Stories are like Roots that connect us to the Past... and Wings that carry us into the Future. Storytelling forges heart-to-heart ties between people by encouraging appreciation of one’s own cultural identity as well as understanding and appreciation of the diversity of people, ideas, and cultural traditions of the world.

Stories are like Roots

that Connect us to the Past...     

 and Wings that Carry us into the Future

Denise has a special interest in African and African American History. She shares original stories of freedom and hope, folktales, and poems to cultivate knowledge of past, awareness of how these events have shaped the present, and vision for the future.

Ms. Valentine presents interactive storytelling performances for audiences of all ages at schools, libraries, museums, and community events. Her programs are designed to engage audiences of all ages, encourage exchange between generations, and promote a spirit of connectedness and community. As a teaching artist, she facilitates folk arts residencies and teacher/professional staff development workshops. Program themes include: cultural literacy; conflict resolution; ecological sustainability; and recovery and empowerment for at-risk youth and teen parents.

The storyteller made her debut with Keepers of the Culture, Inc. (KOTC) in 1997, and shortly thereafter jointed the National Association of Black Storytellers. In 2003, she performed with Spoke-N-Weal as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, in a production called "Faultlines," and made a guest appearance on a WYBE- TV35 "Philly Live" segment about urban legends.


In 2004, she participated in a storytelling delegation to South Africa, with the National Storytelling Network, under the auspices of People to People Ambassador Programs. In addition, she was awarded The Leeway Foundation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s 2004 Window of Opportunity Grant to study the preservation of folktale traditions in South Africa. Her essay, A Voice for the Voiceless© was published in the July/August 2005 issue of Storytelling Magazine, by the National Storytelling Network.

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 INSPIRATION

Denise Valentine - Storyteller, teaching folk artist, writer and human rights advocate

Denise believes that Stories are like Roots that connect us to the Past... and Wings that carry us into the Future. Storytelling forges heart-to-heart ties between people by encouraging appreciation of one’s own cultural identity as well as understanding and appreciation of the diversity of people, ideas, and cultural traditions of the world.

Denise is also a member of Soka Gakkai International-USA. SGI is a religious organization, and a United Nations Non-Governmental Organization that promotes peace through education and culture. She has participated with SGI, since her youth, in various cultural presentations:  a chorus of 1000 young women in the World Youth Culture Festival in Hawaii; The Cultural Exhibition of the World’s Ethnic Peoples; the United Nations 50^th Anniversary Celebration and Exhibition, and the Books for Africa Project, in which 15,000 books were collected nationwide and presented to two universities in Ghana.
 

In 1992, she met South African exile, Godfrey Sithole. Inspired by the selfless determination of Nelson Mandela, she attended the National Conference in Support of a Democratic South Africa, on the 80^th Anniversary of the ANC. In 1993, she was on the Welcome Mandela Committee, and attended a reception for Mandela when he came to Philadelphia to accept the Liberty Medal. These events inspired her to become an activist, and then a storyteller for social change.
 

Denise has also worked in the fields of international education, community advocacy and museum education. She is  currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts degree completion program in Global Studies at University of Denver, University College. She is a proud mother and grandmother.