Mickela returns to where it all started, the small, sleepy, Southern Italian beach town of Minturno, where her parents immigrated from over 40 years ago. She reconnects with her roots during the town’s biggest celebration, the annual Sagra delle Regne (Wheat Harvest Festival). From rehearsing with the local troupe, I Giullari, to sightseeing along the coast, to then performing with the renowned group in the festival’s closing ceremonies, Mickela has an incredible journey of self-discovery.
The annual Dancer of the Year Competition on The Cook Islands helps preserve and pass down the Polynesian culture on this island paradise. Mickela goes behind-the-scenes at this highly competitive, local tradition.
Mickela kicks off her New York series in one of the oldest & most iconic neighborhoods in NYC, Manhattan’s Chinatown, during the festive time of Chinese Lunar New Year!
Mickela gets a taste of The Balkans throughout three of the five boroughs: Slavic Soul Party! In Brooklyn, NY Gypsy Festival in Manhattan, and Little Serbia in Queens.
In preparation for Dia de los Muertos with the Mexican community in NYC, Mickela learns traditional folk dance and even jumps in with an all-female mariachi band.
Mickela can’t ignore New York’s rich history on Broadway – with tap lessons galore and a spot on Broadway’s stage, Mickela gets to live out a New York dancer’s dream!
Mickela celebrates the annual St. Nicholas feast with the Greek-American community in Queens, while also finding local heroes who keep the Greek culture alive.
The Festival of Lights leads up to some major Indian dance in NYC: classical Bharatanatyam, Basement Bhangra with DJ Rekha, & South St. Seaport’s annual celebration.
Little Ukraine is a small 3-block gem in Manhattan’s East Village: from celebrating Pierogi Day to jumping splits with Ukrainian dancers, Mickela gets a taste of it all!
Harlem is a neighborhood in Manhattan all its own – alive with culture, music, food, and of course dance, this thriving neighborhood has continued its ascent since the first Harlem Renaissance.
Brazilians are born to dance, and Mickela learns as many ways as possible how New Yorkers keep that Brazilian energy alive – with capoeira, forró, and Carnival’s samba!
Mickela gets transported to Haiti in the streets of Flatbush, Brooklyn with drum lessons, dance classes, and local shops.
The Bolivian community in Queens may be small, but they are mighty – Mickela joins cross-generational Bolivian family members with the Caporales and Tinkus dances.
The Bronx is not only known as the Borough of Salsa, but also the Borough of Music – Mickela digs deeper into the long-standing Puerto Rican whose influence stretches across all of New York City.
From Israeli folk dance at the 92Y to eating knishes in the Lower East Side, Mickela gets a taste of this culturally, ethnically, and religiously rich group that is iconic to New York City.
Mickela kicks off her DNA journey in Puglia, the region in the heel of the Italian boot, to learn one of the most ancient dances from Italy, la pizzica.
Mickela’s DNA map brings her to The Caucasus, the land of wine, unrivaled hospitality, and Polyphonic singing. She dances with world renowned Sukhishvili, The Georgian National Ballet.
In celebration of the St. John Festival, Mickela jumps right in with the locals for dancing, music, and the building of the Castells, or Human Towers, in Girona, Catalonia (Spain).
The Greek & Turkish influence in Mickela's DNA map lands her in Cyprus, known as the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite, an island full of ancient mythology and festive dancing.
Mickela's Balkan roots take her to Romania to experience the traditional Calusarii dance as well as jump in with Taraf di Caliu, world-renowned Balkan Tzigane-Gypsy band.
Known as the gateway between Africa and Europe, Mickela heads to Morocco to play the hand drum with a Berber tribe in Fes and dance the traditional Gnawa in Tangier.
Mickela dances with some of the cast of Riverdance in Dublin, Ireland and heads to the 160-year-old Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Country Clare.
The Wild Atlantic Way of Southwest Ireland has breathtaking landscapes and plenty of places to dance - Mickela explores the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry.
The passionate dance and music of flamenco come alive as Mickela explores the city of Seville, learning from some of the greatest dancers of the art form.
Uzbekistan is the furthest east that Mickela's DNA will take her, where she learns to play the doyra in Tashkent and dances in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bukhara.
Mickela kicks off Carnival celebrations in The Guadeloupe Islands with food, parades, and dancing. She marches in the opening parade of the Women Vendors of the Fruit and Vegetable Market in Basse-Terre; she tastes the local street food of Bokit; she learns the rhythms of Gwo-Ka, the soul of the islands; and she witnesses the powerful marches honoring the islands’ ancestors with Mas Ka Klé!
The time has come to officially celebrate Carnival in The Guadeloupe Islands! Mickela takes you from the morning celebrations of the Pajama Parade to the festive parade that night with Waka Chiré Band, followed by the solemn and powerful procession with Akiyo Mas Band on Ash Wednesday, a celebration completely unique to the Guadeloupean culture.
Mickela kicks off this new season of Bare Feet celebrating black voices in the arts by dancing with Virginia Johnson and the renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem, along with Misty Copeland and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater! She drums and dances with the Brooklyn United Marching Band, celebrating Juneteenth with Black-owned small business owners, restaurants, and festivals throughout the city!
New York’s Cuban-American community is alive with rhythm and dance! Mickela meets with Grammy-winning legend Arturo O'Farrill and his Afro-Latin Jazz Band; she feels the Yoruba rhythms and practices the Orisha dances with the legendary Oyu Oro Afro-Cuban Dance Ensemble; and dances Cuban salsa on the beach in Far Rockaway Beach in Queens!
The Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community is a beautifully diverse group of cultures, and Mickela gets a taste throughout the boroughs - from the Pacific Islands by learning the hula with the Na Pua Mai Ka Lani Nuioka to exploring the Filipino Community of Little Manila in Woodside, Queens, to practicing Japanese Taiko traditional drumming.
NYC, the birthplace of Hip-Hop, has survived, thrived, and evolved, spreading throughout the world. Mickela heads to the new Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx to learn about its history and its legends, and meets up with the next generation of dancers, DJs, and artists. From the Ladies of Hip Hop Festival to DJ-ing with the Mobile Mondays crew, Mickela gets a true taste of the Boogie Down Bronx!
From dancing with the fabulous Korean KCS Senior Dance Team and learning their K-Pop routines to tasting her way through the culinary mecca that is Flushing, Mickela celebrates the Asian-American community in the most diverse and ever-changing Queens neighborhood!
NYC’s stages are back for the biggest revival of all! From Lincoln Center to the re-opening of Broadway, New York City is open for business - after over a year of live theater, dance, and music being shut down in NYC, Mickela meets with the future of what these open stages mean for New York City!
With so much on hold during the COVID-19 lockdown, these inspiring stories of dance have kept communities healthy, safe, and connected! From the powerfully healing Table of Silence performance in Lincoln Center for the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, to the Pacemakers, the elderly hype dancers for the Coney Island Cyclones, Mickela is inspired and invigorated with the power that dance has for EVERYONE!
Hispanic and Latinx communities span the entire city! From the historic and artistic “Loisaida” (Lower East Side) neighborhood, to dancing Dominican bachata in Central Park, to dancing tango at the Astoria Tango House in Queens, to drumming the powerful samba reggae rhythms with Batalá, Mickela travels through the boroughs to get a taste of these Latinx flavors!
Mickela heads to The Bronx to meet with the largest Garifuna community in the United States, a people of Afro-Caribbean culture with Central American influences. She learns the dances and music that have miraculously survived generations of impossible odds, and she features the Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education and the local delicacies in the neighborhood.
Little Sri Lanka in Staten Island is one of the largest concentrations of Sri Lankans outside of the island nation. Mickela dances with the Sri Lankan Dance Academy and visits the family-owned restaurants on Victory Blvd. in Tompkinsville cooking up traditional dishes. She celebrates with the incredibly diverse community through song, dance, and...cricket!
Mickela connects with the Arab-American communities in New York from learning Algerian Rai with Esraa Warda to exploring Bay Ridge’s “Little Middle East” in Brooklyn to celebrating a Palestinian wedding with the Freedom Dabka Group - Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters share their culture, food, and traditions with Mickela across the boroughs!
The West Indian Day Parade may be on hold this year, but the Carnival culture is still going strong! Mickela heads to the Little Caribbean neighborhood in Crown Heights, Brooklyn to take outdoor soca dance classes, learn the steel pan with Tropical Fete, dance on stilts with the KaisokahUSA Moko Jumbies, and of course, eat the local dishes in the West Indian Market!
