MICKELA'S Story

Mickela Mallozzi learns Belly Dance with Ydm in Capadoccia, Turkey - photo by Lina Plioplyte 2.jpg

ABOUT mickela mallozzi

Mickela Mallozzi is the four-time Emmy® Award-winning Host and Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a travel series highlighting the diversity of dance which airs on PBS stations nationwide and on Amazon Prime globally. A professional dancer and trained musician, Mickela decided to start a journey around the world, taking her camera with her to follow dance in the lives of everyday people wherever she went. From re-discovering her family’s heritage in Southern Italy to dancing tango on the main stage in Buenos Aires, the series covers Mickela’s adventures as she experiences the world, one dance at a time. She has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Dance Magazine, Forbes, The Washington Post, AFAR Media, and more, and she has performed on various television shows including Sesame Street.

Mickela Mallozzi - Photo by Crackerfarm

“Experiencing the world, one dance at a time!”

How Bare Feet was Born

Mickela created the Bare Feet project in 2010 as an extension to what she had already been doing during her trips abroad and locally. Her fascination for folk dance and music inspired her to always seek out the local performances and celebrations so she herself could immerse herself in the dance culture. Inspiration from her own experiences led Mickela to create the Bare Feet Blog, documenting her dance adventures around the world, which then evolved into the Emmy® Award-winning TV series on public television nationwide, Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi – combining her two passions in life: travel & dance.

Mickela wants the Bare Feet series to inspire her audience to experience for themselves the wonderful dances that she learns in every place she visits.

Mickela Mallozzi on stage with I Giullari - photo by Bridget Palardy.jpg

ACCOLADES

Mickela Mallozzi & Bare Feet have received the following awards and recognitions:

2025 Social Dance Innovator Awardee - Mickela Mallozzi (presented by Dancing Classrooms at the 2025 Mad Hot Ball Gala)
2025 Gold Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Little Caribbean” - Television: Culture & Lifestyle
2025 Gold Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Garifuna (The Bronx)” - Television: Culture & Lifestyle
2025 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Empower NYC” - Television: DEI
2024 Gold Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Black Voices” - Television: Culture & Lifestyle
2024 Gold Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Open Stages” - Television: Culture & Lifestyle
2024 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Season 6” - Television: Culture & Lifestyle
2023 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Carnival in The Guadeloupe Islands PART 2” - Television: Cultural
2023 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Carnival in The Guadeloupe Islands PART 2” - Television: Travel/Tourism
2023 - Listed as One of 15 Women Who Are Changing The Way We Travel by AFAR Magazine
2022 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Carnival in The Guadeloupe Islands PART 1” - Television: Travel/Tourism
Newsweek’s The Future of Travel Awards 2021 - Finalist, Storytelling
2021 Gold Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Uzbekistan” - Television: Travel/Tourism
2021 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi Season 3 - Television Series - Cultural
2021 Silver Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Uzbekistan” - Television: Cultural
2020 Bessie Award Nominee for “Creator of the Year” - presented by WITS (Women In Travel Summit)
2020 Bronze Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Romania” - Television: Travel/Tourism
2020 Bronze Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Romania” - Television: Cultural
2020 G! Premis Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi “Girona, Catalonia (Spain)” TV Program - Tourism Communication Award in the Audiovisual Media Category
2018 Telly Award for Bare Feet in NYC with Mickela Mallozzi "The Bright Lights of Broadway" TV Program - Travel/Tourism
2018 AIAE Honoree "Excellence In The Arts" - Mickela Mallozzi
2018 Dance Parade NYC Grand Marshal - Mickela Mallozzi
2018 "Champion of Change" by The UN Women NY Metro Chapter - Mickela Mallozzi
2017 NY Emmy® Award for Best On-Camera Talent: Performer/Narrator - Mickela Mallozzi
2017 Taste Awards Hall Of Fame Inductee - Mickela Mallozzi
2017 Telly Award for Bare Feet in NYC with Mickela Mallozzi "Manhattan's Chinatown" - Travel/Tourism TV Program
2017 People's Telly Silver Award for Bare Feet in NYC with Mickela Mallozzi "Manhattan's Chinatown"
2017 Telly Award for Bare Feet in NYC with Mickela Mallozzi "Manhattan's Chinatown" - Cultural TV program
2016 Woman of Valor Award to Mickela Mallozzi - The Victory Dance Project
2016 Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi "Where Europe Meets Asia" TV Program - Travel/Tourism
2016 Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi "Where Europe Meets Asia" TV Program - Cultural
2016 NY Emmy® Award for Best Entertainment: Program/Special - Bare Feet in NYC with Mickela Mallozzi "The Bright Lights of Broadway"
2015 People's Telly Award for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi "It Takes Two To Tango"
2015 NY Emmy® Award for Best Magazine Program - Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi "Hogmanay in Scotland"
2014/2015 Malaysia Tourism Award for Best Travel Documentary "Malaysia" Episodes
2014 NY Emmy® Award for Best On-Camera Talent: Performer/Narrator - Mickela Mallozzi

Mickela Mallozzi NY Emmy Awards 2018 01.JPG