Tigertail Productions

Words are powerful tools for self-expression and for changing the world. Wisconsin-based African-American writer and performer Dasha Kelly, for whom words are her life-blood and her daily bread, comes to Miami to launch the third year of Tigertail Productions WordSpeak, an ongoing spoken word program for South Florida teens. WordSpeak events provide Miami's youth the opportunity to learn more about spoken word as a way to express themselves, in an appealing medium that blends poetry, theater and hip hop culture.

During her residency week, Dasha Kelly will perform and lead workshops for students at Miami Senior, North Miami Beach and Turner Tech high schools. Kelly will also be giving free open evening workshops and readings for teens all week at libraries throughout Miam-Dade County. There's no need to sign-up in advance! Her visit culminates in a WordSpeak open mic and slam for youth between 13 to 19 years of age led by Kelly and South Florida-based guest artist Teo Castellanos, at the Miami Beach Regional Library on Thursday night March 27. The slam is the first in a series of competitions for a place on the Miami team sponsored by Tigertail Productions that will travel to Washington, D.C. this summer for the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival. Last year's WordSpeak team made it into the semifinals at this national competition.

Dasha Kelly, a spoken word poet and writer from Milwaukee, WI will perform and read from her book All Fall Down at the Coral Gables Books and Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, on Friday, March 28 at 7:30 pm. Kelly's work blends the musical cadences of spoken word performance with the well-crafted language of the novelist that she is. She has appeared on HBO presents Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam and has released three CD's of her own spoken word performances and poetry. Kelly is also the founder and director of the Still Waters Collective, which uses creative writing and spoken word as tools for building leadership and shaping self-esteem.

"WordSpeak is educational, life changing and the best experience of my life." – Maxis Madé, WordSpeak team member

"The mentoring that Tigertail is providing to these young minds is what keeps the world and our youth focused on positive things and hopeful in the future." – Grizelle De Los Reyes, parent of WordSpeak teen

"Milwaukee's incomparable Dasha Kelly is phenomenal."
– The Isthmus Newspaper

Visit Dasha Kelly's website