Sonja Dumas has now added story telling to her repertoire of talents. The dancer and choreographer's latest project is a CD of local stories, Once upon a Caribbean Time: Children's Folktales from Trinidad & Tobago. Dumas, also an actor, narrates most of the stories herself, and veteran actor and director Albert Laveau lends his vocal talents to the recording, a collection of Dumas' previously released work.

Three of the stories on the CD were originally released as a cassette/book package, part of a product promotion exercise by Nestle Quik. The remaining nine stories were done for TSTT's Dial-a-Story Infozone line. Dumas, who holds the copyright on the material, tried for several years to interest local and foreign producers in the CD project, but it was only this year that Kenny Philips approached her to get the project started.

Dumas, a Columbia University MBA who makes her living as an arts and entertainment marketing consultant, feels sure that the CD will do big things. She also thinks it is a culturally important document. "I figured people growing up in Trinidad and Tobago didn't have the benefit of their own culture being in contemporary form," said Dumas in an interview last week.

Ten years ago, when she first wrote the earliest material on the CD, the Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles dominated children's entertainment, and figures like Anansi, who has a couple of cameos in Once Upon a Caribbean Time, were being left out of the picture. "I thought, why not celebrate our own stuff?"

Her stories are not completely derivative. Although she uses "Brer 'Nansi' in his recognisable role as a trickster, he appears in unfamiliar scenarios; and she creates original characters of her own, such as Dan the blue crab and the Dumpling Ghost.

"I wouldn't call them traditional folk tales...I want to believe that the stories I've written are of the contemporary folk of Trinidad and Tobago, but using a traditional format," said Dumas.

The stories are currently available only at Crosby's Records and Scribbles, a stationery store at West Mall. Dumas plans to widen the distribution of the CDs soon.

Once Upon a Caribbean Time is not the only iron she has in the fire. Dumas is looking forward to December, when she will fly to Jamaica to lead a masters' workshop in dance at the University of Technology. The workshop won't be the only highlight of her trip; she's also scheduled to solo during the opening of the University's new sculpture park, in front of such distinguished guests as US poet and author, Maya Angelou.

Before that, Dumas is looking forward to logging on to a new Smithsonian Institute webpage devoted to an exhibition of T&T art that she curated last year. The exhibit, Sing Me a Rainbow, opened in Washington DC last October, and since then has made its way to about three other US cities. It is still touring that country, but from November 23 the Smithsonian's virtual gallery will make it accessible to anybody anywhere in the world.

As for now, she's dreaming up ways to get around having to pay for a stage for a one-night-stand in December, the culmination of yet another project.

"Gabriel: Your Angel is in You" is a self-esteem-building dance project for young people and Dumas in currently looking for a fairy godparent to bring the enterprise to completion in a free show. "It would be great if young people can come free of charge to see this project," she said wistfully.

Western Union came through as a sponsor of Once Upon a Caribbean Time. With Dumas' determination she may well get the sponsor she needs for the "Gabriel" project, too.