Colors, sounds, rhythms, cultures, languages. From October 19th to 25th, the Multicolor Festival, conceived and organized by the Cuneo-based association Mano nella Mano, returns to Cuneo and Borgo San Dalmazzo. Now in its fourth edition, this year's festival is dedicated to the theme "Roots – Identity in Motion" and expands throughout the region with completely free events, engaging all audiences, creating concrete opportunities for connection, and overcoming economic, linguistic, and cultural barriers. Leading the artistic direction of the Multicolor Festival is Burkinabe multi-instrumentalist and composer Moussa Sanou, an internationally renowned artist: "Through the fusion of different artistic languages—music, dance, illustration, theater, and movement—along with training, discussion, and dialogue, the Multicolor Festival transforms into a widespread and participatory cultural laboratory. An open place, not only physical but above all relational, where people, cultures, and different generations can meet."
THE PROGRAM
Title: Beyond the Word
Category: Expressive-Theatrical Workshop with Jean-Luc Moisson
Where: Esseci Cultural Center – Entrance from Via F.lli Vaschetto, 1 – Cuneo
When: Monday, October 19 – 7:00 PM
Target: Adults and children
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
Under the expert guidance of Jean-Luc Moisson, a French actor and director with extensive international experience, this workshop is designed to explore the potential of the body and voice beyond the purely verbal dimension. It's an experience open to both actors who wish to deepen their listening skills on stage and anyone who wishes to improve their body awareness and communication skills in everyday life.
Title: Folongoto
Category: multidisciplinary show with Kabako Company
Where: Esseci Cultural Center – Via Santa Maria, 11 – Cuneo
When: Tuesday, October 20 – 8:00 PM
Target: Everyone
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
When thoughts become a breeze, Folongotò (The Tourbillon) comes to life, a multidisciplinary performance that intertwines music, theater, and Afro-American dance. Created by the nascent Kabako Company under the direction of Moussa Sanou and shaped by the concept and choreography of Loredana Potenza, it features three women on an intense journey of rediscovery, where fully inhabiting one's body becomes the manifesto of a new freedom. To the evocative music of Moussa Sanou and Ashti Abdo, through the intense theatrical interventions of Jean-Luc Moisson, female bodies become storm and poetry to discover the beauty of being. Dancers: Valentina Ferrai, Silvia Gallo, Daria Re.
Title: Sound Languages
Category: Music workshop with Ady Thioun
Where: Esseci Cultural Center – Entrance from Via F.lli Vaschetto, 1 – Cuneo
When: Wednesday, October 21st – 7:00 PM
Target audience: musicians, amateurs, and the curious (children and adults)
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
An ensemble music workshop led by one of the most influential voices in the Senegalese tradition, Ady Thioun, offers an extraordinarily valuable educational and cultural opportunity to explore the sounds and technical foundations of a unique instrument, the Talking Drum, capable of modulating the pitch of its sounds to "speak" and communicate through rhythm. A stimulating and accessible program, combining learning and discovery of a millennia-old cultural heritage, ideal for those wishing to enrich their musical skills, develop their rhythmic sensibility, and enjoy a profound and engaging experience of sharing.
Title: The Gruffalo Forest
Category: Musical story with the Mano nella Mano Cultural Association
Where: Anne Frank Civic Library – Via Boves, 4 – Borgo San Dalmazzo
When: Thursday, October 22nd – 5:00 PM
Target: children aged 3 to 6 and families
Admission: Book online at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
Live music, rhythm games, and stories that come to life: an interactive show to experience with mom and dad. Through curious sounds and unusual instruments to listen to and try, adults and children actively participate in the story, living it step by step. It's a special opportunity to unleash your imagination, meet unusual characters, and experience a fun and magical adventure together.
Title: Ancrage & Vertige
Category: Show with Duo Fondoux & Moussa Sanou
Where: Auditorium – Via Vittorio Veneto, 19 – Borgo San Dalmazzo
When: Thursday, October 22nd – 8:00 PM
Target: everyone
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
A powerful and poetic dialogue between the acrobatic virtuosity of Duo Fondoux (Valentina Padellini and Lucio Failla) and the enveloping sounds of Burkinabe artist Moussa Sanou. This show is born from the encounter between the physicality of contemporary circus and the magic of an original musical fusion. Fondoux's performances are evocative corporeal narratives that blend with evocative melodies in a space of cultural and artistic fusion.
Title: Together among the books – Tell me about yourself
Category: themed meeting
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1 – Cuneo
When: Friday, October 23 – 10:00 a.m
Target: adults over 67
Entrance: FREE
Description:
The final event of the workshop dedicated to seniors: a safe and welcoming space designed to combat loneliness and promote active social interaction. The final event reaps the benefits of a journey based on listening and storytelling, where sharing personal experiences has transformed isolation into a new and solid network of relationships. The event was held with the support of Fondazione La Stampa – Specchio dei Tempi
Title: Suruku's Feast
Category: Music Story with Magatte Dieng
Where: Polo Culturale Esseci (Hall 0/5) – Via Santa Maria, 11 – Cuneo
When: Friday, October 23 – 5:00 PM
Target: children aged 3 to 6 and families
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
A musical narrative designed for younger children that combines the tradition of African storytellers with the captivating sounds of West Africa. Magatte Dieng's extraordinary energy will guide children and parents alike to discover a colorful, mysterious, and fascinating Senegal, where nature and animals mirror human emotions.
Title: Siraba
Category: afro-electro concert with Boubacar Samake & Damien Vandesande
Where: Varco Auditorium – Via Carlo Pascal, 5 L – Cuneo
When: Friday, October 23 – 9:00 PM
Target: everyone
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
The Afro-electro concert known as the Siraba project fuses Mali's ancestral roots with contemporary electronic music. On stage, the acoustic sound of the ngoni and the spiritual chants of Malian maestro Samake intertwine with the hypnotic beats and analog textures of Frenchman Vandesande. The result is an atmosphere that bridges tribal ceremony and club culture, shifting from intimate, spiritual sounds to a deep, magnetic electronic groove.
Title: That's All There Is
Category: Children's Show/Workshop with Ambra Moriconi
Where: Polo Culturale Esseci (Hall 0/5) – Via Santa Maria, 11 – Cuneo
When: Saturday, October 24 – 10:00 a.m
Target: children and families
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
A journey through the pages of "Is It in Your Suitcase?" Guided by a fox, a bird, and a rabbit, we explore an old suitcase and the mysteries it holds. Through the narrator's voice and body, objects come to life and become clues to stories past and present. A simple question—what's in your suitcase?—opens to a thousand answers: from a holed sock to the roots of a community to be nurtured together.
Title: Roots in Groove
Category: Djembe Rhythm Workshop with Seydou Dao
Where: Esseci Cultural Center – Via Santa Maria, 11 – Cuneo
When: Saturday, October 24 – 11:30 a.m
Target audience: everyone (ages 8 and up)
Entrance: FREE
Description:
Led by the exceptional master Seydou Dao, it offers an extraordinary immersive experience in the musical traditions of West Africa (particularly Mali and Burkina Faso). This workshop combines instrumental technique with the communal dimension of music, offering benefits to both beginners and more experienced percussionists. Rhythm thus becomes a tool for social connection, well-being, and expressive liberation.
Title: Fluid Body
Category: Gyrokinesis Workshop with Noemi Garavagno
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1- Cuneo
When: Saturday, October 24th – 2:00 PM
Target: children and adults
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
The Gyrokinesis workshop with Noemi Garavagno, kinesiologist and wellness professional, is a mindful movement experience designed to rediscover the body's fluidity. Through harmonious sequences inspired by yoga, dance, and tai chi, practiced initially on a stool and then on the floor, the program guides participants through a deep work on the spine and breathing. The program is accompanied by live music.
Title: Na Donké
Category: Malian Dance Workshop with Bifalo Kouyate
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1- Cuneo
When: Saturday, October 24th – 3:30 pm
Target: children and adults
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
In the workshop with Bifalo Kouyaté, a master from Bamako, dance strips away all superstructure to become pure resonance. Supported by the visceral sound of live percussion, we will learn to root our feet into the ground and open our bodies to the rhythm of West Africa. Here, movement isn't learned: it's inhabited, excavated, liberated. Accompanied by live music.
Title: Jail
Category: Coupè Decalè Dance Workshop with Cyrille Oulane
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1- Cuneo
When: Saturday, October 24th – 5:00 PM
Target: children and adults
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
A true immersion in the energy of the Ivory Coast: led by Cyrille Oulane, this workshop explodes to the rhythm of Coupé-Décalé, one of the world's most vibrant and enthralling urban dance genres. More than a simple dance lesson, it's an experience that combines technique, freedom of expression, and pure fun, transforming movement into a powerful contagion of joy, determination, and strong collective unity. Accompanied by live music.
Title: Popular Sentiment
Category: World music concert with Camilla Barbarito and Fabio Marconi
Where: San Giovanni Hall – Via Roma, 4 – Cuneo
When: Saturday, October 24th – 9:00 PM
Target: everyone
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
A concert to listen and celebrate together, led by the magnetic voice of Camilla Barbarito and the virtuoso guitar of Fabio Marconi. Proudly mixed songs, loyally stolen from their countries of origin, enriched by the character and high spirits of a variety of folk songs from our own country and abroad. Songs that have made us cry and dance! That have consoled us! That have helped mark the rhythm of work, or make idlers whistle. Sincere melodies, full of heart.
Title: Trees Upside Down
Category: Illustration Workshop with Daniela Costa
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1 – Cuneo
When: Sunday, October 25 – 10:00 a.m
Target: children aged 5 to 10 years
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
Led by children's book illustrator Daniela Costa, this creative and poetic experience is designed specifically for children, an invitation to look at nature from a completely new and unexpected perspective. Inspired by the imagery of trees whose roots almost seem to touch the sky, or which overturn the usual point of view, the workshop encourages young participants to overturn reality through their imagination. The upside-down tree becomes a visual metaphor for exploring creativity, the unusual, and the freedom of artistic expression.
Title: Flow Physical Training
Category: Stretching Workshop with Giulia Ceolin
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1 – Cuneo
When: Sunday, October 25 – 11:00 a.m
Target: children and adults
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
Description:
Led by Giulia Ceolin, a bodywork trainer, this workshop aims to improve flexibility, joint mobility, and postural well-being through work on muscle chains. This experience is suitable for both athletes who need to optimize range of motion, and for those who simply want to release daily tension, improve posture, and rediscover physical and mental well-being through listening to their bodies.
Title: Roots to Sprout
Category: Educational training with Ambra Moriconi
Where: Rondò dei Talenti – Via Luigi Gallo, 1 – Cuneo
When: Sunday, October 25th – 3:00 PM
Target audience: educators, teachers, parents
Admission: FREE | Reservations required at www.multicolorfestival.com
An educational session and hands-on workshop led by Ambra Moriconi, dedicated to those who educate, grow, and imagine. A firsthand experience of the visual and narrative languages of picture books, learning to read, play with, and look at them with new eyes. Discover together how the paths suggested by the stories can transform into extraordinary creative adventures to share with children. A tangible opportunity to transform printed pages into moments of play and wonder.
Title: Goodfellas
Category: Concert with the band Goodfellas
Where: I Goliardi – Via Chiri, 10 – Cuneo
When: Sunday, October 25th – 7:00 PM
Target: everyone
Entrance: FREE with a drink
Description:
Closing concert of the Multicolor Festival with the Cuneo band Quei Bravi Ragazzi: not just talented young musicians, but friends who share a love of music. The group explores pop in all its forms, from sincere and intimate R&B moments to the most relentless rock energy. The singer-songwriter soul is the thread that connects each song, where instruments and lyrics take center stage.
