Description
Emily Hooper Lansana is a storyteller and community builder who presents interactive and engaging performances and workshops. Her extensive repertoire includes African and African American folktales, historical stories, and personal stories. She has been performing and teaching for more than thirty years. Her unique style is inspirational and encourages reflection.
Her programs illustrate the power of the Black storytelling tradition. Each performance is unique and developed in response the particular audience and community. Sample programs include: Learning from African and African American folktales, Looking Back to Move Forward Reflections from Black History, She Wins the Prize: African Women Nobel Prize Winners, Be Encouraged: Reflections on How I Got Over
Work Sample
https://3arts.org/artist/emily-lansana/
This is my page on the 3arts website. The page includes a short video clip which provides an overview of my work as a storyteller and teaching artist. The overview includes selected works from performances and workshops that I have taught or directed over the last few years including a featured solo performance at a storytelling festival at Adventure Stage Chicago, Rebirth Poetry ensemble performance at virtual Lollapalooza and Rebirth youth poets at Old Town School of Folk Music.
This work sample is from a performance with SOL Collective where I serve as artistic director. This is my story from our virtual March 2022 show, Coming into Our Own: Stories of Imagination, Transformation and Joy. The story is 6:51 it includes a personal reflection and a folktale.
https://uchicago.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=c5bcfcad-07e2-469a-a606-ae8300f28d0a
This sample includes a work that I directed, produced and performed in during March 2022. My performance piece is at 50:58 I am accompanied by musician Enoch Williamson and Dancer D'onminique L. Boyd Riley. The performance features my performance of an original fable examining the roles that women, especially black women learn to navigate.
I submitted 3 work samples.
1. An overview of my artistry that demonstrates my performance and teaching practice.
2. A selected personal story combined with a folktale.
3. A section of a larger work that features my performance of an original fable.
These work samples demonstrate aspects of my work as a solo performer, collaborator and teacher. These selections illustrate that my work is centered in the oral tradition. They include virtual performance and stage work. These pieces include a glimpse into the depth of my repertoire. The scope of my career as a storyteller has given me the opportunity to develop a significant number of pieces across genres. I chose to focus on storytelling because it is an art form that allows the individual artist to celebrate and expand tradition. These particular samples offer important evidence of how my work both honors and extends the work of black storytelling and cultural performance.
History
Emily Hooper Lansana is a community builder, storyteller, arts administrator, and educator. For more than thirty years, she has performed and taught, throughout Chicago and nationally. She has been featured at the National Storytelling Festival, the National Association of Black Storytellers Festival, and a variety of museums, colleges and performance venues. She often performs with Performance Duo: In the Spirit. She enjoys being a coach and mentor with Rebirth Poetry Ensemble. Her work seeks to give voice to those whose stories are often untold especially those of the African diaspora.
She teaches storytelling in a variety of venues from universities to community centers and is honored to have led storytelling workshops with MAMAS (Mamas Activating Movements for Abolition and Solidarity), SOL Collective: A Storytelling Collective for Womxn of Color, Housing Action Illinois, Americorps and other organizations. She leads an ongoing series, Tell Open Stories. She has taught at Columbia College, University of Chicago, DePaul and Chicago State. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Black Storytellers and as President of the Chicago Association of Black Storytellers. She is the Senior Director of Community Arts for the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago.
Artistic Vision
I am a storyteller and a community builder who partners artistic practice with cultural consciousness. I cultivate spaces that encourage people to see themselves and to access the power of imagination. I hope that my artistry is a tool for liberation, building non-traditional structures and holistic arenas for reflection and connection.
Storytelling is the oldest form of teaching. It is my joy and passion. I have taught storytelling for more than thirty years. Sharing personal stories builds bridges. Whether I am offering one-on-one coaching for youth, or leading sessions with South Side seniors or non-profit organizations, I begin with personal stories. I develop culturally conscious curricula progressing from personal narrative, folklore, and history, to ethnography (collected stories). I also focus on story design, performance technique, and ethics.
My work seeks to give voice to those whose stories are often untold especially those of the African diaspora. I share culturally grounded performances in diverse venues from elementary schools to universities. I nurture poets, develop community stories, direct, curate, and perform. I create and perform as an individual artist and in collaboration with artists and community members.
Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise
During the last year, I have performed and led workshops for pre-schoolers, K-12 educators, teens, recent college grads, adult audiences 25 and up and señor citizens.
Sample sessions include:
African and African American folktales told in the oral tradition
Stories that honor Black History and Freedom Movements
A Celebration of African Women Nobel Prize Winners
How I Got Over: Stories of My Journey of Black Womanhood
Pre-K and Elementary School Audiences
I developed performances and worked as a teaching artist for many years. My work has been created in public schools and community settings throughout Chicago and includes being a featured artist for school assemblies, and cultural celebrations.
Grades 6-12
I have performed, coached, and developed performances with many youth in this age group. This includes my work with the award-winning Rebirth Poetry Ensemble.
University level
I have spent several years teaching and nurturing the voice of diverse storytellers at the university level. My performances have been developed in concert with and in response to my work in these settings.
Adult Audiences
I enjoy both developing performances that show the range of storytelling possibilities from folklore to personal performance. My programs are designed to inspire and encourage the sharing of stories that teach and inspire.
Traditional Folk/Ethnic Artform Statement
I am a traditional folk artist in the Black storytelling tradition. My work is developed orally and celebrates the continuum from African djeli and griot to spoken word poet and contemporary storyteller. Storytellers are invited to nurture cultural memory and spark creativity. In the same way that High John the Conqueror and Anansi stories were told during captivity to encourage the spirit of freedom, I work to keep folktales alive and centered in communal spaces today and to share them in ways that provide insight and encouragement for the challenges we are navigating today. From the preacher to the poet, black communities continue to find inspiration in the messages and structure of our stories. I am grateful to be able to share stories that create templates for illustrating cultural values and centering powerful memories. My stories are told in the folk tradition of Black storytelling and informed by my contemporary experience as a Black woman learning to survive in 2022.
Name
Emily Hooper Lansana
Type
Individual Artist
Address
3653 S King Drive
Chicago, IL 60653
Contact Person
Emily Hooper Lansana
[email protected]
773.960.4707
Web Site
https://3arts.org/artist/emily-lansana/
Artistic Discipline(s)
Family/Youth
Spoken Word/Storytelling
Geographic Availability
Central Illinois
Chicago/Chicagoland
Northern Illinois
Southern Illinois
Western Illinois
Fee Ranges
$500-$2500
Additional Services
Demonstrations
Lectures
Master classes
Residencies
Teacher Development
Workshops
Core Audience(s)
Adult
Children
Seniors
Youth
Additional Populations
Cognitive Disabilities
Learning Disabilities