Ep. 5 - Angelo Greco, Principal Dancer at SF Ballet Artwork

Letters to Italy

Letters to Italy by Sara Marinelli is an eighth-part series about the impact of Covid-19 on Italian immigrants in the Bay Area. How did Italian expats feel when they received news of their country being the epicenter of the pandemic in the Western world, and how did it affect their distant relationship to home? At the intersection of personal memoir and documentary, each episode features conversations with an Italian expat to hear how the pandemic reshaped their life in the U.S., and how they tried to remain connected to Italy in a time of crisis and forced separation. Conversations bring up questions of belonging, resilience, community, and how to transform challenges into possibilities.

All Episodes

Letters to Italy

Ep. 5 - Angelo Greco, Principal Dancer at SF Ballet

June 11, 2021 • Angelo Greco, Principal Dancer at SF Ballet • Season 1 • Episode 5

The fifth episode of "Letters to Italy" by Sara Marinelli features Angelo Greco, principal dancer at San Francisco Ballet.

Angelo tells the story of how from the prestigious Opera theater of La Scala in Milano, he relocated to San Francisco in order to perform every night.

Until everything changed.

When the world of performing arts came to a standstill because of Covid, the 2020 SF Ballet season was cancelled, and the current one was produced in an empty theater.

Angelo shares how he felt during the months of lockdown, being deprived of the stage, which, as he says, “sets him free." He also talks about his relationship to dance and art, the power to dream and his yearning to create.

In recalling the hardest moments of the Covid-19 pandemic in Italy, he reflects on his relationship to home and his sense of belonging.

***

Episode notes

Producer/Editor: Sara Marinelli

Sound design: Sara Marinelli

Intro and outro music: “Hopeful Motivation” - James Yan

Music from the film "Icarus" by Pietro Pinto - Fabio Vassallo

Website for SF Ballet: www.sfballet.org

Website for Sara Marinelli: www.saramarinelli.com

IG: @saramarinelli1

This series was made possible thanks to the support of COMITES of San Francisco and the Italian Consulate of San Francisco, with funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.