Cristina Pastore’s right forearm bears a triangle with a word at each corner. Together they form the Latin phrase ‘alis grave nil’: nothing is too heavy for those who have wings. “My tattoo reminds me of what my parents say to me when I feel down. I wanted to carry their saying with me so I know that I have to do what I have to do.” And that means to dance. Although the delicately built Italian has just started a course of studies in intercultural communication at the University of Turin, dance is her great love. A love that began burning at a very early age. Cristina took her first dance steps at the age of three: starting at the kindergarten, where the mother of one of her little friends gave dance lessons. “That was very playful. I got noticed there because I tried to imitate the teacher and was serious instead of running around like the other toddlers did.” Maybe that was because she had seen Swan Lake on television at her grandparents’ home. “I can’t remember it exactly nowadays but my mother saw how I sat and watched the ballerinas with bated breath. She said that I almost crawled inside the TV to join the dance.”

Intensive experience

When Cristina was aged around five she was able to take the stage for the first time, just like the ballerinas in Swan Lake. The dance teacher at the kindergarten had prepared a show for all the parents. “I was a bird in a pink leotard with feathers,” laughs Cristina. “I still remember how frightening and at the same time how wonderful it felt to stand on the stage. I really had the feeling I could fly.” The experience from this first performance was almost comparable to Cristina’s feelings during her first appearance with Introdans during the Bridge To Liberation Experience in 2016. This musical commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem, in which both Introdans companies took part, is etched into her memory. “I read information about the Battle of Arnhem in the Internet and the terrible events at the John Frost Bridge in order to understand the context. And then you’re standing on a platform in the water with ten thousand eyes on you, and you know that some of them experienced the Second World War, while you’re dancing to the tones of sad music. For a moment I felt part of a story that I don’t know, that I never experienced and which I hope will never ever be repeated.”

Alis grave nil

Cristina joined Introdans in 2016 via her internship for the National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam. She came to the Netherlands thanks to coincidence and a very rapid decision. In 2014 Cristina attended a ‘summer school’ held by the National Ballet Academy. The director saw her dancing and asked whether she would be interested in auditioning for a place at the school. “Within the space of a week I had to decide whether I wanted to move to Amsterdam to continue my ballet education at the National Ballet Academy. I immediately called my parents to tell them I had been accepted. My father answered ‘alis grave nil’ and off I went. I know that my parents will support me through thick and thin. That’s great, because I miss them just as much as they miss me.”

Reinventing everything

Even though Cristina had lived independently since the age of fourteen, due to her training as the prestigious ballet school ‘il Balletto’ in Castelfranco close to Venice, the move from a Mediterranean climate to a northern climate wasn’t easy. She missed the Italian warmth in both the literal and figurative senses. “In Italy I felt at home, I felt protected because I know how things work there. In Amsterdam it seemed as if I had to reinvent everything. Take public transport and how it works in the Netherlands, for instance: it’s difficult to explain this to someone from abroad. Luckily I learned quickly and I had two girlfriends at the National Ballet Academy who helped me through when I was having problems. And I gained a lot from this time in Amsterdam, too. I grew at the personal level and I realise that I was given a chance that not many people get.”

True nature

Her work at Introdans has also led to a change. Cristina is really happy that, following her internship, she has been accepted as a guest dancer and that she can further develop her abilities as a modern dancer. She originally intended to become a prima ballerina – but that idea changed after she encountered Introdans. “The Introdans repertoire has a classical basis on which modern dance techniques build a world that allows me to be much freer as a dancer. The works that Introdans performs let me discover another side to myself as a dancer. I’m so happy that Introdans is helping me to get ever closer to the dancer I really am.”