OUR MISSION

The Storydancer Project inspires positive change in the face of adversity through transformative movement, performance and self-care practices that restore vitality and cultivate joy.

TSP TAKE A MINUTEĀ® PROGRAMS & TRAININGS

Whether we are with children in New Mexico, Muslim women struggling to eke out a living in Delhi, people dealing with the devastations of cancer, or Navajo mothers feeling isolated with the burdens of historical trauma, TSP is working from the understanding that holistic self-care in community is a powerful agent of change.

TSP’s Integrative Palliative Care & The Arts
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rita@thestorydancerproject.org

The continuous sincere efforts of our partnering organization, TSP with Zuleikha, has resulted in changing the perception of Basti women towards their health & well being. The women not only practice what they have learned but encourage each other to continue with the exercises.

Samiur Rahman, Executive Director, Hope Project Charitable Trust, Delhi, India

This [Kalpataru Safe Spaces for Trafficked & Witch-hunted Women] program is a gift of joy to women who have absolutely nothing.

Urmi Basu, Executive Director/Founder, New Light, Kolkata, India

Zuleikha’s/TSP’s program is a combination of science and art that uses the mind-body connection and invokes a kind of emotional catharsis that helps our patients with cancer and their family caregivers reduce pain, stress and anxiety and develop greater self-awareness, positive emotional well-being and positive self-image.

Dr. Ambika Rajvanshi, CEO,, CanSupport, Delhi, India
[What helped me today was] discussion about communication, all the ways there are to shift. I really felt good from the meditation and the movement was fun and freeing.I have what I needed all along.
Participants, Strengthening Hearts & Minds, NM Navajo Nation Mothers' Program

These are simple movements that are relieving and empowering. I was stressed out when I came, and didnā€™t want to do the exercises. Now I feel so much better!

Participants, Trauma Relief Self-Care, Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families, Santa Fe, NM

I love the implementation of the stories and the movements and how they tie together. The combination of sign language & DinƩ vocabulary helps the children to be more involved.

The students are very enthusiastic.

The program should be in every class, every day!

Teachers, What's In A Story Program, Navajo Nation Elementary Schools, Gallup-McKinley County, New Mexico

TSP TAKE A MINUTEĀ® TRANSFORMATIVE SELF-CARE

MORE ABOUT ZULEIKHA & THE STORYDANCER PROJECT

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TSP ANNUAL REPORT 2022

As a performer, educator and award-winning pioneer, Zuleikhaā€™s commitment to helping others feel better leads her to work with many different people in a wide variety of circumstances. She shares the gift of movement medicineā€”simplicity of movement, enlivenment of expression and feelingā€”to engage hearts and open doors to a life of well being. The founder and director of The Storydancer Project, and the creator of the innovative TAKE A MINUTEĀ® self-care exercise program, Zuleikha offers live and virtual sessions to doctors, nurses, palliative care workers, nurses working in hospitals on the front line of the pandemic, business people, social justice workers, teachers, people who are staying at home working, and children. She is a recipient of awards for her work in the world promoting positive personal and social change. Visit zuleikha.com to learn more.

The ā€œFree Paper Oral Presentationā€ prize was awarded to Zuleikha based upon the presentation of her research project Relaxation Therapeutic Health Exercise Program (RTHEPĀ©). in an ongoing partnership with the Delhi organization CanSupport and her non-profit organization The Storydancer Project (TSP). RTHEPĀ©, created and developed by Zuleikha/TSP, is an initiative that arose from the needs of cancer patients and their families looked after by the home-based palliative care teams of CanSupport. RTHEPĀ© is now called TAKE A MINUTEĀ® For Palliative Care, and is being implemented today by a group of CanSupport Home Care Team counselors trained by Zuleikha/TSP. The Home Care Teams, each comprised of a doctor, nurse and counselor, offer palliative care to patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers in all sectors of Delhi and the National Capital Region. Since the services are aimed at the most needy and underserved, they are provided free of charge.

Special thanks to Dr. Ambika Rajvanshi, Chief Executive Officer of CanSupport, for her help and direction with putting the presentation together, to CanSupport for their teamwork and support, and to the staff of TSP for their collaboration, commitment and ongoing creative work.