Q&A: Read about WOD Rome's Organizer Andrea Alemanno!
Balancing web developing and event planning is no easy task but WOD Rome organizer, Andrea Alemanno has it figured out. We caught up with Andrea himself about passion, dance, and career. Check it out below![embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qieTfppnotk[/embed]
WOD: Tell us about yourself.
I’m Andrea Alemanno, I’m 35 years old and I live in Rome in Italy, even though I’m originally from Surbo, a small town in the south of Italy close to Lecce (the Florence of the south). I’m a computer and sound engineer and I work as a web developer for a company in Italy.
WOD: How did you get started in the dance industry?
I started dancing late, at the age of 18, with ballet and modern dance. Then I began to be more and more interested in the dance world and especially in the urban side of dance. I started to organize events in 2009 when I moved to Rome, where I met my actual business partner, the choreographer Simone Ginanneschi. Together, we created BOUNCE FACTORY in January 2009 and the BOUNCE FACTORY DANCE STUDIO in Rome in November 2012.
WOD: What has motivated you to stay in the dance industry?
I started to organize dance events with Bounce Factory almost 10 years ago now, my big passion for dance and my studies in computer graphics, social media, and technology in general matched perfectly and helped me grow a lot in these years, as an organizer and as a person who is always looking for new challenge. The dance industry keeps growing and changing and this makes me more motivated day after day to stay in it and work with it.
WOD: What has been the most rewarding part of your career? The most challenging?
Working as a web developer is something that I love so much but in a way, it keeps you away from people. On the contrary, organizing dance events is something that put you in close contact with people and is the aspect that I love the most, but it also requires a lot of work because you have to deal with so many different needs and you have to be able to satisfy everyone. For sure, the two biggest challenges I had during these years were World of Dance Italy Qualifier and IDANCECAMP, a 14-days dance camp we run every year in July with more than 30 teachers and 50 classes.
WOD: What is your life philosophy?
Always be curious, never stop learning.
WOD: What would you say are three important traits you need to have to be successful in the dance industry?
As a dancer or choreographer today a lot of study is something essential and lately this part is getting lost somehow in the path to become "famous”. So for sure first is study. Second trait is passion, without it you will not have the strength to get up every time you’ll fall down, because unfortunately falling down is something that happens to everyone, and you have to be strong and have the biggest passion for dance to keep walk and grow and learn day by day. Last but not least, a dancer nowadays has to be smart and prepared on the web and social side, having a strong formation on how to manage your web reputation is something that (unfortunately) often is as important as the first two points.
WOD: Any advice for our readers wanting to make a career in dance?
Keep an open mind, love what you do, and never lie to yourself.
