Ailsa Dixon is a storyteller, musician and folklorist deeply rooted in place and passionate about sharing traditional tales and unheard histories. She specialises in telling Scottish stories, particularly those from her native Aberdeenshire and Orkney, as well as international myths, legends and wonder tales. A folk musician, she incorporates song, clarsach and cello into her performances, which range from children’s shows and story sharings to compelling contemporary performance pieces. Ailsa also works with applied storytelling for wellbeing, with experience facilitating projects in schools, museums, community centres and care homes.

Ailsa has performed solo and collaborative work at the Edinburgh Fringe, Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF), Rome Raccontamiunastoria Mythica project, Glasgow Village Storytelling Festival, Aberystwyth Storytelling Festival, Orkney Storytelling Festival, Perth Soutar Culture Festival, Beyond the Border, Wigtown Book Festival and Festival at the Edge.

Her solo storytelling shows include Cassandra, an intimate blend of myth, history and personal narrative exploring what it means to be believed, The Silver Thread, a journey across the North Sea through story and song, and The Land of the Unicorn, an interactive musical romp through magical tales for children. Previous collaborations include Land Under Wave, a critically acclaimed immersive exploration of otherness and environmentalism, and Hear Us and Hasten, a trilingual celebration of connections between people, story and place through Welsh and Orcadian folklore, amongst many others.

Alongside storytelling, Ailsa is completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Edinburgh in Scottish Ethnology, and currently works as a fieldworker for the Regional Ethnology of Scotland Project. Her dissertation focuses on applications of traditional narrative for wellbeing within the public health sector. Other areas of academic interest include queer and disability folklore, performance storytelling as an ethnographic methodology and interactions between material and intangible cultural heritage.