

AFOUTAYI
Dance, Music & Arts
AFOUTAYI DANCE STUDIO
New Home & Renewed Programming!
Afoutayi is back with regular classes, rehearsals, performances and more! We welcome you to the AFOUTAYI DANCE STUDIO (2525 Nevada Ave North, Suite 211, Golden Valley, MN 55427), our new home for your regular dose of movement, tradition, sonorous folklore, and Haitian, African, and Afro-Caribbean spirit.
**IMPORTANT COVID-19 PROTOCOL: Please help us keep the space and each other safe by following CDC recommendations: wear a mask, bring your own water and hand sanitizer, and stay home if you feel sick.**






ABOUT US
Afoutayi Haitian Dance, Music and Arts is a performance company and nonprofit arts organization incorporated in the state of Minnesota and fiscally sponsored by Indigenous Roots in Saint Paul, MN.
Mission & Vision
Our mission is to promote Haitian heritage and diversify contemporary representations of Haiti through music, art, dance, and history education.
We envision a world where Haitian cultural heritage is a fundamental part of youth education and success to enrich communities of different backgrounds.
Our team all has over twenty years of experience as teachers and performers in traditional dance classes. We celebrate Afro-Haitian culture through song and dance classes that are welcoming to all ages.
History
In 2009, Djenane Saint Juste arrived from Haiti and founded the company in the Bay Area to address the serious lack of Haitian cultural representation. In its augural year, Afoutayi hosted the first Haitian Dance, Music and Art Festival at Mission High School in San Francisco on the anniversary of the Battle of Vertieres, honoring the turning point in the Haitian War of Liberation through a traditional opening ceremony, community gathering, workshops, performances, and lectures. During its five-year tenure in the Bay Area, the company performed original works interpreting the Haitian tradition of Vodou at prestigious events and institutions such as the Cuba Caribe Festival, San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, and Stanford University.
The company relocated to the Twin Cities in 2014 and continues to grow as Minnesota’s premier Haitian arts and cultural organization. Until 2018, Afoutayi presented its hallmark annual festival and developed it into a hub for Afro-centric movement and music through its collaborations with notable artists from the African and Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Today, Afoutayi hosts residencies, workshops, ceremonies, and lectures in schools and the community to challenge students and attendees to think and move outside of their familiar habits.
Board of Directors
Chair
Djenane Saint Juste
First Vice Chair
Florencia Pierre
Second Vice Chair
Jimmy Diligent
Secretary
Sophie Toner
Treasurer
Jude Vales
Grants & Awards
Equity Response Grant - Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (2021)
Creative Support Grant - Minnesota State Arts Board (2021)
Knight Arts Challenge - The Knight Foundation (2016)
ACTA Traditional Arts Development Program - Alliance for California Traditional Arts, CA (2014)
Community Arts Grant - Zallerbach Foundation, CA (2013, 2014)
ACTA Living Cultures Grant - Alliance for California Traditional Arts, CA (2012)
Art and Culture Grant - FOKAL (Fondasyon Konesans Ak Libète), Haiti (2011, 2012, 2014, 2017)