About Tra-balliamo

Tra-balliamo — Italian through dance and performance

The title Tra-balliamo plays on the Italian verb ballare (“to dance”), reflecting the project’s aim to unite language and movement in a single creative experience.. Tra-balliamo is an innovative initiative developed by Dr Francesca Nicora and Dr Michela Dianetti, bringing together language, movement, and culture to teach Italian in a dynamic, creative way. Sponsored by Post-Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI), the project was designed for secondary school students in Galway, offering an alternative approach to language learning through the expressive power of the body.

Learning through movement

The project introduces students to Italian through performative pedagogy — combining gestures, dance, and improvisation with vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural discovery. Each session invites learners to move, speak, and feel the language, turning linguistic input into a physical and emotional experience.

Culture in motion

Rooted in the principles of Didattica Performativa della Lingua Straniera, Tra-balliamo also serves as a bridge between Irish and Italian cultures. Through collaborative workshops and final performances, students embody the rhythms, gestures, and stories of both traditions, promoting intercultural understanding and self-expression.

Impact and vision

By engaging students physically and creatively, Tra-balliamo fosters confidence, collaboration, and motivation in language learning. The project has demonstrated how performative methods can make language acquisition more memorable and inclusive, paving the way for new approaches to teaching Italian in Ireland.