In this episode of the Italian American Podcast, we welcome back our good friend Mickela Mallozzi, four-time Emmy® Award-winning Host and Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, through which she travels around the world and learns the dances of different regions. In this episode, we talk about the importance of DNA testing and heritage travel and how engaging in these endeavors can change your overall perspective on life.

Tweetables

• “Connecting to people and inspiring them has encouraged me to work harder and to create more and better quality content.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “When you have a passion project, you can’t picture yourself doing anything else.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “Italy is very interestingly located geographically as there is so much influence that could possibly happen at this one place in the world.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “My goal when going to Italy wasn’t to find relatives, but rather to find the inspiration of places in the world that has been directly a part of me physically.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “Who knows if what we have in us, stays with us, but there really is something in you that get sparked when you’re reconnected, whether that is consciously, or subconsciously?” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “My language to connect with people is dance and music.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “You don’t know what your complete background is and the more you try to understand it, the more perspective it will give you about your life, and the more happiness it can bring to your life.” – Anthony Fasano
• “Human is human and there really isn’t that much of a divide between people.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “My inspiration to learn about other cultures came from the fact that I felt so connected to my family’s culture.” – Mickela Mallozzi
• “It’s not just Italian Americans who should connect to other Italian Americans and their heritage, everybody should.” – Dolores Alfieri Taranto

About our Guest

Mickela Mallozzi is the four-time Emmy® Award-winning Host and Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a travel series highlighting the diversity of dance which airs on PBS stations nationwide and on Amazon Prime globally.  A professional dancer and trained musician, Mickela decided to start a journey around the world, taking her camera with her to follow dance in the lives of everyday people wherever she went.  From re-discovering her family’s heritage in Southern Italy to dancing tango on the main stage in Buenos Aires, the series covers Mickela’s adventures as she experiences the world, one dance at a time.  She has been featured in The New York Times, Travel Channel, Dance Magazine, Forbes, American Express, and AFAR Media, and she has performed on various television shows including Sesame Street and The Doctor Oz Show.

Episode Sponsors

Mediaset Italia

Resources Mentioned

The New Neighborhood
The Italian American Podcast Itunes
IAP 22: Mickela Mallozzi on hard work, and making our ancestors proud and our dreams come true
EP 1 – Crazy Enough To Do This
IAP03: The People and Places of Sicily with Seeking Sicily author John Keahey
Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi
The New York Times Travel Show

Grazie Mille,

Anthony Fasano and Dolores Alfieri Taranto
Co-Hosts, The Italian American Podcast[podcast src=”https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/8339339/height-orig/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/height/90″ height=”90″ width=”100%” placement=”bottom” theme=”custom”]