Dawn Daniels

HER STORIES
Alma storyteller Dawn Daniels spins uniquely feminine tales at women's history event in Farmington Hills

    Dawn Daniels' eyes flash, and a smile dances at the corners of her mouth.
    She paces slowly back and forth in front of a wooden rocking chair as she relates the story of "Tatterhood," an old Norse fable. The chair is more symbol than prop; Daniels needs no visual aids, save her facial expressions and hand gestures.
    "I started out in theater arts," she said after relating stories to an audience at Sunday's "Women Inspiring Hope & Possibility" Women's History Month Event in Farmington Hills. "I inherited it. Theater's in my genes."
    Her college degree, however, is in psychology. Convinced she'd never be able to make a living as an actor, Daniels started a career in addiction therapy. She continued to act in amateur productions. And when her children came along, she told them stories.
    Through her involvement with a theater group, she helped create a storytelling program for children on Saturday mornings.
    "At the time, I didn't even know it was an art form," said Daniels, who always removes her shoes when she performs, an acknowledgement of the women on whose shoulders she stands.
    Since 1998, Daniels has been a professional storyteller, part-time at first but now as a full-time career path. She offers her services to schools, churches, libraries - anywhere a story can be told, she'll be there to tell it. Some she picks up from other storytellers, but research and reading have also played a large part in her collection of fascinating tales.
    "My love of story preceded my theater work," Daniels said. "I have always been a voracious reader."
    While telling tall tales of all kinds, she has found herself drawn more and more to women's stories, which she considers personally healing - and necessary to help rebalance a world that seems completely off-kilter.
    But no matter what kinds of stories she tells, Daniels knows she is finally regaining her own equilibrium.
    "I know this is my calling, for the rest of my life," she said.
    To contact Daniels or to book a performance, visit her Web site, call her at 989.463.0930 or email her.