Michelle Comanducci

Born: 2002, Rimini (Italy)
Education: Dutch National Ballet Academy (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

Michelle grew up in Rimini, Italy. She and her cousin went to their first ballet class when they got the opportunity to try out a new sport for one week. At the time Michelle didn’t care much for the pointe shoes and tutus. But she instantly loved ballet because it gave her the opportunity to be herself and because she could share her joy for dancing with the audience.

Over the years, Michelle started approaching dance in a more professional way. Going to her dance school became the best moment of her day. “I would stay inside those walls all day long.” A few years later, Michelle auditioned for the Dutch National Ballet Academy in Amsterdam. At first, she did not get accepted. “That year, I worked really hard on my body to improve, because I couldn’t accept the fact that someone would say to me that I couldn’t do it.” The next year, she auditioned again, to prove the director that had rejected her the year before that he was wrong and to show him that Michelle had improved her dancing. This time, she got accepted, so she moved to Amsterdam. “It was hard to be so far away from my family, having to solve all my life problems by myself. But all of that brought me to join Introdans!”

In the 2021/2022 season, Michelle will be dancing as an intern with Introdans. “Introdans feels like a safe space since the first day I came in. From the teachers, ballet masters and artistic director Roel Voorintholt to all the other people who work at Introdans: you can be you and there is always someone willing to help if you ask for it.”

Michelle feels that dance has always been there for her too. “You can be whatever you want, create a story or character out of nothing, and involve the audience to suffer with you, love with you or fly with you. It is just freedom.” Michelle feels very powerful when dancing on stage. She loves the smell of the stage, the anxiety she feels right before the performance starts and the energy she gets from her friends and the audience. “I also love being on stage because anything can happen, and you must always be able to move on. The show must go on, right?”