Somerville’s notable artist Judelande Antoine has dedicated her life to Haitian dance and cultural celebration.
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Judelande Antoine loves to dance, but her real passion is sharing her dancing and cultural celebration with others.
On Jan. 25, Somerville Haitians United, which Antoine founded, will host their sixth annual Haitian Cultural celebration at Unity Church in Davis Square, featuring Haitian dance, poetry, clothing, art, sculpture, and food.
Originally from Haiti, Antoine now lives in Somerville’s Union Square. She is a dancer specializing in Haitian folklore, and dances several of Haiti’s 21 distinct rhythms.
“I cannot really explain why I love dancing — it is a feeling,” she said. “Dance makes me sad, happy and excited. It doesn’t matter how I feel. There is always something that makes me enjoy dancing.”
In Haiti, Antoine began dancing in church at 7 years old, teaching in high school, and at 15, was taken aside to receive more training. Now she volunteers teaching dance to children in Somerville and Cambridge, but when she was younger she was not allowed to dance outside of church.
“In our village, there was a cultural group that performed every Friday evening,” she said. “I thought it was so fun to watch and dance, but my parents would have us go inside. Even though they did not let me, I would open the door and watch them in the roads and dance anyway inside the doorway. I would feel good watching them.”
Antoine has also received a New England Foundation for the Arts grant to study more dance forms, and in 2019 she was a Somerville Artist of the Month award recipient.
“I feel like dancing allows me to tell my story and have my story be heard,” she said. “Receiving this award makes me feel like my story has been heard.”
Celebrating Haitian culture through community work
A few years after Antoine moved to the U.S., she began volunteering for Haitian adult daycare programs such as Cay Pam, Village LA Joie, and Sante belle Vie, in Mattapan, West Roxbury, and Dorchester. In 2018, she received a citation from Gov. Charlie Baker for her “contributions in the advancement and promotion of the Haitian culture.”
“Doing community work is one of my strengths; I help anywhere and everywhere I am,” she said. “Doing community work is not something that I started in America — I began in Haiti. On May 18, 2018, I organized a Haitian Flag Day Celebration [and] I was so surprised and happy to receive the governor’s citation after the celebration.”
On Jan. 1, 1804, Haiti became the first black nation to declare independence, so Antoine founded this cultural event in January 2015 to celebrate that freedom and cultivate community love and support.
“I love many things about this event,” she said. “First, we see many people we have not seen for so long [and] the community gets together. Second, we revive the Haitian culture together. Third, we have chance to promote our culture and share it.”
Her work centers on youth, and Haitians United has multiple groups to foster community among children and teens.
“It is important to me to work in the Haitian community to help younger generation to embrace their culture,” she said. “Our mission is to revive and promote Haitian culture while coaching youth to build their leadership through arts. Youth are the future of a society and the development of a country. The youth will replace us.”
The Haitian Cultural Celebration, supported by a Somerville Arts Council grant, is from 5-9 p.m. at Unity Church on Jan. 25. The program of dance and poetry reading begins at 6:30 p.m.
