VWAYAJ

After years of political tremor, Appolon has woven his personal story together with those of other immigrants into this evening-length production. Dancers will tell these stories through bold Haitian contemporary dance set to evocative music composed by Haitian electronic music artist Val Jeanty. At the heart of Vwayaj is an inquiry into some of the most basic questions of the human experience: Where is home? What do we sacrifice when we leave home? What are we seeking on the other side? How do we create support within community?

Choreographer: Jean Appolon
Composer and Musical Accompaniment: Val Jeanty
Musical Accompaniment: Wichemond Thelus
Dancers: IJ Chan, Alyssa Holley, Velouse Joseph, Meghan McGrath, Meghan Riling, Lonnie Stanton, Mcebisi Xotyeni

“To me, Vwayaj felt like poetry in motion, bringing back and soothing the memories of adversities and victories in my biography as a Haitian immigrant to the U.S. Vwayaj also felt like a spiritual journey on wings of love, courage and beauty. I think it’s a must-see for each of us who has experienced migration — and who, as such, is often seen as “other.” In the midst of today’s virulent anti-immigrant campaigns, Vwayaj welcomes us in our new country — our new homes — and invites us to dissolve boundaries, so we can build and share community together.”
— Michel DeGraff, Professor, MIT Linguistics; Founder & Director, MIT-Haiti Initiative; Founding Member, Akademi Kreyòl Ayisyen

“Vwayaj speaks compellingly of our many journeys, both internal and external, many difficult—while simultaneously addressing the ways we are grounded, connected, and ultimately transnational. The type of tensions and questions explored in Vwayaj are ones that exist in real-time, making this piece of choreography an art of witness, as well as a catalyst for the important conversations we all need to have. Through its brilliant braiding of new music, new media, and contemporary and traditional dance in performance, JAE is doing the vital work of propelling Haitian dance into the future—and into the world.”
— Danielle Legros Georges, Poet Laureate of the city of Boston and Professor and Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing, Lesley University