Today we’d like to introduce you to Giorgia Valenti.
Hi Giorgia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My first approach to art was through dance when I was a child in Italy. At the gym De Ferrari in Treviso, I discovered my talent and passion for dance and movement. Life took me by surprise and at the age of ten, my family and I moved to Bangalore, India. Here I chased my passion for dance, trying to assimilate into another culture, other people and other ways of going about movement in general. I started training in ballet and contemporary dance. In India, I got an opportunity to make my debut in cinema when (at the age of twelve) I starred in Teenage, a local Sandalwood movie, at the side of the youngest director in the world: Kishan Shrikant. I threw myself into modeling at the age of fourteen, and I worked with Prasad Pidaba’s agency for four years in both India and Sri Lanka. Around the same time, I got my first introduction to acting training at The Bangalore School of Speech and Drama (BSSD) with a wonderful teacher Dr. Zulfia Shaikh. I also attended musical theater, singing classes. BSSD gave me a lot, including the wonderful role of Ms. Honey in Matilda the Musical.
However, my real full-time journey in acting training started at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU. I had NO IDEA what was coming for me. There I was, seventeen years old, alone in New York City, jumping once again in a completely different reality. Well, NYU did its job well – they place me in the Mesiner Acting technique, which was exactly what I needed. I had wonderful teachers such as Nate Flower, Victoria Hart, Gigi Buffignton and Shanga Parker who through scenes, movement classes, voice coaching and clown exercises taught me acting and how to become an adult and a better version of myself. I hung out at the Meisner Studio for some time, hugging myself in its familiarity and in teachers who believed in me and pushed me every day. However, my NYU journey took me to Florence too, where I touched roots and learnt Commedia dell’Arte with Jim Calder. I proceeded to challenge myself at the Experimental Theater Wing where I had new teachers who showed me how to approach the work in a completely different way, encouraging me to create my own work for the first time.
Meanwhile, I started exploring new dance forms during my Dance Minor classes. Then, I studied Method Acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute and Camera at Stonestreet Studios – what can I say, I never settle in one place. I think the two most valuable elements of my training so far have been the courage and risk taking I earned from Clown work and the discipline I earned from Voice and Speech work. I pursue my passion for storytelling through various forms; inspired by free movement, I long to make the audience feel like they are not alone, to explore the complex relationship between home and identity as well as the use of art as a therapeutic practice for all. Currently, with my theater company of International Women, I make art that looks to create cultural bridges between women in the world and tell stories that make the ‘out of place’ feel like a place to belong to.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a multi-disciplinary artist is really difficult, especially when you don’t have the constant presence of your family near you. Some of the biggest obstacles for me are always making choices and trusting that they are the right ones. Learning to trust your gut feelings and impulses when choosing projects and collaborators. Sometimes you have to choose between an opportunity and money, for example, or between a dance workshop you really wanted to do and helping a friend on a set… You need to learn to manage your time and let go of some things that are on your shoulders and may not need to be. Communication with friends who become collaborators is also a constant challenge, and accepting that sometimes someone can only be a friend. But, most importantly, the main struggle is accepting that there will always be struggles, you will always have to learn how to say no, you will always have to work extra hours for the money, and you will always have to push yourself to write that story that is buzzing in your brain. Art is an ever-ending journey, that is why we love it so much and want to make it our way of living.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a multi-disciplinary artist who acts, dances, produces, sings and… writes? Maybe? I don’t really know what I am most known for because I do it all, all the time! As I run a theater company of international women, I am also auditioning for Film and Tv roles and producing my own short films – in all of this, I dance for a living, take singing classes and always incorporate everything in all the work that I devise and create with my collaborators.
I am most proud of the work that comes from me and that I see becoming reality. For example, my theater company Et Alia Theater is currently bringing a new edition of a show called ‘This is Me Eating___’ which is based on a concept by me. We worked hard to get a grant for it and now, after having produced it as a show, we are bringing it to the Alliance of Resident Artists’ 50th birthday party as guest performers. At the same time, we are working on the development and production of a new play we workshopped by another Italian woman playwright called ‘Until Dark’. Outside of my company, I am soon performing at a showcase for the May Development Lab of the theater company Underground Skills Exchange and was most recently a co-star in FBI (CBS). I am also waiting for a short film I acted in in Italy to come out in various film festivals.
What I think sets me apart from others is the fact that in all my art, and I really mean ALL of it, I explore and discover parts of myself that have been scattered around the world as I moved around different continents during my life. My connection to and the searching of a grounded identity and sense of home is what drives me and inspires me, as well as looking for the same in other people and other places.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was the child who danced and cartwheeled anywhere she went. Dance was my go to pass time activity and I always knew I wanted to act. Everyone around me told me that, since I was little, I sort of had an emotional intelligence superpower. I was sensitive, empathetic and passionate. I developed to become a very productive and driven teenager who picked up responsibilities and managed her time obsessively well. But I never let my dedication stop me from making a lot of friends, going to parties and making memories all around the world!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.giorgiavalenti.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giorgiavalenti8/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giorgia.valenti.77
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCE6TdYLwBrlwk-exUR6bdw?view_as=public
Image Credits
Neon flash studios (@neonflashstudios)
