Oro Anahory received her undergraduate degree from the University of Paris and her Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York. Born in Morocco and currently living in Montreal where she teaches Spanish, she is a specialist in the oral literature of the Judeo-Spanish (Sephardic) tradition. She also has a masters in dramatic arts from the University of Québec.

Oro has a passionate commitment to both storytelling and the theatre and has performed at universities, schools, museums, synagogues and private functions in theatres and festivals across Canada, the United States and Venezuela. During the autumn of 1997 she presented a culturally diverse storytelling program in conjunction with Montreal's Musée des Beaux-Art's exhibition entitled Astérix.

The performance

Oro invites you on a journey that takes you all the way from her native Morocco, to America today with stops in the little villages of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. For Oro the stories are that special place where ancient and modern, theatre and oral tradition come together. She knows that stories are a unique way to explore the world and to share it with others.

Her stories, explore the links between different ethnic groups and take students to a world of magic where they participate in an art form which is thousands of years old. Unlike television and electronic media, storytelling stimulates the imagination, brings young people together and shows them ancient and universal values. In our culture where writing and visual imagery predominate, stories offer young people a unique opportunity to experience the magic and the power of words.

Technical requirements:

Location: Music will welcome the students when they arrive with their teachers. Seating should be on chairs where possible, arranged in a semi-circle. To insure students a good view, it is best if there are no more than four rows of chairs. The teller needs a stool and a chair and would be grateful for a bottle of room temperature mineral water available at her session.

Lighting: The teller should not be placed in front of a window or other lighting source or students will have difficulty seeing.

After the performance

The performance takes approximately 45 minutes and will be followed by a ten minute question period. If you wish to give your students a copy of the stories, the school can photocopy the text on the day of the performance and students will receive their copy at the end of the session.