KURIOS Hand-Puppet Artist Entertains Deaf Youngsters

Nico Baixas of Spain, a hand-puppet artist who performs nightly in Cirque du Soleil’s KURIOS at Hard Rock Stadium, brought his “handiwork” to Gulfstream Elementary School on Thursday. Baixas, who is the KURIOS accordion man, entertained deaf and hard-of-hearing students at the school.

After his performance, Baixas taught the kids how to use their hands to express themselves and challenged them to create stories using hand-puppetry. “I was captivated by the dancing scene with the two hands,” said third-grader Michael Horvath, who is now inspired to learn how to pantomime.

Baixas’ routine consisted of pantomiming with his hands on top of a table, where he re-created different dance routines, from tango to hip-hop, as well as exhibiting different storylines to the kids by making different shapes with his hands. “I want to show the kids that using your hands can be a way to express our feelings and intelligence,” said Baixas, who performs with KURIOS at Hard Rock Stadium until Jan. 29.

The students responded well to the show, attentively watching Baixas’ hand movements and mimicking them as he performed. Gulfstream Elementary School is one of the few schools in Miami-Dade County with a deaf and hard-of-hearing program. “I am always looking for different activities to keep the kids engaged,” principal Yubeda Miah said.


   

   

   

{ SOURCE: Miami Herald | https://goo.gl/Mes6yN }