Critically Acclaimed Travel Series Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi Returns for Season 5

Premiering on NYC Life, March 9, new season showcases resilience of NYC's diverse arts community as city reopens in wake of COVID-19 pandemic

NEW YORK, NY – Four-time Emmy® Award-winning travel dance series Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi returns to NYC Life, the flagship channel of NYC Media, on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. Viewers tuning in will follow executive producer, professional dancer, and host Mallozzi as she discovers the world through music and dance on a tour of the five boroughs. This season explores the recovery of New York's culturally diverse communities and celebrates the city's resiliency through the healing power of dance and music, all while drumming support for small businesses and establishments in local neighborhoods. Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi is an official co-production with NYC Media, the City of New York's broadcast network, a division of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment. The series can also be viewed on public television nationally beginning June 1, 2022.

This new season resembles Bare Feet in NYC's first tour through the five boroughs in 2016, when Mallozzi brought her passion for travel and connecting with people of different cultures to her hometown. Over the course of this new season, Mallozzi encourages New Yorkers to not only explore the world within the five boroughs, but to support these small businesses and community groups as they begin the recovery process following the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I feel very lucky that we were able to film a new season during the pandemic," says Mallozzi. "As the vaccines were rolling out, we knew New York was going to open up again - and it has been such an honor and privilege to be able to capture this incredible moment in our history. After such a trying year and a half for everyone, it was even more important to me to showcase the diversity, cultures, arts, and small businesses that keep this city alive! At a time when many people are not yet ready to travel, we truly show that it is possible to explore the world by just using a New York City metrocard!"

"We are thrilled to premiere the 5th season of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi on NYC Life, NYC Media's lifestyle channel," said the NYC Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Anne del Castillo. "This season shines a spotlight on NYC's diverse arts community, as Mickela features personal stories of New Yorkers and small businesses across the five boroughs. These stories will hopefully inspire viewers to explore the city, neighborhood by neighborhood, as we collectively recover from the pandemic."

In the premiere episode of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi season 5, Mallozzi heads to Harlem to celebrate Black artists and businesses by dancing with Virginia Johnson and the renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem; she witnesses a world-premiere performance from Misty Copeland at Little Island; goes back in-studio with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and later she teams up with the Brooklyn United Marching Band in celebration of Juneteenth with Black-owned small business owners, restaurants, and festivals throughout the city!

Highlights of Mallozzi's dance adventures in New York City this season include:

• Dancing Cuban salsa on the beach in Far Rockaway, Queens
• Learning the Hawaiian hula with the Na Pua Mai Ka Lani Nuioka dance group in Corona Park, Queens
• Teaming up with the KCS Senior Dance Team while tasting her way through the culinary mecca of Main Street, Flushing
• Vogueing with legendary Cesar Valentino, the original '80's voguer from the film Paris Is Burning in celebration of Pride Month
• Celebrating West Indian traditions with food and soca dances in the Little Caribbean in Crown Heights, Brooklyn

View the trailer for season 5 of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi here:

Bare Feet in with Mickela Mallozzi is co-produced by Sauce & Liver Productions, LLC and NYC Media; presented by NYC Media and distributed to public television stations by American Public Television (APT). Critically acclaimed filmmaker, Lina Plioplyte, is the Director of Photography for all 12 episodes of Bare Feet. Underwriting is provided in part by The Yuen Foundation; the executive producer/creator of the series is Mickela Mallozzi.