IICUAE Interviews the Italian Theatre and Culture Association

ITACA, acronym of Italian Theater and Culture Association, is a training institute approved by the KHDA (Authority for knowledge and human development) created with the aim of offering language courses, theater courses, playdates and creating theatrical performances and events.

The Italian Chamber of Commerce in the United Arab Emirates interviewed Natascia Colautti and Michela Contini, founders of ITACA project, already promoted by the Chamber for some time.

 A few months after our first interview we meet again. How are the activities of ITACA proceeding?

ITACA – Italian Association of Theater and Culture – is our landing place and our starting point: it is the cultural space from which we look to the world. After almost a year of activity, the first results are very positive. We are very grateful to the Italian community for the enthusiasm with which our project has been received. In recent months, we have made important collaborations with institutional bodies such as the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Emirates and the Italian Cultural Institute in the last of Abu Dhabi who have been very important for us, not only because they have strengthened and given recognition to our work, but above all because they have shown an interest in working in a systematic and synergistic way with the only common goal of promoting culture, art, literature, and the beauty of Italy in this part of the world we call home.

A project aimed at adults and children; what activities does ITACA carry out?

We work on a double track, complementary and integrative. To the teaching and promotion of the Italian language and literature, we accompany actor training activities, for children and adults, and the production of theatrical events. We are particularly proud of our “ITALIAN IN ACTION”, a course that we have created entirely for our classes: through theatrical techniques and dramatic play, we help children to develop and enhance their language skills in Italian. We believe, and experience has proven us right, that working in a playful, dynamic and self-motivating environment such as an acting class, in addition to the known benefits of theater education, has a huge impact on students’ ability to improve their skills.

If you want to know more and be always updated on our activities and events, we invite you to visit our website: www.itaca.ae or follow us on the social pages Instagram (itaca_dubai) and Facebook

How important is learning the Italian language and how important is participation in theatrical activities?

ITACA was born from our passion for everything that can be defined as culture, especially literature and theater. We used to say that ITACA has two strongly related beating hearts. The first heart is dedicated to our language and literature that we teach both to Italian children and teenagers (we also organize preparation courses for the IB Italian literature exams) and to non-Italian children and adults who want to learn Italian. The second heart beats for the theater. With our acting classes we aim to transmit the well-known benefits of theater art (concentration, trust, collaboration, but the list is very long). Especially for children / teenagers, the theater lesson is also a way to broaden their vocabulary and use the Italian language in different situations. Two hearts that can exist independently and are complementary at the same time.

When will we see you again on the Dubai stage?

The next theatrical production, “Farfalle” by E. Aldrovandi, will be staged on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 November at 20.00 at the Kilachand studio of The Theater, Mall of The Emirates. The text, winner of the Hystrio award in 2015 and Mario Fratti Award in 2016, is a wonderful black tale set between Milan, Palermo and New York. Two sisters tell their stories and the lucky and unfortunate encounters in their lives. At the center, the absolute protagonist, a game between them, fun but sometimes treacherous … I don’t want to reveal too much, and I invite you to come and see us!