KIRAN SHAH
Kiran Shah has had a varied career as a social worker, Montessori Directress, early childhood trainer and bookseller before she became a professional storyteller in 1999. She holds a BA (in Social Work and Sociology) and an MSc (in Early Childhood Education and Child Development). She has lived and worked with children and their families in the United States, Japan and Sri Lanka.
Kiran believes in the power of story to entertain, educate and communicate. She particularly enjoys telling folktales as she feels they hold the collective wisdom of generations. She has told to thousands of children and adults in schools, libraries, parks, museums, and more unusual locations like Changi Prison and the MRT! She has also been conducting storytelling workshops all over Asia and Australia, where she now lives. She has participated in festivals in Australia, Scotland, Thailand, Malaysia and India.
Kiran has been instrumental in reviving the oral tradition of storytelling in Singapore and nurturing storytellers. She co-founded the Storyteller’s Circle (a special interest group under the Society of Reading and Literacy), was involved in organising the Asian Congress of Storytellers from 2002- 2005 and was the Founder President of the Storytelling Association, Singapore in 2006. She is a contributing author to “The Singing Top-Tales from Malaysia, Singapore and Borneo” written by Margaret Read MacDonald, published in 2008. She has also contributed to a chapter in Team Up! Tell in Tandem” written and edited by Jonatha Wright, published in 2010.
Kiran offers these programmes:
- Performances for preschools and child care centres
- Performances and workshops for all other students
- Performances for family audiences and community organisations
- Workshops for teachers
- Customised workshops (for guides, parents etc.)
- Workshops for volunteers and teachers on children’s literature and reading aloud
How to Contact Kiran:
Kiran visits Singapore 3-4 times a year.
Email: kiranstoryteller@gmail.com
Website: www.kiranstoryteller.com