On the Pink Carpet, Beyond the Wall of Memory
by Vilma Tognini — photos by Nadia Garbellini Tuena (Il Grigione Italiano)
Is it possible to speak of a debilitating pathology through art? Can what science calls Alzheimer's disease be translated into a choreographic score? For those who attended Pink Carpet by Nunzio Impellizzeri at the Casa Anziani in Poschiavo, the answer is undoubtedly yes.
Emotions are the common ground of art and human relationships, and that is precisely where Pink Carpet begins: from the primary human relationship, that with one's mother, tested by the painful experience of dementia and transformed into a sequence of glances, gestures, and movements. Pink Carpet is first and foremost an act of love from a son to his mother, the desire to preserve her memory through the body and hands, restoring an intact joy of living.
It is also an invitation to overcome the stigma surrounding dementia in favor of an inclusive perspective that recognizes the person before the illness. Maren K. Sauer, dancer and interpreter of the choreography created by Impellizzeri, unrolls her pink carpet: a place of the mind, a boundary between self and world, but also a space to act and connect.
The performance took place as part of World Alzheimer's Day, alongside a panel discussion featuring healthcare experts, family caregivers, and choreographer Nunzio Impellizzeri, emphasizing how non-verbal communication, gesture, and presence can break down barriers and foster genuine inclusion.