Finding a New “Me” in Florence

My name is Marina Stagnaro, from Argentina, and I am now a PAA Alumni. I completed 12-week Dance Administration program in Florence Italy, 2 months ago.

When I traveled, I knew I wanted to learn as much as possible about dance, and the dance industry, I knew I wanted to speak fluent Italian. I knew I wanted to find new friends.

I did all that.

I took wonderful dance classes with amazing teachers.

I had a great internship placement, with kind and creative people, who taught me a lot.

I can say my Italian is pretty good now, and I’m proud of it!

I made friends with people from so many countries, I can’t even remember right now.

I met dancers, teachers, choreographers, students, artists, and more.

What I didn’t know, was that I would also find a new “me”.

Because the girl who arrived in Florence, wasn’t the same girl who left in a plane back to Argentina. And it’s not the same girl who’s writing this.

When you go abroad, you rediscover yourself; in a new place, with new people, with a new language.

It’s literally starting for zero.

You allow yourself to do mistakes, you try everything you can for the sake of the “experience”, you make friends almost everyday, you’re not scared of going places all by yourself.

You discover who you are alone, what are the things you really like and what are the things you accept because someone told you so. You do thing because you want to (and you do a lot of things). You eat what you want. You go wherever and whenever you want. It’s you, with you.

And when you come back home, you have to rediscover yourself again.

It is not easy to keep being this improved version of yourself, surrounded by people who only know the old one. It may seem easy and comfortable to just go back to who you were before.

Don’t do that, don’t forget all those experiences that made you see the world from a different perspective.

I’m talking about both your “performing arts” related experiences, and the “life experiences”.

Don’t leave behind everything you learned about dance, music, theatre or whatever your field is. Don’t leave behind everything you learned about yourself.

Everyday you become a better an improved version of yourself.

Make good use of it.

I’m trying to do so.

Are you?