Slaves used it as a means of survival. Grandparents used it to caution youngsters.

And today, after decades of taking a backseat to television and radio, storytelling is becoming accepted as a form of entertainment for everyone.

"We almost lost it,'' said visiting storyteller Ms Jackie Torrence who is one of the United States' most-renowned practitioners of the art.

But the North Carolina native, who is here as guest of the Community and Cultural Affairs Ministry, is determined not to let that happen again.

She has dedicated herself to telling spellbinding stories to adults and children all over the world for the past 22 years.

Explaining the age-old art as a form of giving messages, Ms Torrence said: "During slavery it was a way to deliver a secret message.

"While master was saying `isn't that wonderful Maimie is telling the children about Brer rabbits', Maimie was telling the other slaves what time to meet and escape.'' But, she said, the slave masters did not understand this because slaves used animals and figurative language to get the message across.

But slaves were not the first to practice the art, Ms Torrence said.

"When you look at the Greek myths, they were complaining about government back then too. But they had to use animals like toads to keep people from knowing who they were talking about. The bull frog was the government, the tadpoles were the people, and the pond was the state,'' she said.

Ms Torrence grew up listening to stories from her grandmother and grandfather.

And she credits her mesmerising stage presence and voice control to a teacher who helped her correct a childhood speech impediment.

But the captivating storyteller said she realised she had the knack for spinning tales when she saw people go away happy and satisfied after hearing the stories she told as a librarian in the children's department where she worked.

"I saw people change by my story telling,'' she said. "I went into schools in upper Maine where I was the first black they had ever come close to. I've visited regions in Mississippi that people who live there would never venture into.

"I melted crowds of white folk who looked at me with their nose turned up.'' Giving an example, Ms Torrence recalled visiting a school in the northern part of Washington -- an area where blacks were not welcomed and could not be found.

In addition to having kids greet her as "a nigger'', she said she told her stories in an assembly hall of kids who turned their backs to her, teachers who marked class papers, and a gym teacher who continued to bounce a ball against the wall.

But, Ms Torrence said, by the time she told her third and final story, she had everyone's attention.

And as she left the school, she was praised by students from kindergarten age to eighth graders.

"I thought from that day, it has now become my life's work,'' she said.

Ms Torrence will spin her tales at the National Gallery on Sunday and Monday, beginning at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $10 and available from Cultural Affairs Department on Court Street in Hamilton.

Ms. Jackie Torrence.