Giovanni Pernice, a professional on Strictly Come Dancing, has acknowledged that burnout is a concern and that he “can’t dance forever.”
The 32-year-old Italian dancer has participated in the BBC One competition since 2015. She and EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis won the glitterball trophy in 2021 and later won a Bafta TV award for their amazing silent dance.
In a recent interview, Giovanni discussed his inspiration and ambition for his job as well as how much of his life he devotes to dance with Made in Chelsea actor Spencer Matthews.
Giovanni, who began taking dance lessons at the age of 14, travelled in the UK to compete in Strictly without knowing any English.
But more than fame or wealth, it was all about realising his ambitions.
Money is not a huge problem, he told Spencer on his huge Fish podcast, since unless you’re starving or impoverished, what changes if you have £1 or £100? Yes, it improves life, but that isn’t the point of it.
‘For me, life is about achievement, goals, you want to be the best. You want to be different to anyone else, you don’t want to be a number, you want to be somebody people remember for what you do.’
Despite being so focused on his profession, Giovanni is concerned about burnout.
Spencer asked: ‘You say that you work so much that you have a three-day holiday every year and on that holiday you get bored. Are you ever worried about burnout?’
Giovanni replied: ‘Physically yes, because obviously I can’t dance forever.’
He continued: ‘Dancing is like being a footballer, you don’t play football forever or dance forever.
‘But I know that have to ride the wave.
‘My legs are still going, my body is still going, so go for it Giovanni, you will rest when all of these things don’t work anymore.’
In another episode of the podcast, Giovanni discussed his love life and acknowledged that it is “hard” and “impossible” to manage a relationship with a career.
He said: ‘When you’re in competition, it’s either you’re in a relationship with your partner, because you spend most of your time with your partner, literally 24/7, and you travel with your partner. Or you’re just single and enjoy your time around when you can.
‘It’s impossible sometimes, but that’s the reason why most of the dance couples are together, because it’s either this or nothing.
‘And they stop dancing, and they break up straight away, so it’s a conventional relationship.’
He continued by saying that being a dancer puts “a lot of pressure” on his capacity to be in a “normal” relationship.
Listen to the full interview on the Big Fish with Spencer Matthews podcast on Global Player now.
