Storytelling
“If you don’t know the trees you can get lost in the forest.
If you don’t know the stories you can get lost in life.”
In the beginning we listened to stories around the ancestral fire to help us make sense of the world. They connected us with ourselves, with our clan and with the great mysteries of life and death. Stories can still help guide us through the forest.
Performance Storytelling
I have been telling stories professionally since 2004.
Since then I have told in over 2.000 performances at national and international festivals, as well as in libraries and educational and cultural centres.
I have a large repertoire of stories from different cultures around the world, and love sharing Celtic legends and mythology, and nature-based stories.
Thanks to my love for stories, I have had the opportunity to make them known in English and Spanish throughout Spain and several European countries, Mexico and Algeria.
You can find out more about my story journey in the About Me section.
Applied Storytelling in Education
Jennifer has performed in hundreds of educational centres throughout Spain and other countries. She works with all ages from infant, primary and secondary students, to adults in further education and in official language schools.
She may invite us to embark on a magical trip to faraway lands with her Tales from Around the World, which are perfect for promoting tolerance for diversity, a better cross-cultural understanding and the importance of cooperation within the educational community.
Or we may travel to the magical, mystical land of her birth and enjoy Scottish myths, legends and culture. Celtic hospitality tells of “When a visitor arrives there is food in the eating place, drink in the drinking place and stories and music in the listening place”. Here in the listening place we hear secrets from this mysterious, green land.
Storytelling: Story Medicine
In my Story Medicine workshops, which I facilitate online and in person, we enter into the magical world of ancient stories, myths and fairy tales.
As we journey with the characters, we connect with how the story resonates with each of us on an inner level and explore this through different techniques such as art therapy, roleplay and psychodrama.
One of my favourite workshops is “Vasalisa and Her Doll”. Vasalisa is able to go into the deep forest and get fire from Baba Yaga with the help of her legacy doll from her mother. We make our own spirit legacy dolls during the workshop.
I offer regular online story medicine workshops for therapists and counsellors to work with at a personal and professional level at Onlinevents.
Eco Storytelling
Jennifer is committed to using her stories, art and creativity to help bring awareness to the environmental crisis that we are facing and to try and slow down climate change. The rhythms of nature are very present in her work, for example through her “The Celtic Story Wheel of the Year” and the “Cycles of the Moon” workshop series.
Jennifer is an Earth Story Teller Activist for the Earth Stories collection project.
She also does interactive “Eco Tales Eco Art” workshops. In “The Voice of Trees” workshop we travel back in time with an Estonian story to discover why trees stopped talking to humans. We explore ways to transform the end of the story by creating wish sticks to try and restore the balance and show the trees how much we care.
Learn the Art of Storytelling
I facilitate a wide range of courses to teach the art of storytelling all along Asturias, or where ever I am called.
Beginner Workshops: We explore the basic tools and skills of the narrator to learn how to tell stories with confidence and fluidity. Ideal for anyone interesting in learning the skills of storytelling.
Advanced workshops: We sharpen our narrative skills, explore different types of stories and start to build our personal repertoire.
Story Creation Workshops: We activate our imagination and create new stories.
Workshops for Teachers: Especially designed for educators in all areas of education and especially language teachers. The aim is to motivate teachers to feel confident about telling stories in the classroom. When the seeds of the stories start to sprout, teachers often report feeling inspired and more connected to themselves, to each other and to their students.
Storytelling with other Arts
Storytelling and Music: Two traditional art forms merge from one family: My son Pablo Aguado, an up-and-coming young musician, accompanies me with different instruments from around the world. He is the guitarist in Quercus Dúo. You can hear him play his beautiful Balfolk music in this short video clip.
We are both Biology graduates and we inspire to bring tales from Mother Earth to life through our art, a storytelling and musical treat all in one. We have stories for all ages.
Storytelling and Dance: Through dance and expressive movement we enter into ancient myths and tales. As we embody the stories, we experience what it is like to walk in the footsteps of the different characters and elements and learn from their experiences.
I am an active member of AEDA (Spanish Professional Storyteller’s Association) and The Earth Stories Collection.