My dear Nia student and friend, Phyllis Blackstone, happens to also be a storyteller extraordinaire. We are teaming up to offer Story Dance at the upcoming Northeast Storytelling conference, or NEST, in Portsmouth, NH this weekend called “Sharing the Fire.” Here’s a taste of what’s in store for the weekend:

“The 2024 theme is Raising the Roof: Different Voices, Collective Power. The conference will feature Keynote Presenter Eleanor Reissa and Sunday Performer Charlotte Blake Alston. Please join us for a dynamic selection of interactive workshops, captivating performances, and low-pressure story swaps. The combination of quality professional development and a welcoming community make STF one of the top storytelling conferences in the country. Come see for yourself why people have been raving about this conference since 1982!” [From the nestorytelling.org website]

https://www.nestorytelling.org/stf-sharing-the-fire-2024/

Phyllis and I are thrilled to be offering this 30-minute experience in the context of “presenting alternative and creative ways” to engage audience members through storytelling.

How it works: Phyllis engages the listeners with her heartfelt, empathic, animated style of folk storytelling and I follow immediately with a guided embodied retelling through dance. Through movement prompts and with evocative music playing, listeners are invited to enter the story themselves, to embody the different characters and emotional states, enriching and deepening their experience of the story and taking their experience of the tale to a deeper, more personal, place.

Learn more about Story Dance below, and come check us out at 10:30am on Saturday if you come to the weekend conference!