What people say?
Renata Keller and I co-taught a highly successful series of Dialogue & Movement Workshops What Is It That Moves Us? in October and November of 2015. We led diverse groups of people including dancers; non-dancers; Spiral Dynamics practitioners; Aikido practitioners; children and university students, in a number of different countries including Germany; the Netherlands; Mexico; Guatemala; Argentina and Chile.
Renata was an exceptional collaborator in this experimental workshop series that wove together dialogue and dance. She was not afraid to take risks and at the same time was able to hold the space for dialogue and listening with a sense of ease, yet with command. She enabled participants to feel comfortable and willing to contribute openly by creating an atmosphere of inclusion and non-judgment. In this way she brought out the best in each individual, enabling the groups to rise together and fly. It was an enriching experience for all involved, and I am sure one that has remained present in many of the participant’s lives.
Renata Keller has worked with Global Generation on a contract basis over four years in the capacity of Creative workshop leader for 16 – 18 year old youth leaders. As a workshop leader she established creative forums where our youth leaders could begin to learn and explore the art of creative dialogue, which developed their sense of self both as individuals and as a group. She also shared with them her passion for design and it’s application in a range of fields. Consequently several of our youth leaders have managed to gain work experience with Wolff Olins, a leading brand company and the newspaper The Guardian. She is refreshingly straightforward and honest in the way she deals with people. I am impressed at her ability to carry complex tasks, whilst appearing relaxed and in control of the situation. Renata brings a wealth of life experience to her work. This is underpinned by a strong commitment to enable people to find and express the best in themselves when they communicate or work together.
It´s now more than a year ago since I came in contact with Renata Keller and her amazing film project Why Women Need to Climb Mountains. During that time we have met several times in Vienna and had a lot of phone calls.
I was impressed by the depth and thoroughness of her investigations and the love and passion she showed with Gerda Lerner as a person and her life and work. Beyond it, Renata has a lot of courage, strength, structure and staying power to finish her project, and I´m sure this will have an important impulse and be an enrichment for young women and anybody, who will see the film.
Renata has the unique combination of a drive for order and efficiency, and the ability to stand back and see the much larger picture that our organisations function within. Bringing an evolutionary view and philosophical understanding to the how and why of the organisational challenges we meet on a daily basis, rather than just trying to solve problems in an isolated way she engages people to live up to their highest imagination. We clearly need more of that!