There are two workshops designed for schoolchildren that kicked off on 21 March 2025 at the Toscanini Music Production Centre for the European project Let’s PASS (Promoting Accessible Shows): ‘Le mani parlanti’ (Talking Hands), inspired by the illustrated book ‘Le parole di Bianca sono farfalle’ (Bianca’s words are butterflies) by Chiara Lorenzoni and Sophie Fatus, and ‘The joy of movements’ led respectively by Hélène Taiocchi and Vitoria Kotsalou (choreographer of the artistic team of the Let’s Pass project). For the entire morning, the students of San Vitale School IC Parma Centro took part in reading, drawing, theatre, dance, music and movement activities with a special focus on the importance of non-verbal communication. ‘Talking Hands’ set itself precisely this objective: to raise the children’s awareness and attempt an initial approach to Sign Language. With Vitoria Kotsalou, in the workshop ‘The joy of movements’ the focus shifted to the concept of movement and performance. The workshop was initiated by a simple sheet of wrapping paper. Paper that is actually life in its apparent immobility, it too is part of a life cycle: it comes from the tree, from nature, and from there takes on different forms and is recycled at the end of its life. Here, the children were able to play and experiment with this seemingly anonymous sheet of paper, creating shapes and giving it a broader meaning than just being a sheet. In this workshop, each child was ultimately able to experience what the artists experience during the performance and be a bit of a cre -a(c)tors themselves.
