Irene Paci has mastered the art of saying yes in Life and having Life say yes right back to her: dance taught her that at a very young age. As a child she was repeatedly asked if she wanted to take a dance class at the studio in her native Pistoia (a town near Florence, Italy). She felt disconnected from the stereotypical image of the fluffy pink tutu she associated with this artform and much preferred swimming and tennis with her brother. Then, one day, she said yes.
What she discovered has since become her passion and purpose in life. “Since then, I have never stopped saying yes in life, and especially when it comes to dance,” she says smiling.
She spent her formative years at Axe Ballet directed by Antonella Tronci focusing on ballet, modern, contemporary and jazz. She said yes to all competitions and performances, presenting solos, duets and group works throughout Europe. Amongst her notable accomplishments are her wins at the 2012 Baletu de art jazz International Dance Competition, the prestigious Tanzolymp Dance Festival in Berlin, and the 2012 Rieti International Dance Festival.
When Rick Odums came to her studio to give a workshop, she was captured by the music used: from Bob Marley to gospel to jazz. Looking back at those moments, Irene acknowledges that at that time she already felt her path was going to lead her to New York City. “The music chose me, and I knew I needed to work professionally in NYC. What you can experience here in one day, you can’t experience anywhere else.”
Irene continued training and honing her skills, in dance and in saying yes. She said yes to moving to Paris to study at the ‘Institut de Formation Professionelle de Danse Jazz Rick Odums’. The school said yes to her, and during her year at the Institute, she shined as a soloist and featured dancer in ‘Les Jeunes Ballet Jazz and Le Jeunes Ballet Moderne de Rick Odums’.
She said yes to the Ailey intensive program in Paris, and auditioned for The Ailey Certificate Program in New York. At that point in her career, she was determined to continue her professional education in NYC. “I was not sure if I had done well enough in the audition,” Irene recalls, “so I decided to fly to Bari, in Italy, and audition there as well. It’s not something that people usually do so they were surprised to see me there.” In the end, her audition in Paris had already secured her spot, but the bold and unique move definitely got her noticed (she was a principal dancer in ‘Night Creatures’, choreographed by Alvin Ailey with music by Duke Ellington) and is a testament to this dancer’s commitment to her craft.
Though New York had said yes to Irene, the move was not easy. She admits having struggled a lot to adapt to the culture and the competitive dance environment, as well as missing her family. Her dancing, however, never suffered from her personal hardships and during the three-year course at the Ailey program her light shined bright. Darrel G. Moultrie, a choreographer and dance educator whose credits include a plethora of dance companies, artists, TV programs (such as the Atlanta Ballet, The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, Ailey II, Beyonce, Savion Glover and Chapelle’s Show), had the opportunity to work with her during those three years and remembers hearing from his peers about her abilities before meeting her in person. “She is the kind of dancer that every choreographer dreams of working with,” he says, “she knows how to interpret your vision while also adding her own personal flair that makes the piece her own and improves any project.” He has been following her career and her performances in numerous principal roles since her graduation from Ailey.
Irene Paci, NYC. © Bill Wadman 2022
Right after she completed the Ailey Program, Irene started saying yes to all the auditions she could find without missing a beat. From October 2018 to August 2019, she auditioned every week, often multiple times a week. “There are so many dancers in NYC, it was so intimidating to me. I knew it was my moment to shine and show myself, but I kept on feeling small.” Nonetheless, her passion and undeniable talent kept her going, as did her artistry in saying yes. She was recognized and recruited by many dance companies, including Cross Move Lab, Albano Ballet Dance Company of America, ProjectTAG NY Company, CR Dance Company LLC and Gwen Rakotovao Company.
When she auditioned for Albano Ballet Company, Joseph Albano, also known as “Mr. A.” in the dance world, said yes to Irene without hesitation. He has many credits to his name, pioneered dance in education and trained an impressive roster of dancers who went on to perform as leads with companies throughout the United States and Europe. “I tested Ms. Paci by making her dance the role of Snow Queen in our Nutcracker rehearsal. Her beautiful lines, her impeccable precision, and her glacial expression made her appeared not as an enemy but a thrilling catalyst.” He can’t say enough about her performance in lead roles, her footwork (“incredibly neat”), and her pirouettes (“crisp and even”). In his words, Irene Paci is “a dream of a dancer”.
In a twist of fate, the pandemic coincided with her artist visa renewal process. She had returned home to Italy to complete her application, which was accepted in March of 2020. As the world shut down exactly at that moment, she found herself stuck, unable to return to NYC. The final interview of the application process was postponed indefinitely given the circumstances. It was only this year that she was finally able to get her interview: even the stifling bureaucracy could not keep her down and finally said yes.
Irene Paci, NYC. © Joerg Didlap 2019
Not being able to return to NYC for over two years was a harsh blow. Not harsh enough however to stop Irene’s passion. She maintained her dance relationships via zoom sessions, said yes to auditions throughout Europe, and looked for all the opportunities possible to get that silver lining to shine.
There were definitely a number of those. One of them was discovering Pilates, which she got certified in and is currently teaching in New York. “It is yet another connection to NYC because this practice was created in this city. Pilates changed my life and as a dancer I am so much stronger because of it,” she says. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with her fellow dancers now that she is back.
Another silver lining was the opportunity to perform in Italy with some of the dance companies she had connected with in the US, most notably, during the Italy tour of CR Dance Company LLC in 2021. Caterina Rago, founder and artistic director of the company, and fellow Italian, had met Irene in 2019 during an audition. She noticed her immediately and asked her to join: Irene said yes. “Ms. Paci oozes talent far beyond her years,” she says. “She is impeccable, with extremely engaging expressiveness and energy.” Because of her “unmatched expertise, dynamism, command of her body, and electrifying stage-presence” Rago chose Irene to cover principal roles in her company and waited patiently for her to return to New York. She was thrilled when they connected in Rome for the performance.
Hussein Smko, director of ProjectTAG NY also waited for Irene. He had seen her perform ‘Standing Up’, with Gwen Rakotovao Company at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, for the MUSE Residency Danspace Project, in 2019. He had asked her to join his company right after the show and she had, of course, said yes. A year later, separated by an ocean and a pandemic, she continued her work as company member through zoom rehearsals.
The forced time in Italy confirmed to Irene that there is no place other than NYC for her to pursue her career at such outstanding levels. She was finally able to give her interview and return to the Big Apple in May of 2022, where she found that this city had missed her indeed: Irene hit the ground running.
As if to catch up on two years of missed performances, since her return she has been performing non-stop. Since May she has performed at ESTIA Dance Festival, Robus DT Ensemble Gala & Artistic Laboratory and joined Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet. Her summer has been intense: she performed with The Faustine Lavie Dance Project at Bridge for Dance UPTOWN RISING PRFORMANCE SERIES, Synergy II, and KoDaFe in NYC Arts Festival, among others. Her fall looks equally packed with more performances planned with multiple dance companies, including Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet. On the calendar in just over a week, you can see her in ‘Works’ by The Faustine Lavie Dance Project (October 14th, tickets available here), and ‘Roses in Sand’ with ProjectTAG NY (October 15th, tickets available here).
Saying yes in dance and in life has brought Irene Paci to very high levels. As opportunities continue to arise, she remains aligned with her purpose and passion. If you get the chance to see her in action, we recommend you say yes.
