Disruptive ideas for a more beautiful world
Magic, Mischief and Mind Bombs
What We Do
Dancing Fox specialises in beautiful disruption.
Founded by Tommy Crawford and Brian Fitzgerald, we work with change-makers, artists, activists and imagineers to tell (and embody) compelling stories, and to shift deep cultural narratives through a combination of magic, mischief, and mind-bombs.
Dancing Fox is a trickster character who operates at the interface between two worlds:
the world of what is, and the world of what’s possible.
We help organisations to gracefully (and joyfully) traverse that gap, in order to create bold and brilliant campaigns that bring people together around a shared vision.
We keep our paws on the pulse of pop culture — and are experts in providing unconventional learning and collaboration experiences that unleash the creativity of highly skilled and cognitively diverse groups.
We offer a daring, participatory and story-infused approach: which is both suited to the magnitude of the challenges we face, and proven to deliver transformational, long-term change.
Build a mind bomb.
Ideas that ripple out in shock waves around the world...
The world doesn't need little stories about incremental change. It needs big, booming, transformational stories.We're activists, but we're also artists. And we bring artists into our creative processes in ways that, in the words of one client, "opened doors that I didn't know were there." We bring techniques from the world of improv theatre, behavioural economics, and the marketing and advertising industries into all of our work. From how to hold a better brainstorm to how to dance with uncertainty, we've coached dozens and dozens of organisations in ways to improve innovation at every level, from idea to execution to strategy development.
Find your storytelling magic
Workshops? We call them playshops...
Creativity isn't unleashed around the usual meeting table with a speakerphone. We'll take your team on a magical journey down a rabbit hole where all the rules get broken. Whether you need a three day workshop on culture jamming modern mythologies, a day's introduction to story as theory of change, or a half day of exercises to build new storytelling muscle to bolster your communications, campaigning, or fundraising, we've got unconventional methods to bring out your most beautiful mischief.
Tell your organisation's story
Once upon a time, there was an organisation without a story...
A powerful organisational story is a way to align your staff and resources, bring clarity to your work, and help you inspire your audience to answer your call to action. Or your call to adventure. We'll work with your team to identify the story elements and the narrative you need to bring your story to life, and to truly live its values.
Get inspired
Need a speaker? A speech?
From scripting a TED talk to writing a children's book to producing some of Greenpeace's most successful video content: we love telling stories to a crowd. We can talk about our activist histories and the future of activism. Or the hurdles and high points of how we brought a new story to life at Greenpeace. We have salty seafarer stories and magical tales -- and decades of lessons in organisational change, growth, and reinvention to share.
Current Culture Hack
#SpoonfulOfLaughter
We worked with the beautiful troublemakers at diaTribe to create a campaign against diabetes stigma in the US ... by using comedy: those "rabidly shared and avidly consumed forms of cultural narrative." And because jokes travel faster than facts.
Backstage with Justin Eastzer and Kesha Carter
For three days we brought together some very foxy artists, comedians, and activists, some with diabetes and some without, to brainstormed the comic potential of moments when people with diabetes feel stigmatized. And for the next two days, we shot the five films we'd come up with.
The result: a comedy campaign with important punchlines.
See how you can be a part of the shenanigans at https://www.spoonfuloflaughter.org
Founding Foxes
Brian Fitzgerald
Senior Story-Hacker
Brian's stories include stopping a nuclear weapons test in the Nevada Desert, sailing to Iceland to save whales, living on an olive farm in Italy and an embarrassing fall, as a trainee pilot, from a hot air balloon. In 35 years at Greenpeace he bounced from box to box in the organogram: from door-to-door canvasser to campaigner to communications director to fundraiser, deck hand, digital pioneer, action coordinator, and story teller. He remains an unapologetic believer in peace, love, and understanding.
Tommy Crawford
Chief Mischief-Maker
Tommy's stories include breaking the world record for the biggest consecutive striptease, disrupting Milan Fashion Week with some beautiful trouble, choosing poems over jumpers to keep him warm in a forest in Devon, and a magical moment with a fox. He is a poet, artist, and fountain of ideas. During his time with Greenpeace he led a pirate band of communicators to create a new organisational story, was Creative Director of the global Detox Campaign, and still made it home in time for tea and crumpets.
Forest Friends
Iris Maertens
Iris is a graphic designer, illustrator and digital ninja. She uses a wide range of media and techniques including paper, canvas, murals, oil, watercolour, pen and pencil and well as digital media/social media. Iris spent her youth unleashing creativity at either the piano or the drawing table. She studied at the Royal Atheneum of Fine Arts and later completed an MBA in Graphic Design and Web Design at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. When she started to travel she began reintroducing illustration into her work, drawing rather than taking pictures of her adventures. In 2010 she did her first solo-exhibition of illustration work at the 't Ey culture club, in Belgium. She enjoys making a living out of the thing she loves doing most and believes a drawing a day keeps the doctor away.
Maeve Simons
Whether planning an event or proofreading a book, Maeve is an enthusiastic organiser, of people, places, and things. A trans-Atlantic child with a passion for conservation, she grew up with one foot in California's Mojave Desert and the other in the chilly waters of the Irish Sea. She received her Masters in English Literature from University College Cork in Ireland before joining the Communications team at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam as a social media intern. Since then, Maeve has worked with a variety of NGOs and corporations as a media consultant, event planner, project manager, and a Getting Stuff Done-r. When she's not behind her computer working or writing, you'll generally find her in the local park with a science fiction novel, admiring other people's dogs.
Lucy Taylor
Lucy was with communications consulting firm eatbigfish when she brought her talents as a professional facilitator, improvisational actress, and puppeteer to the task of helping craft the Greenpeace Story with Dancing Fox founders Tommy Crawford and Brian Fitzgerald. She holds degrees from Oxford University and has been on learning adventures at Embercombe and Findhorn. Her other talents include singing and cold-water swimming. Great bookstores make her happy. She lives in London with a tiny toddling human being.
Collaborators
We work with some of the most beautiful troublemakers on the planet
What does the fox say?
Things we've recorded with our podcasting friends
Why Play Works — with Lucy Taylor
The Indisposable Podcast — with Brooking Gatewood
The Brave Moment — with Kat Savage
The Crazy Little Thing Called Life Podcast — with Meg Thompson
The World is Storytelling — with Ronni Gurwicz
Story Mapping
Our foxy gift for you: A magical story mapping tool
Free, open source Storymapping Gizmo
Connect With Us
We don't bite (much)
�— Forest Newsletter —
We don't often send mail. But when we do, it's full of magic.
Official stuff
Our Foxy Den
Dancing Fox, BV
Admiraal de Ruijterweg 253 HS
Amsterdam, 1055 LT
The NetherlandsWhere to send blueberries
Bank Account: IBAN: NL83INGB0007262856
Dancing Fox BV
Acct 0007 2628 56
ING Bank, NV
Bijlmerplein 888
1102 MG Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Some numbers that people in suits told us are important...
KVK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce) Number: 65278666
BTW (VAT) Number: NL856048756B01Privacy Policy
Mister Fox believes that everyone has a right to speak their minds, to have a safe den, delicious food, education, clean water, clean air, and privacy. Your data is yours. We maintain a list of email addresses of friends who sign up for our newsletter. We don't trade, sell, swap, or share those email addresses with anyone. We use the list solely to send information about events and news about what we've been up to and what's tickling our brains on a very irregular basis.
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