MA
MISSION: Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE) is a contemporary dance company deeply rooted in Haitian-folkloric culture that nurtures a global community through professional performances, educational opportunities, dance training, and the joy of movement for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
VISION: JAE shares the liberating power of Haitian-folkloric dance to cultivate hope and healing towards a more expressive and socially just world.
Read JAE’s Statement on Cultural Equity, an integral part of our work as an organization.
The company has performed at major venues and educational institutions in the Boston area, including the Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston Center for the Arts (BCA) and Harvard's Sanders Theater. In 2015 JAE was invited to be one of the pilot dance companies to participate in the BCA’s new Resident Companies Program. The Boston-based company has toured to Washington, DC and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. JAE has been fortunate to share the stage with celebrities such as Danny Glover and Edwidge Danticat, and to collaborate with community partners such as Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) and Central Square Theater. JAE and Jean Appolon can be booked to perform and/or teach at public or private events at a variety of locations including colleges/universities, schools, gala and community events, and festivals. JAE can tailor its programming to accommodate the specific needs of an event or host venue. Jean Appolon can also be commissioned to create choreography to be performed by JAE, and/or by other dance companies or student groups. Since its founding in 2011, JAE has received funding support from The Kellogg Foundation, National Performance Network, FOKAL, the U.S. Embassy of Haiti, Haiti’s Ministry of Culture, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Boston Cultural Council, Cambridge Arts Council, Somerville Arts Council, The Boston Foundation, Eastern Bank and hundreds of individual donors.
Additional Content:
This short documentary film delves into the making of Traka, Appolon’s most recent production. Traka explores how dance, culture, and community are pathways to healing for trauma survivors.
Experience Ginen (Haitian Kreyòl: where we came from, in Vodou), the opening dance piece to the full production of Traka. Ginen introduces audiences to the notion that trauma can physically affect the human body in different ways.
Vwayaj (“the travels” in Kreyol) is Jean Appolon’s latest iteration of his dance production, Lakou Ayiti (March 2016 premiere). It is an interdisciplinary staging that meditates on the “lakou” and its loss in the Haitian imagination.
Institution/Business Type:
Performing Group
Legal Status:
Nonprofit - Independent
Year Founded:
2011
Institution/Business Type:
Performing Group
Legal Status:
Nonprofit - Independent
Year Founded:
2011
Primary Discipline:
Dance - FolkAdditional Disciplines:
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Fee range:
$1800 - $10,000Teaching Settings:
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Fee range:
$1800 - $10,000NEST Eligible Artist
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$4000 - $75,000State of Residence:
MassachusettsMinimum Number of Performers:
3Maximum Number of Performers:
10