An earthquake brought her to Minnesota, where she’s built a life teaching Haitian dance

Djenane Saint Juste knows the rhythms of her homeland run deep. The Haitian-born artist moved to the United States in 2009 and founded Afoutayi, a local nonprofit that uses Haitian and Afro-Caribbean music and dance to educate people about her native culture.

“There were many other groups who were doing Haitian celebrations, but most of those people were not Haitian,” Saint Juste said. “It was beautiful what they were doing, but some information was missing, because none of them had been born or lived in Haiti.”

Saint Juste trained in ballet, hip hop, jazz and ballroom at her mother Florencia Pierre’s dance company in Haiti and honed her skills under Pierre Dulaine at Dancing Classrooms in New York. After winning a car in a beauty pageant contest, she moved to California with her son, fleeing targeted robberies in Haiti. But once there, she encountered significant challenges adapting to a new language and culture and the high cost of living.

She planned to return to Haiti after a few years, but the country’s earthquake in 2010 altered her plans.

“We had to start from rock bottom when we moved to the U.S., working all kinds of jobs and being treated differently,” she said. “The arts scene for an immigrant is not a good way to go, but I didn’t want to do anything else other than art.”

That opportunity presented itself when a former student of her mother’s moved to Minnesota and saw the need for Haitian cultural education in the state, after an increasing number of Haitian children were adopted by white Minnesotan families following the earthquake.

“The problem was most of the parents didn’t speak Creole or French, and didn’t know anything about Haitian culture,” Saint Juste said. “These kids, whether it was the language, food or environment, felt appreciative but disconnected.”

Saint Juste’s move to Minnesota marked the start of collaborations with several local arts organizations, including the arts education nonprofit COMPAS (Community Programs in the Arts), where she serves as a teaching artist. She joined the COMPAS roster in 2016, said Julie Strand-Blomgren, the group’s arts program director, who connects Afoutayi with educational institutions.

Through COMPAS, Saint Juste integrates Haitian and Afro-Caribbean konpa and kizomba dance styles, Creole language and folklore into educational programs at schools, libraries and recreational centers in the Twin Cities and Minnesota. This summer, she is leading daily sessions in Haitian and Afro-Caribbean dance at the Center for Performing Arts’ summer camp in Minneapolis.

“I always think somebody’s easier to connect with when you can see pieces of yourself in them,” Strand-Blomgren said. “Maybe kids don’t always see themselves as a dancer, but they can maybe relate to her through something else because she brings so much of herself to every room.”

Saint Juste’s work addresses the cultural challenges faced by Haitian students in American classrooms. In Haiti, children learn through “song, drumming and movement,” she said. “But in American classrooms, you have to sit down, be quiet and listen. That is a big cultural shock for them.”

That disconnect became more apparent when Saint Juste noticed her son, then 4, struggling in the structured classroom. “For him, everything in school was dancing and drumming,” she said. “Here, there’s not that much space to move around, and teachers at school would tell me he had an issue.”

Saint Juste knew her son wasn’t alone; many Haitian children were facing similar struggles. Determined to bridge the gap, she visited her son’s school and performed Haitian dances. She explained the cultural context of movement and rhythm in Haitian education and how teachers there incorporate it into the curriculum. Not only did Saint Juste’s son begin to thrive, but other students benefited from the more engaging learning environment.

“The kids who identify as troublemakers or have fallen behind a grade level suddenly shine because they have a space to show their energy,” she said.

In 2020 she published “The Mermaid and the Whale,” a children’s book that celebrates Haitian folklore. The book — available in English, Haitian-Creole, French and Spanish — highlights the historical significance of Creole as a language of Haitian resistance and identity.

“For many years, Creole was prohibited in schools,” Saint Juste said. “Children were required to learn French, even though they thought, felt and communicated in Creole at home. This created a gap between those who attended school and those who didn’t.”

The book also challenges stereotypes about Haiti. “A lot of Haitian kids, when they come [to the U.S.], feel frustrated,” she said. “They feel like they are the bad guys because the news only spreads about the economy of Haiti, or violence. We need to value and keep alive the positive aspects of our history so that our children feel proud to be Haitian.”

The local Haitian Flag Day festival, founded by Saint Juste and her mother in 2017, serves as a platform to celebrate Haitian heritage every May 18.

“We celebrate with everybody,” Saint Juste said. “Our suffering is the suffering of all Black Caribbean cultures. We hope people attending the festival see the struggles we face in Haiti and look at us with hope. … I feel so proud, because we’re creating a group of ambassadors who are going to advocate not only for Haiti but for all Afro-Caribbean culture.”

About the partnership

This story comes to you from Sahan Journal, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to covering Minnesota’s immigrants and communities of color. Sign up for a free newsletter to receive Sahan’s stories in your inbox.