Paolo Mangiola
2013/14
Writing this during the current pandemic is surreal and helpful at the same time. When I applied in 2014 for the LUTSF I was just finishing my first year into the MA in choreography and I had just left WM|RD company. It was a time of learning and my appetite for knowledge was greater than ever.
The trip to Tokyo, which only could have had happened through the support of the LUTSF, not only concretely provided me an insight into the Japanese culture, the subject of my research at that time, but also allowed me to meet artists from different fields and initiate a dialogue which I’m still cultivating to this day.
I believe that now more than ever grants and support to artists are vital as most of the people operating in the industry are all freelancer.
Paolo Mangiola
I’m now leading the national dance company of Malta, ŻfinMalta, and one of the many areas in which the company operates is professional development as I’m striving to create the conditions where artists can be exposed as much as possible to different creative challenges and are encouraged to find solutions with experts from different fields. This, in my opinion, is how we can allow our art form to keep developing into the 21st century.
In the time of writing this we are all experiencing uncertain times. R&D in the scientific industry is a must and resources should go there and I hope our leaders across the globe will act as quickly as possible. However, this is a global issue where all industries are already suffering and I can only talk about the one I operate in. We are totally unprepared for this and if social distancing is the key to fight against this and new pandemics, then we must rethink about how we create and experience dance.
I believe that now more than ever grants and support to artists are vital as most of the people operating in the industry are all freelancer. There are big questions to be addressed regarding the future of our society and in small the future of dance as an artform therefore we must now more than ever not act quickly and alone but rather slow and together with solidarity. It is a test for our ability to adapt and train our resiliency and trust.
IG: paolomangram
Podcast: https://towardsvivencia.com/podcasts/f/paolo-mangiola