Welcome!

I am glad you have arrived here.My name in Inez and I have been a performance storyteller for over 25 years.To me, a good story is a relationship. It is something we create together when we open our imaginations - connecting teller, tale, place and listener in a unique and intimate dance.Stories are as old as language itself and have the power to transform our world.On these pages you can read about the different ways I use storytelling - from performing to teaching to connecting people across differences. Have a browse, then drop me a line below to explore how we might work together.

"Inez Aponte’s performance was amazing - the imagery, the timing and the warmth of her telling took over the room from the moment she walked onto the stage."Len Cabral
Providence Inner City Arts
Artistic Director

Appearances include:

The Centre for the Spoken Word, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Larmer Tree Festival, Malvern Storytelling Club, Swindon Literature Festival, WOMAD, West Country Storytelling Festival, Verteltheater Festival Utrecht, Cygnet Theatre, Plymouth Barbican Theatre, Burton Taylor Studio, Amsterdam Storytelling Festival, Experimental Station Copenhagen, Providence Inner City Arts, Moor Imagination Center.

Partners include:

WWF, Artsability Scotland, the Soil Association, KPMG, Alkmaar City Council, Natural England, Bristol City Council, Swindon Town Council, The British Council, Futurebound, Schumacher College, The Transition Network, Schoolfarm CSA, Unusual Business, Rise Consultancy, WorkFree and community changemakers in Portugal, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK.

About me

As the child of immigrants from Puerto Rico and Suriname, raised across two continents, my life has been shaped at the meeting point of cultures.When I discovered performance storytelling in 1997 I felt like I had finally come home: here was an art form that had the potential to open up entire - often forgotten - worlds and connect audiences across apparent divides.Since then I have performed at festivals, theatres, schools, churches, hill tops, living rooms, forests - anywhere humans gather with open hearts and ears.At the heart of my work is a belief in the power of real, embodied connection - with each other, with the stories that shape us, and with our own innate creative impulses to transform our world.

Key elements of my practice

Play & Improvisation

Play allows us to experiment, try out new ways of being and step into other people's shoes. Theatre improvisation opens our minds and bodies to new experiences, with the potential to increase our flexibility, empathy and resilience. It makes learning fun and can even make you excited about the unknown!
In my practice play is not frivolous but essential. By awakening our collective imagination through story and play, we become better equipped to live with uncertainty and to align with life's fundamentally creative nature.

Powerful Stories

The world is in need of ground breaking ideas and good storytelling can get these ideas to the people who most need to hear about them. I have coached employees of international NGO's, UK charities, health care workers and activists to help them communicate their ideas with passion and eloquence to a wider audience. My Storytelling for Changemakers weekend and the one day Beyond the Usual Suspects workshop teach key storytelling skills.

Spaces to Connect

At a time when many of us are trying to manage an onslaught of digital information in very individual and often isolated settings, it is vital to create real life opportunities to come together to share, dream, plan and act on our visions. I am an experienced designer and host of inclusive spaces where real connection can happen, and with my systems approach to facilitation I turn them into potent collaborative environments where the unplanned and unexpected can arise.

Building Bridges

My mixed Caribbean/South American upbringing, my extensive travel experience and my labyrinthine journey through Academia and the Arts makes me an excellent connector of different ideas, groups and worldviews. Nothing excites me more than seeing people who thought they had nothing in common sharing a meal or engaged in deep conversation. I have used my skills to connect hard nosed business people with local community groups, created cultural events to support the integration of immigrant communities and facilitated gatherings of people from a wide range of interest groups.

A Culture of Listening

Every story needs an audience and a vital part of my practice as a facilitator is to develop a culture of attentive listening. When we approach others with openness and receptivity we can tune into the subtle resonances between our human experiences. This listening practice has been enlightening to me both in my personal life and in my work on conflict management and organisational culture change with conscious businesses.

Social Umami

Umami is a Japanese word that translates as a kind of 'yummy more-ishness'. Social Umami is a concept I have developed to describe the 'flavour' of what happens at the end of my workshops and events, when a group of people have connected around a common theme in a joyful way.
Social umami is generated by creative, celebratory, fun processes which allow people to engage with ideas and with each other using their hearts and bellies as well as their brains.

Performance Storytelling

I perform traditional tales from around the world. My recent show Un|Earthed explores identity and belonging through Surinamese folklore and family history.Recent appearances include: The Cygnet Theatre, Exeter, Barbican Theatre, Plymouth, Amsterdam Storytelling Festival, Experimental Station, Copenhagen and Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford

• Un|Earthed Show Website

"As a performer, Inez creates intimacy and trust, and is unflinching in her honesty. The best storytellers know great stories take risks. Inez is one of them."Jon Lavieri, Rhode Island Poet

"With no props and holding focus solely on a bare stage and using story telling techniques as well as good ole connection, Inez draws you in, wraps you up and propels you through time and tale."Lee Morgan, PRSD

“In a world where so many feel uprooted and migration is an evermore polarising issue, shows like these can be containers for personal reflection and collective healing. Through a seamless blend of the personal and the mythic Inez's masterful storytelling enables us to feel the pain, joy and magical realism of our common humanity.”Alexandra Dowling, Actor

Workshops

I love people and I love helping them discover and free their innate creativity in service of a common aim. Drawing on my background in the arts, performance storytelling and improvisation I help people access their authentic voices, develop playfulness and curiosity, understand what they have to offer the world, and become creative and resilient in the face of uncertainty.My work is strongly influenced by the participatory practices of pioneers such as Paulo Freire, Augusto Boal and Keith Johnstone, as well as many lesser known individuals working at the grassroots to inspire a cultural renaissance that respects and celebrates all life. My facilitation style is open, warm, enthusiastic and inclusive, inviting both deep reflection and positive action.

Storytelling Coaching

For changemakers and leaders who need to communicate important ideas. Find your authentic voice, craft compelling narratives, and present with presence. Sessions tailored to your specific needs.

"After the first day I went home and my whole life felt like it had been turned upside down. I had to ask myself not 'What do I want to do', but 'Who do I want to be?'"

Creative Consultancy

Helping organizations and initiatives craft their narratives and design more participatory processes. From articulating your story to reimagining how you engage your community.

"“I know about communication, but you took these ideas to another level. I really admire your ability to guide people in a subtle way and comment on their performance without making them feel uncomfortable.”Sherry Pettigrew, Author and Founder of the Northwest Wildlife Preservation Society

Restory Workshops

Explore your own stories of identity and belonging through story, myth, and creative mapping. Particularly powerful for communities navigating questions of migration, heritage, and home in polarized times.

"It was so inspiring and felt very meaningful to experience the older and younger generations connecting more and more as the workshop progressed."

The Magic of the Inbetween

A space where we take time to listen to what is happening inside our bodies and minds, connect to the outside world with openness and intention, and allow the innate creativity of life to arise in relationship.

"Inez' depth of knowledge allowed her to meet every moment with passion and spontaneity, holding a safe, fun and inclusive space for all members of the group to join in at their own pace and level."

Building Community Through Story, Play & Art

I design gatherings where people connect authentically—spaces where participants feel genuinely seen and heard, where strangers become collaborators, and collective imagination comes alive.At the heart of this work is a belief in our need for real, embodied connection and in reclaiming our public spaces for conviviality—for being together as communities, not as consumers, but as human beings.

“Play makes people aware of their capacities for social agency”Thomas S. Henricks, sociologist

Crazy Beautiful World

Founded in 2021 to bring young people and adults together, bridging the generation gap through story and play.
Our Compassionate Co-Inquiry process uses theatre games and storytelling to help people relearn how to have conversations with those who think differently.

“"I feel more trusting of the older generation! We must connect the two generations - we are more powerful together!"”

Integr8 UK

From 2015-2021, I was lead facilitator for this CIC connecting people of different ethnic groups through nature-based community events using stories, play and art.
We supported over 200 people from 40 ethnic backgrounds and facilitated 52 cross-cultural events and programmes.

“Here is one of a few places where my family and I feel accepted for who we are regardless of our backgrounds and stories. Here I feel that I am part of a global celebration of kindness and connectedness.”

Tales to Live By

A collaboration exploring how storytelling, art and togetherness can grow healthy, supportive communities where we can all thrive.
We offer gatherings called The Living Rooms where people share stories, music, poetry and art activities.

"Just turning up, listening and being part of the community was making a contribution. I had a really deep experience just standing there being seen and being invited to feel the love of community."