Meet Michael Pappalardo | Artistic Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Pappalardo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?

There are many important factors behind my success (too many to list) but I will mention some of the ones that really have shaped my career.

I think one of the most important factors to my success is continuing to learn and grow. I love feedback and I wholeheartedly embrace the fact that I don’t know everything. There is always room for critique and growth in everything we do. I work hard not to make mistakes but learn from them when they do happen. I understand that truly great work can only be achieved with setbacks and mistakes and it is embracing these that make the reward at the end worthwhile.

Another major factor behind my success is that I am always honest and that I expect that of everyone around me. If my team can’t be transparent with each other, we can’t succeed. Which brings me to another important factor – working as a team and always supporting everyone on my team to succeed. I want to empower everyone I work with to do a great job and reward everyone equally. My success is essentially the success of everyone around me – we all work towards greatness and support each other on the journey.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

As Artistic Director of Canyon Concert Ballet, I am passionate about dance, building a future for dance expression and diversity, and delivering great productions to the community.

I feel my leadership and creativity sets me and CCB apart from others because we embrace diversity in everything we do. Diversity in movement, diversity in culture and diversity in skills. The rich tapestry of difference that I embrace and work towards creates great work that is out of the box and like no other. I work to be at the forefront of dance whenever I can and inspire others to make bold changes in their own craft.

It certainly wasn’t easy to be led by these principles. Ballet has a rich history and tradition and breaking these boundaries is challenging. Dance is changing for the better and I am so happy I can be driving these changes with so many other great creators around the world.

I have learnt to be patient and never lose sight of what I am trying to achieve. I have also learnt that you need to continue to grow and change as an artist. I see so many creators ‘stuck’ and I know to be innovative you need to step outside of your boundaries, travel, take risks and expand your horizons.

I want the world to know that being different, taking risks and challenging yourself is an essential part of life and my story. Without this mantra, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

There is so much to see and do in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado.

If I had friends in town I would definitely take them up to Horsetooth Reservoir, walk the trails, go for a swim and enjoy the beautiful views. Closer to town, I love all of the beautiful trails that take you along the creeks. Exploring these is a must for me.

Food wise, I love Little Bird Bakery and could go there every day. Mugs is also a favorite of mine for the great coffee and food.

There is always something happening in Old Town so showing my guests around the shops and seeing the sights in Old Town is on my list and you can’t forget the galleries and art shops.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

Throughout my career, there have been so many wonderful people who have helped me along my journey. I have been lucky to meet so many kind people who care and pushed me when things didn’t always go my way. There were many talented teachers and artists that inspired me and told me I could do what I am doing now including my wonderful first ballet teach Janice Heale, the very inspiring Wendy Wallace who encouraged me to continue on the path I was on and contemporary dance legends, Garry Stewart and Leigh Warren who inspired and encouraged me to begin creating.

Now living in Fort Collins, I have so many wonderful dancers and supporters around me everyday. They push not just me but Canyon Concert Ballet to innovate and grow on a daily basis. We work together to make amazing art and I am inspired by everyone’s passion for the arts.

Website: https://www.michaelpappalardodance.com/

Instagram: pappalardo.michael

Image Credits
Machmer Media Seth Pickett