Gabriele Farinacci’s move to Malta happened completely by chance, but like most things that happen when you least expect them, the move has left a very positive impact on his life. Previously employed by London based Transitions Dance Company, the group travelled together to Malta for a show where he came in contact with the Rehearsal Director of Moveo Dance Company, who offered him an audition.
The dancer was hired on the spot and looking back on his past year working full-time as a dancer in Malta, he feels “honoured and happy to have had the chance to work on such a beautiful island and be so close to my home country.”
As a young boy, Gabriele Farinacci was booted off to football camp along with his two elder brothers, a move he refers to as “society defining male sport.” The young dancer admits freely that the sport never instilled any emotion in him, but when he saw his elder sister “dancing and flying around the stage showing her skills from artistic gymnastics,” he felt inspired. A plot started brewing between the inseparable pair, with the sister secretly teaching her brother tricks in the living room. After witnessing Gabriele’s eagerness, she convinced their parents to sign him up for dance classes and now, dance has become Gabriele’s “entire life.”
“Having the chance to combine your passion and work is something rare and unique,” Gabriele admits, adding that the idea of working purely for money never attracted him. While he acknowledges its importance, he is quick to point out the precarious nature of art-related jobs. Referencing a quote by an Italian artist, Gabriele describes artists as a group of people eternally circling in unemployment: one day you have a contract for a production, the next day you don’t.
Despite the risk, Gabriele admits he wouldn’t change his situation for the world. “There is nothing in the world that makes me feel as accomplished as this job, nothing that makes me feel the same emotions as when I am on stage, nothing that makes me feel the same as when I look my parents and lover in the eyes after a show and nothing like the immediate knowledge of having entertained an audience.”
Malta provided Gabriele with the right platform to balance passion, work and family but this has recently been put on hold after being one of three Moveo dancers selected to perform in Talal Al-Muhanna, a new musical launching soon in Kuwait. The narrative follows humans who had to make a move to Mars after Earth suffered complete destruction due to a major catastrophe. Despite abandoning their home planet, the new Kuwaiti-Martian people uphold their traditions and customs and Gabriele reveals that the musical “aims to underline and denounce the negative aspects of modern society through comedy in a subtle, original and brilliant way.”
Working on such a huge production is a pretty big deal, with dancers required to rehearse approximately 10 hours a day, six days a week. Albeit very tiring, Gabriele admits that the experience is “exciting at the same time.” It also made the dancer realise the financial cost required to make such a production happen, and the importance of having a tight logistical plan in place: “when you don’t have a huge production looking after your proposal, creating new work can be stressful and it is very hard managing the props and slotting in rehearsals.”
After the production closes, Gabriele will be returning to Malta and resuming his work with Moveo Dance Company, as well as teaching and imparting his knowledge with students. “I keep seeing my future in Malta,” Gabriele admits, adding that he hopes his partnership with Moveo to be a long one.
While he aspires to choreograph for the company one day, an equally important ambition is continuing his academic studies in Dance Arts. “Dancers and specially choreographers need to be researchers first of all,” Gabriele insists. “We need to be open and available to anything which surrounds us in order to be original and showing a concealed and intimate side of us.”