International Speakers

Dana Sherry

Director of Storytelling Programs, Silk Road House; Managing Director at Eth-Noh-Tec; Lecturer at Saint Mary’s College of California, USA

Dana Sherry was a respectable historian of the Russian Empire before turning to a life of storytelling. Dr. Sherry received her Ph.D. from the University of California in 2007, focusing on Russian rule of the Caucasus and Central Asia in the nineteenth century. She has taught courses in history and the humanities at UC Davis and Stanford University, and is currently a lecturer at St Mary’s College of California. She has been performing as a storyteller for a decade, and since 2013 has served as resident storyteller and artistic director of storytelling programs at a cultural center dedicated to the traditional arts of Central Asia and the Caucasus. While she enjoys performing for adult audiences, telling stories to children from preschool through primary school is her greatest passion.

XI NIS International Research-to-Practice Conference, 24-25 October 2019: Workshop

Bringing the Ancient Art of Oral Storytelling into the Modern Classroom

Once upon a time, there was an activity that could create a feeling of community within the classroom, enhance language learning, encourage creativity, impart cultural knowledge – and best of all, it was a great deal of fun for children and teachers alike! Now, it may sound like a fairy tale, but the simple act of telling your pupils stories really can do all these things. Dana Sherry draws on her experience telling stories with children ages 2-11 to give masterclass participants the tools to bring oral storytelling into their classrooms. The focus will be on how to choose your stories, how to learn them, and how to deliver them for a range of ages.