My essentials: Paolo Mangiola’s cultural picks

1. Book

Nowadays reading has become a difficult exercise for me. We are bombarded with notifications and click baits that it takes discipline to switch off those devices and connect with written words on paper. I like to read local news, as they help me to understand better the context in which I operate. I read newsletters, from small publishing houses, collecting interesting and new topics that are in the field of ecology, art and cultural changes, and I love science fiction. I’m currently on my second book, Waking Gods, part of a trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel.

2. Film

Triangle of Sadness was the most recent film I watched, that stayed with me for some time. Incredible work by Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, and so far, the most accurate and most intelligent satire on our current economic and political system.

3. TV/Internet 

Navigating the internet for fun is something I try to keep to the bare minimum. When I feel in the mood for some constructive time I go for a mix of podcasts and YouTube channels: CGP Grey, Kurtzgesagt, VOX and the Institute of Art and Ideas. Another very fascinating tool is the current ChatbotGBT software.  If prompts are accurate, it can give you access to good knowledge. As far as TV goes, I loved the first season of Severance and I can’t wait for Season 2 and beside being a huge Game of Thrones fan and everything around it, I lately enjoyed every single episode of The White Lotus Season 2 and The Last of Us.

4. Music

As a choreographer, I have the luxury to listen to a lot of music for work, new and past works, classical and contemporary, indie and commercial. I’m currently into American minimalism and I love the works of Steve Reich and John Adams. I’m also a huge fan of Rosin Murphy as well as Italian 70s music. I love the work of Carmen Consoli and I’m always drawn, when I need inspiration, to the work of Loscil.

5. Place 

I’ve visited a lot of countries as a dancer, working for touring companies, and we’ve covered pretty much the globe. However, a place that stuck with me, which I visited for leisure, was Nepal. It’s an incredible country which made me reconnect with my faith and made me once again aware of the beauty and the fragility of this planet.