KRIYOL DANCE! | AYITI

WHAT IS LAKOU ST. MICHEL ARCHANGE?

Officially formed in 1877, Societe St. Michel Archange is a community and spiritual temple of the Vodou rite, in Port-au-Prince, and a community hub for the people of Rue Magasin de l'etat. A true "lakou" - or communal living system based on land, family, and spirituality - the temple of Societe St. Michel Archange continues to maintain its age-old traditional practice while also attempting to be a center for community advocacy, change, and resource.

WHY A SPIRITUAL LAKOU?

We consider spaces like spiritual temples to be the perfect hub to create culturally-informed work that embodies the idea that there are differences in the understanding and form of love, life, and trauma in different geographic regions, historical periods, and sociopolitical climates. We work with the young community of Societe St. Michel Archange to encourage and develop advocates focused on not just their own advancement, but also the advancement of their immediate community.

HOW DO WE PARTNER ?

To facilitate cultural exchange Societe St. Michel Archange has partnered with Kriyol Dance! Collective to help in creating engagement art tied to increasing advocacy around the reality of life in Vodou, Haiti, and community. Kriyol Dance! Collective uses the language and philosophy of Vodou as taught by the history of Societe St. Michel to discuss trauma and steps to recovery from it. In essence, both Societe St. Michel and Kriyol Dance! center spiritual dance, music, and teaching as prime documents of trauma and historically archived survival strategies.