Who We Are
Abigail "Ifatola" Jefferson
Storyteller, dancer, and arts educator, Abigail "Ifatola" Jefferson performs and conducts workshops nationally. Through a unique blend of story, song, rhythm, and dance, she brings to life stories from around the globe with an emphasis on the African Diaspora. Audiences of all ages have described her performances and workshops as inspiring, informative, and energizing. Abigail has taught and performed in schools, churches, prisons, shelters, theatres, festivals, and libraries. She holds a M.Ed. in Creative Arts in Learning from Lesley University and a B.F.A. in theatre from Howard University. She is a founding member of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS), an adjunct professor for Lesley University, a teaching artist for Brown University’s Arts Literacy Program, and co-director of Celebration of Culture, a program designed to increase students’ and educators’ appreciation of diversity. Abigail has traveled to Ghana, Nigeria, Niger and Cuba to study cultural traditions.
Annie Geissinger
As a musician, expressive arts therapist and teacher, Annie’s aim is to foster artistic expression as a path of learning, celebration and healing, and as a doorway to life’s creative source. With a B.A. in Music, an M. A. in Expressive Arts Therapy and a license in Counseling, she weaves a love of music, movement and art into her workshops and programs in schools, conferences, inpatient and outpatient treatment centers, businesses and festivals. Annie is an adjunct faculty member of Salve Regina University’s Holistic Counseling graduate department’s program in Expressive Arts in Newport, RI and is a music teacher at the Grace and Carter Schools at Meeting Street in Providence, RI. A long-time student of master drummer Abdoul Doumbia, she has studied with West African musicians for over 20 years, including journeys to Mali and Senegal. In 1989 she began her study of Authentic Movement, a practice of movement expression with roots in spiritual and psychological inquiry. She is co-founder of A Moving Journal, the only publication devoted exclusively to Authentic Movement, where she was an editor for 13 years.