Change Maker
Change Maker
ROSALIND J TURNER
Change Maker
'Curious about the stories we tell ourselves, and the tales we tell others'
the facilitators
LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAVE
A Journey into Courage
The three course facilitators,
Deborah Antoinette Ward, Rachel Achol De Gerang and Rosalind J Turner,
bring a global feel to the course with their respective her-stories.
Stretching across continents, age, and cultures,
they weave their respective knowledge and expertise
to share this journey into courage with you.
Deborah’s passion is how playfulness leads to creative acts whether on stage or in life.
For her this work starts with body-connection, nurturing imagination and being willing to be bold.
After graduating from London International School of Performance Art, LISPA, in 2011, she has worked as an actress, storyteller, performance poet, assistant director, casting director, director & independent producer.
Her current focus is on both storytelling & comedy.
She sees the deep symbolism held within traditionally-told stories as an incredible key to the subconscious - for healing
& insight. So too comedy & laughter can be a tool
to truth finding, either in the performers body or the audiences imagination.
She has worked on performances at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Theatre Des Carmes – Avignon, Keochang International Festival of Theatre – Korea, The Cube & The Wardrobe – Bristol. She has also directed shows at the Space theatre – London and The Warren – Brighton Fringe.
With Synaes Theatre she facilitates workshops at Hamilton House, Bristol, in Storytelling, Clown, and Mask, in partnership with Coexist & CoResist Collective. She associate produces shows with Ed Littlewood and with CoResist – Transformative Arts Programme. She is an independent creative consultant for solo artists and small companies.
Deborah Antoinette Ward
WHY LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAVE?
This will be a unique opportunity for me to openly declare storytelling as a healing art in my experience.
To work closely with women on how the words we speak, have the power to create our identities and realities.
To bring into full awareness that more ancient stories of women told us into existence as brave, strong, subtle, mysterious, rulers, warrioresses and queens. And as such we can rewrite our present experience of womanhood
by drawing on these ancient gifts.
LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAVE
A Journey into Courage
Rachel has a 24 year long career as a community dance practitioner, promoting the accessible learning of African Peoples’ Dance (APD), and researcher of dances of the African Diaspora, teaching workshops for youth, older people and schools as well as lecture demonstrations to teachers/community dance practitioners. She has a keen interest in the music, dance cultural and spiritual practices of Brazil.
She has had two papers published in ‘Dance Matters’ the National Dance Teachers Association (NDTA) Dancing to African Rhythms (2008) and Carnival in the Classroom (2011) – both are available online.In May 2017 she had a feature article published in ‘Hotfoot’ online magazine for One Dance UK, in which she talks about her recent research trip to Salvador Brazil.
For nearly nine years she has run African Sambistas a drum and dance group popular for getting people dancing. She manages and teaches the weekly classes as well as regular workshops and performances at many festivals and events around the country.
Recently completed the Dance Teachers Mentoring programme with Irie Dance Theatre Company, who run the Foundation Degree specialising in African Caribbean dance, she has been invited to lecture on the value of Community Engagement in the academic year 2017/18.
Since 1992 she has been on the board of a cultural arts organisation - Tribe of Doris, and from 2002 to 2016 the position of Chair, championing
intercultural work. Since 2013 she has had the role of Artist Liaison, Programming and Outreach as well as an Agent for culturally diverse and refugee artists. She manages a number of projects on behalf of Tribe of Doris including Bristol Wow (Women of the world) and Heroes Women’s project.
Her other work revolves around race, cultural and gender equality, with a deep knowledge and understanding of integrating different cultural groups, and dealing with racism and discrimination in the work place and community, Rachel is a cultural Diversity and Communication across Cultures consultant and trainer, working in the private, statutory and voluntary community sectors.
Rachel Achol De Gerang
Ancestral Memories in the creative and healing process
Background and Introduction
With funding from Arts Council England (AIDF) and a crowd funder, I was fortunate enough to travel to Salvador Brazil for two and half months January to March this year, where I undertook research, training and explorations around 'Ancestral Memories
in the creative process.
In a nutshell the Ancestral memory theory that says that memories of our ancestors are retained in our DNA, bodies, hair blood and bones, that is why we sometimes have an affinity and knowledge of places, music or movement we have never encountered or 'learnt' before.
There is also Carl Jung’s theory, which cuts into the ancestral memory theory, that of the collective unconscious which are not individual memories by collective ones that we share and can also tap into
WHY LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAVE?
Rachel strongly believes that by sharing our ‘memories’ and experiences we can individually and collective begin the process of healing the ‘hurt’ ‘pain’ of our ancestors. Roger Woolger who died in 2102, started the a programme on Ancestor work, based on healing the ancestors – he believed that by healing the ancestors, we heal ourselves and future generations – he believed that women have suffered across generations - suppressed; killed during the years of the witch hunts; suffering sexual abuse and continue to be ‘classed’ as second class citizens – even in the first world – in this very country. To this day women around the world suffer at the hands of men or as a result of decisions by men.
It’s therefore time to take control of our own destiny and that of future generations and begin the healing process.
Join us on this course we can start that process together.
Passionate about ideas and especially curious about the stories we tell ourselves and the tales we tell others, it was this curiosity that led her to take a Post Graduate Diploma in Humanistic Psychology entitled Leadership, Facilitation & Coaching, (2006 - 2008).
Training originally as a production thrower and decorator in a small studio pottery in Lincolnshire, the arts have been an integral part of her life, interwoven since my early years with a range of salaried and voluntary roles as diverse as teaching women self defense through to driving 7.5 ton trucks! However it was working for 13 plus years in event and project management in a variety of settings that led Rosalind to become increasingly interested in how we are as human beings, the identities we create, and the structures we design for ourselves.
These areas of interest, coupled with becoming a parent, led directly to her post- graduate training, and further explorations in the field of personal and professional development. Curious about where individual and organisational change intersect with the social and political, and where our relationship with our inner world affects our relationship with the outer one, interested in exploring the cultural narratives we construct, from the day to day minutiae to the grander themes that sometimes take on mythic proportions.
Increasingly called to explore social change through the role of an interdisciplinary practitioner, performer and social artist, Rosalind is unspired by this definition from Jean Houston.
"Social Artistry is the art of enhancing human capacities in the light of social complexity.. It seeks to bring new ways of thinking, being and doing to social challenges in the world."
Combining all of this with her deep love of the natural world, this is what she brings to the table.
Described by others as insightful, plain-speaking, risk-taker, courageous and deep thinking, Rosalind sometimes describe myself as an edge-walker, which according to permaculture is where all the interesting things happen . .
An inter-disciplinary practitioner, Rosalind's experience and expertise
is primarily focused in the area of human potential.
WHY LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAVE?
Following the experimental artists residency Bristol Bravery School for Women at Jacobs Wells Baths in January 2017 Rosalind undertook several months research and development.
Part of the next steps for Bravery School, is this exploration of a 3 part course, designed and delivered by 3 different practitioners.
The overarching course aim, to unpack what each of us might need, in order to step into a bolder, more authentic life.
We will journey together using a range of tools and techniques,
beginning with the tales we tell ourselves
and the stories we tell others . . .
Rosalind J Turner
We invite you to
CHANGE THE STORY
LANDSCAPES OF THE BRAVE
A Journey into Courage
Are you ready to join us?
FOOTNOTE
I would like to acknowledge the work of Cornelia Byass whose initial sketches and suggestions
helped me to craft the design of this page,
thank you Cornelia.
