Un Italiano di 22 anni stupisce tutti e vince il Belgium’s Got Talent (A 22 years old Italian amazes everyone and wins ‘Belgium’s Got Talent’). This is the sort of news title that I usually try to ignore, but then I invariably end up reading anyway. So, after a token resistance, I clicked on the video link and, despite the tacky glittery leggings worn by the dancer, Domenico Vaccaro, I was immediately taken by the beauty and elegance of his performance. Domenico’s speciality is called the ‘acropole flagman’, a development of gymnastics in which the dancer performs all sorts of acrobatic manoeuvres on a vertical pole using only the strength of his arms.

Huge numbers of Italians migrated to Belgium in the Fifties and Sixties to work in the coal mines, and consequently there are many second and third generations Italians who were born in Belgium, but Domenico Vaccaro is not one of them. He was born in the southern Italian town of Trani, in Puglia, famous for its beautiful Norman cathedral built right on the sea front. Apparently, having failed many auditions on Italian TV, he decided to move to Maasmechelen, in the Flemish part of Belgium, where he has a cousin.

Domenico’s triumphant success in the Belgian talent show has created a lot of controversy in the country as the population is divided over the victory of a ‘foreigner’. But an unfazed Domenico simply states: “Ognuno ha diritto alla propria opinione. Comunque, per ogni belga che si scaglia contro di me, ce ne sono quattro che mi difendono” (Everyone has the right to their own opinion. However, for every Belgian who is against me, there are four who defend me).

Talking about his future, Domenico says: “Finalmente un po’ di riconoscimento. In Italia ho fatto innumerevoli audizioni ed ho investito un sacco di soldi in una potenziale carriera, ma nessuno ha creduto in me. Ecco perché ho deciso di non tornare più in Italia” (At last a bit of recognition. In Italy, I did innumerable auditions and invested a lot of money in a potential career, but nobody believed in me. That’s why I’ve decided not to go back to Italy anymore). Domenico is determined to stay in Belgium and learn to speak Dutch, one of the two main languages spoken there. But he’s not interest in pursuing a career in television because his true dream is to become a member of the famous Cirque du Soleil.

Tanti auguri, Domenico, e in bocca al lupo per la tua carriera!