Amani

Festival Participant

Anne-Marie Woods, aka Amani, is an actor, producer, spoken word artist, educator and creative consultant. Known as "the Contemporary Blues Poet," she has been performing spoken word since 1995, but got her start as a professional actor/singer earning her theatre arts degree from Dalhousie University in 1993. She is also well known for her twelve and a half years singing cappella sensation Four The Moment for twelve and a half years; who had the honor of opening up for Dr. Maya Angelou in 1996 and 2003.

Now Amani has a very exciting solo career. Her first spoken word CD, Amani the Words, the Rhythm, the Music, was released in 2007 and received rave reviews. She headlined at the World Famous Nuyorican Cafe in New York City, performed at the International Black Writers Expo in London, England, and she was the International Feature at the Rapso Festival in Trinidad in 2008 and 2009. Locally she has performed in: When Sisters Speak, When Words are Spoken, the Irie Music Festival, the Jazz by Genre Music Series and for countless festivals and conferences. This summer she hit the stage at the Hillside Music Festival in Guelph and at the Emancipation Day Celebrations at Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Her style of poetry is a lyrical collection of blues, reggae, hip hop, or straight up a cappella sounds. Well known for her performances, but also for her arts education workshops and assemblies in schools and communities across Canada, this dynamic tour de force is unstoppable. For more info on Amani: www.myspace.com/amanithepoet2 or www.imanicreativeconsulting.com