Life & Work with Gianna Forte of Boulder

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gianna Forte.

Gianna, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Easton, CT, and began dancing at the age of 2 years old. My mom put me in dance lessons at such a young age because I was always dancing in the kitchen while she was cooking. I grew up learning all styles of dance – ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, modern, etc., but began to focus on ballet around the age of 10 years old. I began training privately with Christina Fagundes (former soloist with American Ballet Theatre in NYC) at the age of 14 and moved to Washington, D.C. to join The Washington Ballet’s Professional Training Program at age 17. When I was nineteen, I was promoted to Trainee and remained at that position through COVID-19. In February 2021, I auditioned for Boulder Ballet over Zoom while in my childhood bedroom at my parents’ home in CT and was offered a company contract! I had never been to Colorado before, but I signed my contract without any hesitation and moved to Boulder in the summer of 2021. I have now been a professional ballet dancer with Boulder Ballet for 4 seasons.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Throughout my career, I’ve struggled a lot with injuries and illness along the way.

I was born with a birth defect called an Omphalocele, which is when some of your organs are encased within a sac in the umbilical cord. My parents and the doctors were aware of this before I was born. My mother was induced so the surgeons would be ready to operate. Immediately after my birth, I went directly into surgery where my organs were put back inside. I was closed with a Gore-Tex mesh patch sewn in my abdomen. I had this patch removed through another surgery when I was 18 months old. For 19 years, I never had any complications other than having malrotation of my abdominal organs, having a scar along my stomach, and not having a typical belly button. I had such great family and friends that I grew up rarely feeling self-conscious of my scar and abnormal belly button, and rather feeling special that I had something different.

At age 19 (year 2018), when I was dancing in D.C., I began to have pain in my right hip and found out I needed surgery to repair a torn labrum. Everything was set – my parents were traveling from CT to D.C. to be with me for the surgery, and then I would go back to CT with them to begin my recovery. The hip surgery went smoothly, but as we traveled back to CT. I began to feel ill and continued to become sicker in the following few days after my return home. The surgeon who performed my hip surgery recommended that my parents take me to the emergency room. I went to the ER on March 1st, 2018, which was the beginning of a 20-day stay in the hospital.

While in the emergency room, I was diagnosed with a bowel obstruction. This was the result of complications from the malrotation caused at birth, and the anesthesia from the hip surgery. The doctors tried to treat me conservatively – an NG tube was placed to keep my stomach empty in hopes the obstruction would heal itself. After a few days, I was only getting worse, so I was rushed into emergency surgery. I ended up being in much worse condition than the doctors had originally thought – I was in septic shock, was on life support, and intubated for a week. The first week in the hospital included going back into surgery every other day (4 surgeries total) to clean the sepsis and check for signs of necrosis of the bowel. On March 9th, 2018, I had my final surgery and my stomach was closed with about 30 staples running down the center of my abdomen. Throughout my hospital stay, I faced C-Diff, pneumonia, and a blood clot, as well as trying to recover from my very recent hip surgery.

After leaving the hospital, it was a very long road of recovery and getting back to dancing. What helped me the most was staying positive and surrounding myself with friends and family. My parents and two younger brothers were my main support system. They kept me laughing and motivated, even when I could only walk to the mailbox and back! I remember getting encouraging videos and messages from all of my friends and teachers in D.C., which helped me stay motivated to get back to dancing. I also had so much help from several amazing physical therapists who worked with me and helped me to gain back my strength and confidence to dance again.

To hear more about my story, see HeartThreads at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKCcCrzUMfY&t=20s

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am currently a professional ballet dancer with Boulder Ballet. We rehearse 9 am-4:30 pm, 5 days a week, and have 4 major productions per season, including The Nutcracker. I am also a dance teacher and certified personal trainer in the Boulder area. I love teaching students everything I have learned so far in my career, encouraging them to work hard and watching them grow! I always feel the most proud when I take a moment to think of how far I’ve come after facing a difficult health challenge. Staying grateful makes every day I get to dance feel even more special!

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Boulder Ballet is a non-profit organization and is always accepting donations to help grow the company and support its artists. As a dancer and NASM Certified Personal Trainer, I’m always looking for students of any age to do private lessons with or plan workout programs for. Feel free to contact me or follow me on Instagram @giannaforte.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giannaforte?igsh=eHJkemtzZHQwNzk4&utm_source=qr

Image Credits
Personal Photo – Amanda Tipton @amandatiptonphotography (instagram) for Boulder Ballet’s 23/24 Season

Home

Washington DC Photo – Chris Stark @starkphotoproductions (instgram)
https://starkphotoproductions.smugmug.com/

White Tutu Photo – Chris Stark @starkphotoproductions (instagram)
https://starkphotoproductions.smugmug.com/

Pink Tutu Photo – Francisco Estevez @candidlycreated (instagram) for Boulder Ballet’s 21/22 Season
http://www.franciscoestevezphotography.com/
Photographed with Hunter Soloman

Black Long Tutu Photo – Ross Stoner @coastless (instagram) for Boulder Ballet and Academy Mapleton Hill Retirement Community