At The French Library Get Directions
Participants will meet at the French Library and then move to the First Church (across the street) and then to the Charles River Esplanade where there are a number of great spots to train for children of all ages.
The Yamakasi workshop will be put on in partnership with Parkour Generations Americas, a Boston-based company that teaches parkour classes to all ages and abilities throughout the greater Boston area as well as workshops and events across the country.
About Yann Hnautra
Yann Hnautra is a French artist, known to be one of the original YAMAKASI guys, and co-founder of what is currently known as Art du Déplacement (ADD), Parkour (Pk) or Freerunning (FR). In the early 90's, a group of friends started training with a series of challenges to make themselves "stronger", which over the years grew into the group Yamakasi. The name originates from "Ya Makàsi" an African word which means "Strong spirit", "Strong man", "Strong body". After the group formed, some of them performed as gargoyles in Charles Talar's musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", and then in Luc Besson's (The 5th Element, Lucy) film, YAMAKASI. This film catapulted the discipline onto the international stage where it has now become one of the world's fastest growing sports and has inspired generations and communities around the globe.About Parkour
The word "parkour" comes from the French “parcours”, meaning, “the way through”, or “the path”. According to the basic definition, Parkour is the act of moving from point “a” to point “b” using the obstacles in your path to increase your efficiency. Parkour started out in the banlieues of Paris and is now a worldwide popular sport, also known as "Freerunning". A few basic moves are the “tic-tac”, the “kong vault” and the “gap jump”.Source: http://www.wfpf.com/parkour/
Photo: courtesy of Parkour Generations Americas
Upcoming Events

We invite parents and children to gather in the children's room of our library for a magical story time in French!
Read More
Arts & Exhibitions
SOLD OUT - Matisse Across the Atlantic: From Paris to American Modernism
With Art Historian Claude Cernuschi
From Paris to Boston, Professor Claude Cernuschi explores how Matisse’s radical vision of color and form shaped generations of American artists, from Rothko to Ellsworth Kelly.
Read More
