« A good story is never the worse for being told twice .» Scottish proverb
« Words belong half to the speaker and half to the listener. » Montaigne
« In Africa, when an old man dies, they say it’s a library burning ... » Amadou Hampâté Bâ
The stories
Stories
are as old as humanity itself and Human Beings have been telling them ever
since language was invented. For centuries, stories were the main vehicle for
transmission of wisdom from generation to generation.
Storytelling is the oldest of all the arts. The cells of our bodies still
retain the memory of these stories that have come down to us through the ages
and, because of this, we feel a profound need to nourish ourselves with them.
When we go to the cinema or turn on the TV, when we open a book or a newspaper,
what we are really looking for is a good story. However, the difference between
watching or reading a story and hearing it told is the feeling of sharing, of
communion and profound communication. When we attend a storytelling session, we
suddenly feel united with others and something very old awakes in us...
Today these treasures are available to us, whether we are child or adult. We
can still find in them answers to our questions, different answers at different
stages of our lives. We can hear a story as a child and then hear it again as
an adult and hear something different in it because the symbols in the stories
can be understood at different levels. There are well known stories, like
initiation stories, which help us become adults. Others help us to understand
the cycle of life and death. They can be very helpful because they talk about
the human condition and because of that, they have lasted for thousands and
thousands of years.
Shows
Telling Words
Show for adults, with music and song
Duration 1h15
Traditional Tales from around the world, including
legends of King Arthur, European Fairy Tales, stories from the Native Americans
and from the traditions of Sufism and Zen. These stories touch the deepest
aspects of the human condition through humour, magic and wisdom and tell of
universal truths because they talk simply about life.
The Tower
of Babel
Bi-lingual show for adults (English/French or
English/Spanish)
Duration 1h15
with Tim Bowley and Casilda
A duo with ten years experience of working together in
several countries. A similar repertoire to Telling Words but in two languages.
Two cultures, two ages, two experiences that create a
unique show.
Footprints of woman
Show for adults with music and song
Duration 1h15
Stories of traditional wisdom that tell of the power,
love and pain that follow the footprints of women on the path of life.
Fairy Tales from Russia, Scandanavia and the
Brothers Grimm.
Soup of Colours
Show for children aged 4 to 7 years old
Duration 40 min.
Participation stories that are full of
magic and humour and stretch the imagination
Feedback
« When Casilda starts a story with her soft, deep voice, something very ancient awakes in us. Sometimes the feeling of being under a spell is so strong that we are grateful for a joke, a wordplay, a wink, like children to whom she says: "Don´t be afraid." »
Cristina Novoa, teacher and writer
« Thanks to their imagination and talent, Tim and Casilda manage to transport a hypnotised audience to a dimension beyond time where everything is possible, including the most incredible. »
Valeria Saccone, journalist in El Pais
« Stories that will make you tingle. Casilda brings a new dimension to the storytelling tradition. Her audience experiences an unforgettable journey to fabled lands of legend reclaimed from the depths of time. Magnificient! »
Alexandre Charmey, journalist in FAVJ
« Casilda creates magic spaces for us, invisible circles where everything IS for a moment because she says so. »
A member of the audience
« It was something magic which I did not want to leave ... and these stories stayed with me for weeks. »
Rosanna B., member of the audience
« Stories from afar and ancient legends that touch us because in each of us fear is the same, as is love ... Eskimos and Indians, Arab saints, Buddhist monks and evil fairies, impossible princesses and vainglorious kings ... and always underneath it all, human beings playing hide and seek. »
Cristina
Novoa, teacher and writer
Excerpts
Casilda tells wonderful stories that contain answers to the questions of everyday life. For example, you can find out what women most desire listening to the story of King Arthur and the ugly hag ...
« The woman lay dying. Her husband and daughter sat beside her. With her dying breath the woman called her daughter to her, reached under the covers and pulled out a doll and gave it to her saying, "Vasilisa, this is my dying gift to you" ... »
« Once there was a man so lonely that over the years the tears had carved great lines down his face. Late one day he was out fishing in his canoe when he saw a light shining far out to sea. He rowed silently towards it and when he got closer he saw that it was the light of the moon reflected on the naked flesh of seven beautiful women who were dancing on an island ... »