Lakou Ayiti

“Lakou” can also mean home, or the idea of home, the place that calls us back not just to sacred ground, but to a sense of belonging without which we are not whole.

Lakou Ayiti is an interdisciplinary production that meditates on the “lakou” and its loss in the Haitian imagination in a way that also speaks to a universal condition. Where can we find belonging? Where is home? Does it exist in the rhythms of Rara music and the undulating arms of Yanvalou? The dancers depict the tumultuous journey that immigrants may face through a mix of folkloric Haitian and Horton modern movements.

The lead artists in Lakou Ayiti worked with MacArthur Genius Fellow and award-winning Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat as a collaborator and advisor to create the narrative that underpins and drives the production. Danticat worked with the artists to knit together stories of migration, immigration and home as recordings that are a part of the production’s soundscape created by electronic music artist Val Jeanty. An important touchstone in the production’s narrative is Jean Appolon’s own immigration story, as well as those of Haitian immigrants living in Boston. Lakou Ayiti’s development included a community outreach component with Boston social service organizations serving Haitian immigrants. These community members participated in master classes and conversations with Jean Appolon, and were invited to production rehearsals and performances.

Choreography: Jean Appolon
Dancers: Jean-Sebastien Duvilaire, Tatianna Haynes, Meghan McGrath, Meghan Riling, Lonnie Stanton, Mcebisi Xotyeni
Guest Artist: Val Jeanty
Set Design: Anya Smolnikova
Costume Design: Jean Appolon (Judith Perez, Seamstress)
Lighting: Ida Aronson
Sound: Fritz Jean
Music: Val Jeanty original soundscape, Batey by Emeline Michel, spoken narratives by Boston immigrant community members