Haiti Dance Theater
Resurrection Dance Theatre of Haiti
The Remarkable story of the Resurrection Dance
Theatre began when Michael Geilenfeld, a former
brother in Mother Theresa’s Order, established St.
Joseph’s Home of Boys in 1985. Michael took in
boys from the streets of Port au Prince and offered
them a home, taking the cast-offs of Haitian society
and enabling them to become positive and
compassionate leaders who are effecting
tremendous change in a powerful way.
Michael saw that dance could be a medium for
healing in which the boys could tell their stories and
express themselves. He wanted the boys to be
proud of their country, yet knew the boys had trouble
feeling pride in anything because of the way they had
been looked at and treated on the streets. Through
the arts, the boys have learned that they indeed come
from a rich tradition and now they dance their stories
and culture proudly. Through movement they tell not
only of their mistreatment on the streets, but of finding
rebirth and transformation in a home filled with love
and respect. They tell of memories of life in the
country before misfortune landed them on the streets
of the city. They tell of the playfulness of fishes in the
sea, and they tell of Haitian history.
Over the past few years, the story of the dance
theater has spread and the boys have toured the U.S.
and Canada, performing at Dance Africa Chicago,
Dance Africa New York and were the featured
dancers for the opening of the Underground Railroad
Museum in Ohio. This tour will provide our
community an opportunity to learn more about Haiti’s
culture and history, while the dancers share their
extraordinary gifts and stories through dance.
All proceeds from the performances go directly
to the St Joseph’s Home for Boys, Wings of
Hope and Trinity House to provide food, clothing,
education and medical care to the residents of
the three homes.
Charleston Area
Performance Venues
2006
