Hello and Welcome

My name is Woody Wilkins, and I am Program Director and Founder of the Dances With Wood program.

The origins of the Dances With Wood program date back to my childhood, when working with wood and art helped restore my creative spirit when I was faced with a serious illness. I have always loved working with wood and was trained in England as a cabinetmaker and wood carver. I also love sharing the joy of working with wood, and later trained to become a teacher.

As my work as a teacher evolved, I began to design and create programs to empower and enrich the lives of those with special needs.

I began working with children who have life-threatening or serious illnesses 20 years ago when I left England to pursue this work in the United States.

I have always been aware of the need of hospitalized children to experience the health-giving empowerment that comes from creative self-expression, and in 1998 I founded the Dances With Wood Program.

What is
the “Dance”?

The Dance is a way of working with children...
Creativity...the silent rhythm...
The child leads...
The adult follows...
The adult listening...attentive...silent....
From the dance...
Something new emerges from within
the child...
The child becomes more than he was…
The child becomes more than he knew he
could be…

This is the Dance...
This is Dances With Wood...