The Heroine’s Journey of Gaia Alessandra Sensalari

What is the best thing that I love about my work?  
I’m fully conscious that, when I teach dance or when I’m dancing, I’m passing on a noble art, discipline and way of living that is highly educational for everyone’s life. Furthermore, Dance is also a way to have fun and free our mind, a secret hidden soul-place to escape from reality for a while and enjoy the pure pleasure of moving.
What is my idea of perfect happiness?  
Happiness means following our passion, fighting and trusting ourselves. Happiness is being always supported when we are going to reach our goals.
And most of all, happiness is the time we spend to reach our dreams, the road that leads to them!
If you feel happy, the others will see you happy.
What is my greatest fear?  
To waste time and lose opportunities.
What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?
Not to be always enough strong to trust my abilities.
Which living persons in my profession do i most admire? 
I admire most those humble dancers and artists who built themselves with their own hands, those who were born in simplicity and, after constant efforts and trainings, are now humble bright “stars”. It sounds difficult, but it happens.
What is my greatest extravagance? 
I love to admire the variety of the Parisian roofs, so different and eccentric. I go to Paris once a year just to take ballet classes and admire them: I’m always stunned.
On what occasion would I lie?  
To protect myself, my family and the people I love.
What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?
I can’t stand my job is not considered as important as the others because not “useful” in a pragmatic way for the society. It’s always hard to explain people what dance is and the huge help it gifts to the audience. It’s a way to relax and reflect, exactly as theatre was in the past for ancient Greeks.
When and where was I the happiest, in my work?  
I’ve felt the happiest girl in the world when I had the possibility to enter the National Academy of dance and put myself out there. Then the same feeling came when I started traveling around Europe sharing my dance.
If I could, what would I change about myself?  
I would improve my self confidence.
What is my greatest achievement in work? 
My future goal: to “built” my own dance company and school, step by step.
Where would I most like to live? 
Never knows, I think. But most likely in my country, where my origins are, after traveling and learning a lot.
Anyway, Rome has remained in my heart.
What is my most treasured possession?
My progressing knowledge. Our knowledge is freedom.
What is my most marked characteristic?
I like to listen to the others without they notice it and I always try to match with everyone.
What is my most inspirational location, in my city?  
The very old part of the upper town, located on the beautiful protected natural hills.
What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city?
A very good restaurant where you can eat one of the best pizza ever!!!
What books influenced my life and how? 
“Emotional intelligence” by David Goleman: a beautiful way to understand our mind and actions and reactions.
And also “The art of loving” by E. Fromm.
Who are my favorite writers?
Ancient philosophers, very often: most of all, Plato.
Umberto Veronesi, oncologist, physician and scientist, known for his contributions on prevention and treatment of breast cancer.
Carlos Luis Zafon, the most widely published contemporary Spanish writer.
You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?
Chopin’s nocturne, Frank Sinatra’s songs, “Magic” by Coldplay.
Who is my hero or heroine in fiction? 
Penelope Cruz in every character she performs. She acts like a real woman in a real daily life. Genuinely. She’s a model of simplicity.
Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?
My parents and all those parents who work hard to let their kids study, learn, practice sport, eat well, go on holidays, have experiences, grow up well educated, smile a lot, share and so, be happy.
Which movie would i recommend to see once in a lifetime? 
“Don’t move” by Sergio Castellitto. Touching love story, very subtle and delicate.
What role plays art in my life and work?
Art is the power of my ideas: to create my lessons, to create my choreographies. Every type of art (painting, singing, music…) is useful to inspire me. Art is everywhere in the nature around us: from the huge landscapes to the little details. I don’t need to look far, I can see art everywhere: for example in a woman breastfeeding her kid. I took a very deep inspiration exactly from this scene for one of my choreographies.
Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?  
This mix: my boyfriend, my family and  my soul. They always lead me all together to the best way I need to follow even if this sends me away from home for a while.
Whom would I like to work with in 2018?
With an other dance company,     others dance teachers and Isabelle: a girl I’m creating some choreographies with to perform in the near future.
Which people in my profession would i love to meet in 2018?
My partner in teaching, my dear dancers friends and all the dance teacher I had since I was a kid till now to thank them all for the great knowledge I’ve received.
What project, in 2018, am I looking forward to work on?  
I’m working hard on a dance project with a dear friend, Isa. We will be a duo and perform in several competitions and performances/shows. We are looking forward to share our movements, emotions and souls with the hugest audience and to make people know better this extraordinary art: DANCE!
Where can you see me or my work in 2018?
On the stage (as soon as possible :D) also on my facebook profile.
What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me? 
Never give up!!!!!!! Be patient!
Which creative heroines should Peter invite to tell their story?
Isabelle Campagne
Elena Zanardi
Valeria Iudici
Paola Saribas
Vivian Pratanou
Evi Oikonomou
Valeria Bonfanti
Merel van den Beld
Gloria Mestric
Clotilde Maselli
Consuelo Scappi
Sonia di Sarno
How can you contact me?

Here follows a message of Peter de Kuster,  the founder of the Heroine’s Journey 

The Heroine’s Journey Conference 2018 – Rome

The Heroine’s Journey is coming to Rome. We are bringing The Heroine’s Journey  Conference to the vibrant city of Rome on 12-14 October with a transformative and properly entertaining three-day event on the most important ideas we teach. Our conference aims to transform lives and build the best kinds of connections. It is designed to equip participants with a toolkit of creative entrepreneur skills that can revolutionise relationships, careers and self-understanding.

What to Expect

Our conference is hugely memorable and distinctive. For a start, you are not being taught in entirely standard ways. Peter de Kuster and his team of coaches on stage don’t merely lecture to a passive audience; they invite almost continuous interaction, getting participants to look inside themselves, to complete a variety of exercises and to share their stories with others.

Talks are peppered with films, art, pieces of literature, pieces of music and visual prompts; all the senses are properly stimulated to keep the mind fresh and receptive. Furthermore, there is an enormous emphasis on friendship. We are not merely seated quietly on our own, isolated from other participants. We are guided to mingle, form smaller and larger groups and reveal meaningful things to one another. It is impossible to leave after three days without having made quite a few firm friends.

Conference Leaders

The Conference, led by The Heroine’s Journey founder Peter de Kuster together with a team of coaches specialized in working with creative people  takes participants through a three-day immersive experience.

Programme Details

Day 1 FridayThe Heroine’s Journey:  Career Management for the Creative Person. 

We begin with a look at what the life and career of a creative professional is, how it can be taught – and what we can acquire of it in the days ahead. We consider our particular position in history: living with the desire for creative fulfilment and career success – and we propose that The Heroine’s Journey has a distinctive set of answers to the opportunities, disappointments and dreams of our time.

We identify that a core task of any creative professional is to achieve self-knowledge. To this end, we take you on a journey around your own mind, paying particular attention to the stories you tell yourself about you, your creative work, your time, your money, your self promotion, your relations. Which of these stories brings you to what you want and which of these stories has to be rewritten, transforming in the process your business and life?

Next we consider your meetings with others – clients, friends, business partners. We admit to our longing for sincere connection with others, but also to the challenges of finding this.  We learn about the art of connecting, about ways to listen to others fruitfully and how to overcome barriers to intimacy. We teach strategies that help remove excessive superficial contact from our lives, and put all these into practice at a social event with our newfound acquaintances to close the day.

Day 2 Saturday Morning The Power of your Story

On our second day we study why we have the creative career we do – and how our early experiences give us scripts of what, how and whom we are passionate about in our creative career. We learn that there are always more possible paths in your creative career than we initially believe and that we can broaden our unconscious scripts of how we can make money doing what we love by understanding our past stories more clearly.

We also look at the techniques that can make creative careers work in the long term. The Heroine’s Journey firmly believes that passion is ultimately a skill, not an emotion. We learn about how to communicate, how not to sulk, how to allow others to get close to us, how to understand and explain our distinctive way of creating, how to promote ourself and our creations, how to negotiate conflicts through humour and how to deal with conflicts and awkward desires.

We’re reminded that many of the answers we need are within us already, waiting for the correct story to extract them.

Day 2 Saturday Afternoon Creative Confidence

We move on to consider the emotional dimension of our work; what impels us to want to do a certain sort of creative work, and why it is often so hard to align our emotional desires with our practical requirements. We explore our working personalities and sift through our authentic interests.

We consider a variety of blocks and inhibitions which prevent us from pushing forward with our hunches, with particular attention paid to parental and societal expectations.

We pay particular attention to the idea of creative confidence. The difference between success and failure often hangs on this almost humiliatingly small and elusive concept that standard education never touches. We spend vast amounts of time acquiring confidence in narrow professional fields, but we overlook the primordial need to acquire a more free-ranging variety of confidence which can serve us across a range of tasks in professional, but also in personal, life.

Day 3  Sunday They Created Happily Ever After

Passion has a natural and deep appeal. Most of us long to be more passionate and creatively confident, unruffled, at ease and capable of reacting with quiet good humour to life’s setbacks and irritants. But we are often still only at the very beginning of knowing how to be passionate and confident. This morning will give us a range of the most effective answers.

Next we consider passion & happiness. A passionate life is close to, but at points importantly different from, a happy life. It draws upon and exercises our higher capacities, for example, tenderness, care, connection, self-understanding, sympathy, intelligence and creativity. We investigate how to orientate our lives in a more happy direction.

In our final hours together, we go back over the journey we have been on and recap its most fundamental lessons.

Timetable

Friday 12 October
14.00 Doors Open
15.00 Introduction
17.00 Break
17.30 The Heroine’s Journey
19.15 Close and Welcome Drinks Reception
Saturday 13 October
9.00 Doors open
9.30 The Power of your Story
11.00 Break
11.30 The Power of your Story Continued
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Creative Confidence
15.45 Break
16.15 Creative Confidence Continues
18.00 Close
Sunday 14 October
9.00 Doors open
9.30 They Lived Happily Ever After
11.00 Break
11.30 They Lived Happily Ever After Continues
13.00 Close

Who Should Attend The Heroine’s Journey Conference

The Heroine’s Journey Conference is ideal for those looking for an in-depth experience that covers three main areas of our creative lives; Career Management, Creative Confidence, Happiness.

What you can expect:

  • A rich programme drawing from the key insights across our core curriculum

  • A learning experience combining lectures, films, music, art, exercises and continuous audience participation

  • Three-days of engaging content written and led by storyteller and writer Peter de Kuster, supported by inspiring coaches specialized in working with creative professionals

  • Daily educational programme and curated morning and evening social activities

  • An opportunity to make new friends in a community of like-minded individuals

The Heroine’s Journey Conference 2018 – Rome

Early Bird Price:

Euro 999 (Standard Price Euro 1099) excluding VAT

How to book:

Send us a mail at peterdekuster@hotmail.nl 

What:
Experience
When:
Fri 12th Oct 2018 (14.00)
Where:
Rome Hotel de Russie

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