Cowles Classroom - Haitian Dance with Djenane Saint Juste | Warm Up 1
Learn Haitian Dance with Teaching Artist Djenane Saint Juste out of the Cowles Classroom!
This Cowles Classroom lesson is intended for students in Kindergarten through 5th Grade, and is fun to try with family and friends!
Full lessons from the Cowles Classroom will be available on Tuesday, April 14, 2020!
About Djenane Saint Juste: Djenane Saint Juste, a native of Haiti, is the Artistic Director of Afoutayi Haitian Dance, Music and Arts Company. Djenane has been a dance teacher working with k-12 students and adults for over 25 years, in French, Creole, Spanish and English. She is a professional choreographer, dancer, actress, vocalist, and writer specializing in Haitian traditional dance and folklore. She received a BA in Physical Education in Cuba, a MAEd at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, and a license in ELL. Djenane has also been trained in Ballet, Hip Hop, Modern, Jazz, Ballroom, and Zumba at the Institut de Danse JAKA, Institut de Dance Vivianne Gauthier, Artcho Dance Company in Haiti, and in other prestigious dance companies in the U.S. She is the creator and instigator of the Annual Haitian Cultural Festival, and has brought exciting new themes and activities to engage participants in Haitian culture since the first Haitian Festival in 2009. Djenane has dedicated herself to the research, development and promotion of traditional Haitian dance, song and storytelling. She is a former faculty member in the world dance department at the Saint Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts, and an artist in residence at Hamline University and St. Olaf University. Djenane's work towards the preservation of Haitian culture has been documented in works such as "Making Caribbean Dance" by Susanna Sloat, as well as "Lavil: Life, Love, and Death in Port-au-Prince (Voice of Witness)" by Peter Orner, Evan Lyon, and Edwidge Danticat. In 2018 Djenane was the recipient of the “NAACP” and the Haitian Community of Minnesota Award of Excellence for her outstanding contributions and commitment in advancing the culture and causes for communities of color in Minnesota.
