“Dancing as much as I can for as long as I can”
By Alicia Venter
aventer@queensledger.com
Fiara, right, in “The Nutcracker”
Giulia Faria began dancing at age 3. Twenty years later, the Woodside local has propelled that passion towards her professional career, and will be starring in the New York Theatre Ballet’s seasonal performance of “The Nutcracker.”
Faria has been performing “The Nutcracker” since she was 10, playing multiple roles in the 1892, two-act ballet performance. This year, she is taking on the soloist roles of Coffee (or the Arabian Princess) the Mouse Queen, Spanish Dance and the Waltz of the Flowers.
“I’ve actually never danced the Arabian Princess before and it’s a very different type of role. It’s very slow and controlled and I’m more of a dynamic dancer,” Faria said. “This year is especially challenging for me because I’m stepping into a role that I’ve never done before and learning how to move in a different quality”
Faria’s dancing began at Callina Moaytis School of Classical Ballet, a since-closed school in Astoria.
Taking ballet classes every Saturday until age 10, she joined the School of New York Theatre Ballet the following year. She was still in high school when she joined the New York Theatre Ballet, a 15 year old apprentice standing among established professionals.
“Overall, it just matured a little quicker than most 15-year-olds because of the environment I was in,” Faria said. “I don’t think I would have changed for anything. I feel like it made me a better dancer and a better professional overall.”
She eventually transitioned to home school in order to balance her responsibilities in the studio and the classroom.
“It was a little tricky, because I didn’t want to go to school — I wanted to dance,” she said with a laugh.”
Faria holds two homes close to her heart: her company and her Queens community. Both she described as intrinsically part of her — with no foreseeable future of leaving either.
One of Faria’s favorite places is Sri Praphai, located at 64-13 39th Ave in Woodside, which she describes as the best Thai restaurant in New York. She regularly attends Yoga Agora in Astoria and studied nutrition at LaGuardia Community College.
“I went to school in Queens. Now, as an adult, I don’t think I would even want to live in another borough,” she said.“It’s so versatile. You can crave whatever kind of food you want at 3:00 a.m. and you’ll definitely find something. There’s a really special place in my heart for Queens.”
The New York Theatre Ballet company has maintained her passion for dance, and it is a group she says “feels like home.” For that, she plans to stay with the company for the foreseeable future, and to keep “dancing as much as I can for as long as I can.”
“I don’t necessarily mind where I am dancing or where the career takes me, as long as I’m dancing. That’s what matters,” Faria said. “As long as I feel really passionate about what I’m doing and what I’m dancing. That’s mainly my goal — to feel fulfilled wherever I am.”
Performances begin Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Brookfield Place, 230 Vesey Street in Manhattan. For more information or to purchase tickets to see the New York Theatre Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker,” visit https://nytb.org.
