Dario Natarelli has been expressing himself through movement for years, but his latest creations aren’t something you can watch—they’re something you can wear. The 26-year-old Colorado native recently launched Knitarellia brand of knitting patterns and yarns that invites dancers and nondancers alike into the creative process of making scarves, sweaters, legwarmers, and other stylish apparel. Dance Magazine spoke with Natarelli, who will perform in the upcoming Encores! production of Wonderful Town at New York City Center, to learn more about his new role as a business owner, and how he sees the relationship between choreographing and crafting.
Knitarelli founder Dario Natarelli. Photo by Taylor James Photography, courtesy Natarelli.
How did you get interested in knitting?
I started when I was about 6. I was in dance class at the time, and there were a lot of dance parents knitting and crocheting on the benches outside the studio. I was a very curious child, and I wanted to learn everything both inside and outside the studio—what and how people were making what they were making. So, my mom brought me needles and yarn, and I started to learn the basics. When I moved to New York City when I was about 9 years old, I wanted to continue. I used colored pencils as knitting needles, and I found a sweater in my parents’ closet that I unraveled to use as yarn. A couple years later, in 2011, I ended up selling a hat on Etsy.
Is that when you knew you wanted to do it professionally?
I would do it on and off as a hobby, like before dance class or on the subway. At auditions, I would always have something to do to ease my mind, and I found knitting to be very meditative. Fast-forward to the pandemic: I was alone in my really tiny apartment in NYC, craving a creative outlet, so I got back into knitting. I learned about knitting techniques and started to hand-dye yarns. I built a following on TikTokover 25,000 followers, sharing the creative processes of fiber arts. Those videos were my way of performing at a time when I wasn’t able to be onstage.
Is knitting a similar experience for you to dancing?
Knitting is like my cooldown, mentally and spiritually, from my dance practice. It gives me a creative outlet that’s more accessible—I can do it anywhere, without having to always be physically active. When I started designing my own patterns, I found a lot of similarities to my choreographic process. The actual practice of knitting and designing involves a lot of repetition, finding the way that certain stitches work well with each other and others don’t. It’s like tap: Some rhythms work well with specific genres of music, some a cappella, and some not at all.
I’m also very attracted to the process of seeing how my choreography works on another body versus my body, like how my designs fit on somebody else versus how they fit on me. I get a lot of my inspiration from seeing people in dance classes: what they find to be essential for warming up, how they layer things, what they feel confident wearing. I pride myself on creating size-inclusive patterns that make people feel their best.
Knitarelli founder Dario Natarelli modeling his “Firebird Warmers” pattern design. Photo by Taylor James Photography, courtesy Natarelli.
Why did you choose to launch Knitarelli this year?
Working on my first Broadway show, Illinoise, last year allowed me to save up enough to be able to launch a business. It doesn’t feel stressful even though I’m wearing multiple hats. Knitting provides clarity in my mind and my body. I can’t wait to hopefully collaborate with dancers to be models. My dream is to have other people model the things I make, the way I have other people do my choreography.
What other goals do you have for Knitarelli?
I have dreams of designing Knitarelli items for performances, which I’m going to start this summer. I’m really excited to wear Knitarelli onstage when I perform and see both of my worlds become intertwined.
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