Welcome to the new JANBE Blog!

As written on the sidebar to your left, JANBE...the blog was created to share information about our organization--below is a full-length description of JANBE, taken from our website.
(Read the French translation at the bottom of this page.)


JANBE is a cultural arts organization that focuses on the preservation of culture through the language of dance. The JANBE institute was founded in 2006 as an artistic collaboration between professional dance artists and educators, Jean Appolon and Nailah Randall-Bellinger. This is a Non Profit

organization, based in Boston is run by a board of 6 members. The initial year was based in Haiti where Appolon and Bellinger taught various dance techniques to Haitian students who were interested in pursuing dance. The JANBE Institute offered all 32 participants free tuition for a two weeks seminar. During the two-week intensive dance program, students received technical training in both folkloric and traditional modern dance as well as body conditioning.

“While dance is our primary mission our long-term vision is to encourage intercultural exchange between American and Haitian students.” The goal of the JANBE institute is to establish a program whereby American dance students come to Haiti to participate in the summer dance intensive and experience a travel tour of historical sites in the island, supplemented by classes in Haitian history, language, and literature. Presently however, JANBE’s focus is on Haitian dance students who cannot afford tuition at other dance programs in Haiti. We understand dance to be a powerful cultural expression that bridges the cultural, linguistic, and national borders that separate us and therefore, want to make dance accessible to all, regardless of economic limitations.