Dance ambassador

A dancer since early childhood, Mickela Mallozzi has parlayed her lifelong passion into a popular PBS series that travels the world to celebrate the joy of movement.

Mickela Mallozzi is the four-time Emmy Award-winning host and executive producer of “Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi,” a PBS series that highlights the diversity of dance with episodes filmed around the world.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Mallozzi tells Fra Noi about her Italian roots, the path that led her to create the show, and filming with her nonna in Italy.

Elena Ferrarin: Did you grow up connected to your Italian heritage?

Mickela Mallozzi: My parents are emigrants from the same town of Minturno (in Italy’s Lazio region). I definitely grew up connected to my Italian heritage — from jarring tomatoes every August to my father making his own wine every October, to Sunday dinners to family cookouts with my zii and cousins, and talking to my nonni over the phone every weekend. The language (our own dialect) has always been prevalent in our house, as well as the music and dance traditions. Growing up in an immigrant household had such a huge impact on my life and my career.

EF: How did you first get into dance and music? What instruments do you play?

MM: My nickname as a child was “tutto pepe,” which means “all pepper” in Italian. I was always the first on the dance floor at family weddings, and I could never sit still. My parents enrolled me in my cousin’s dance school when I was 3. Around the same time, my nonna bought me a little plastic keyboard and I started playing songs by ear. My family wanted to cultivate this love of music, so I started taking piano lessons and later, violin and flute lessons.

EF: Where did you get your professional training?

MM: I danced 10 to 12 hours a week until I graduated high school. I studied music composition at New York University for two years and then transferred to the music business department. I loved going to see shows, networking, meeting artists, etc. I realized I wasn’t quite talented enough to make a career out of music, but I was great at connecting with the folks who were. I worked in the music industry for about five years, until I left, realizing I missed being creative. Over the years, I found dance again, so I started teaching and performing throughout the city.

EF: Tell us about your career leading up to “Bare Feet.”

MM: When I became a professional dancer and teacher, I taught abroad quite a bit. Where I couldn’t speak the local language, I used dance to connect with people, dancing with them in the streets during festivals and holidays, or taking dance classes in their traditional styles. I found that by dancing with people, immediate connections and friendships were made.

EF: How was “Bare Feet” born?

MM: Back in January of 2010, I woke myself up in the middle of the night with a vision of what “Bare Feet” is today. It was like a projection coming out of my eyeballs onto the wall in front of me. I saw myself dressed in costume, traveling the world, connecting with people everywhere through the universal language of dance. The next day, I started telling people about my dream and they all thought I was nuts. For the pilot episode, I hired a few friends and we stayed with my nonna in Minturno as we filmed La Sagra delle Regne, the annual wheat harvest festival. And here we are, 14 years later. I’m currently in production for Season 7, premiering next spring. It’s been a real joy and privilege to be able to find something that I love to do and that I’m really good at and share it with the world.

EF: How do you decide where to go and what to feature?

MM: Sometimes it is based on which dances I want to learn, along with the level of accessibility and support at the destination. We are an independent production that distributes through public television and PBS, so we heavily rely on foundation support and sponsors for funding. But I get to make the show I want to make — my team and I have almost complete creative control. I get to be my most authentic self, on and off camera, and I think that’s why our fans are drawn to the show.

EF: What are your favorite moments/episodes over the years?

MM: There are so many. I am so proud that I started with my own culture and family for the pilot episode, where you meet my Nonna Pina. I absolutely love it when I run into fans who ask about her, or who come say hello to her when we are together. She always wanted to be an actress and was the storyteller in the family, so I think I inherited that beautiful trait from her.

EF: Tell us more about filming in Italy.

MM: I’ve filmed two episodes in Italy, the pilot and one in Puglia featuring la pizzica in Season 3. Filming in Puglia was incredible. I had the privilege of filming with world-renowned pizzica group Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, who are now very dear friends. What I love about this project is I genuinely become friends and even family with all of the people I meet. I hope we can do an episode in Sardinia or Sicily, that would be amazing.

EF: What can viewers expect in Season 7?

MM: Seasons 5 and 6 were filmed in my home city of New York, with the premise of traveling the world within the five boroughs after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. For Season 7, I’m excited to share that we go back to traveling internationally and domestically, focusing on communities and cultures that aren’t always represented in the media, including the disabled and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. Over the years, I have come to understand the responsibility of my work, especially on a platform such as PBS. Our show is not only entertaining but also educational and informational. Representation matters, and I’m proud of the fact that our audience is just as diverse as the people who we feature in our show.

EF: Beyond that, what are your plans for the future?

MM: We’re planning Season 8 and I’m working on a book. My ultimate dream would be to work with Reese Witherspoon’s production company, Hello Sunshine. She is an incredible advocate for female-driven stories. We are ready to bring “Bare Feet” to bigger audiences worldwide on other streaming platforms. I hope this show inspires people to connect with strangers in a joyful and positive way. The sky’s the limit!

The above appears in the November 2024 issue of the print version of Fra Noi. Our gorgeous, monthly magazine contains a veritable feast of news and views, profiles and features, entertainment and culture. To subscribe, click here.