathan Colafrancesco and have shared our conversation below.
Jonathan, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Being a freelance artist means often facing the uncertainty of finding enough gigs and being able to provide for your expenses. It is risky as an immigrant to move to a different country with a work visa that only allows you to work as a dance artist and prohibits any side jobs that might help mitigate financial stress. Living in one of the most expensive metropolises in the world, New York often makes me question my choices. But every time I find myself in discomfort, I think about all the extraordinary adventures that my dancing job takes me on, and I feel lucky and optimistic about a brighter future in my dance career.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
As a professional Dance Artist, I’m focused on exploring different languages and expanding my knowledge of different cultural expressions in movement. I recently became acquainted with the “Zapateado” style of dance, a traditional folk dance that originated in Spain, and later spread to its colonies in the New World like Mexico and other Latin American nations. I’m grateful for joining the “Ballet Nepantla”, a New York-based dance company, in their mission to keep Mexican traditions alive and allow the audience to experience important historical events. One of my hopes for the future is to be able to highlight Italian culture in my own work in an analogous way and feel more rooted in my heritage.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
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We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Being born and raised in a small town back in Italy, I faced a limited availability of resources in dance techniques and styles. If I had not been awarded a full scholarship at the Certificate Program of Peridance in New York, I would not have had the privilege of learning new forms of dance techniques. I got the opportunity to dive into Modern dance techniques such as Graham, Horton, and Taylor through the study program. As of today, my strengths are in improvisation and contemporary styles, while I constantly work to improve my technical skills, especially in ballet technique, which aligns most closely with my interests. Even though it’s hard to attend dance classes while working as a professional facing fatigue and financial stress, it’s fundamental that I continue to improve my skills so that I am able to book different gigs in the freelance world.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathan_colafrancesco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joncolafrancesco/
Image Credits
Jerry Xu, Ellie Aslanian, Elyse Mertz, Nina Galicheva, Chanette Manso
