In this article you’ll see many times the word DREAM, a word that, even more in this sad period, we must never forget. Imagine to have a dream, an improbable dream for many reasons, imagine to find yourself, almost by chance, to live that dream as a spectator…that’s exactly what happened to me during my last stay in New York, a dreaming place for many people. The protagonist of this dream is the New York Film Academy, the most important school of cinema and performing arts of the world, which is located in the beautiful new location of Battery Park, at the far end of Manhattan.
My last stay in New York was memorable for many reasons but, in particular, thanks to my dear friend Bruno and to the staff of the NYFA, I had the opportunity to enter inside what I like to call a laboratory of art, for a close look of all the boys and girls who work hardly to pursue their dreams.
Bruno and his friends are students of the Musical Theatre course, one of the most interesting and exciting of the school. A group of young people coming from all around the world, from Australia to Mexico, from Colombia to Belgium, from South Africa to Ireland, from Scotland to Iceland, from Switzerland to Argentina, from Poland to Brazil and Israel, from 17 to 25 years old, who passed through really tough selections to enter the school and even stricter auditions to take part in the musical, real culmination of the dream and of the course that generally lasts two semesters.
With their sweat, pain, dedication and love for what they do, they succeeded to transfer me all their passion.
But nothing could be done without a team of great teachers who follow them and increase their skill. I met Chad Austin, a real artist with a long career first as a dancer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, then as a director and choreographer, who directed these students in the preparation of this season’s musical Carousel which will be on stage in these days. Attending the rehearsals of this show really made me dream!
However, the NYFA is not only musical. Many years ago, I also took some information for the course of filmmaking but, then, my life took different paths…
The idea of the creation of this school is linked to the need to have a place where everybody could study filmmaking and, in 1992, the producer Jerry Sherlock decided to establish The New York Film Academy.
The idea was to create a school that would be accessible if not to everyone, for obvious economic reasons, at least to many, and more importantly, was founded on the principle of learning by doing. Inspired by the idea that to learn how to make movies, one must actually make movies, Sherlock and his colleagues designed a truly unique curriculum. In the years the school has started new courses, new ways of learning, new kinds of partnerships, nowadays students can choose from a wide range of visual and performing arts programs that includes Filmmaking, Acting for Film, 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Broadcast Journalism, Cinematography, Digital Editing, Documentary Filmmaking, Game Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Musical Theatre, Photography, Producing, and Screenwriting. Over the years, the New York Film Academy has also expanded its global presence, from Los Angeles to Paris, from Abu Dhabi to Sydney, till Florence in Italy.
What did i learn from this experience in New York? I learned that we must never stop believing in our dreams, never!
Break a leg Guys!!!!
