Jean Appolon Expressions to Present BANBOCHE 2025 At Hibernian Hall
Annual celebration honors Haitian culture and the legacy of Danielle Legros Georges on November 1 in Roxbury.
Jean Appolon Expressions (JAE) will host Banboche 2025 on Saturday, November 1, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Hibernian Hall, marking a milestone year for the Haitian dance company with the grand opening of its permanent home in Nubian Square, the Jean Appolon Expressions Dance Center.
The annual event, whose name means “community celebration” in Haitian Creole, showcases Haitian art, culture, and dance through a lively evening of performances, live drumming, guest speakers, a DJ set, and community dancing. This year’s Banboche also pays tribute to Danielle Legros Georges, the late poet, educator, and former Boston Poet Laureate, whose work and advocacy helped illuminate Haiti’s cultural and artistic legacy.
Inspired by Fèt Gede—Haiti’s Day of the Dead—the event blends remembrance and renewal, celebrating both the spirit of Haitian tradition and the future of JAE’s new artistic home.
Performers include company dancers IJ Chan, Velouse Joseph, Aiden Marshall, Meghan McGrath, Lonnie Anela O'Kalani Neff Stanton, and Mcebisi Xotyeni, joined by master drummers Ezekiel Freeman-Fan Fan, Akili Jamal Haynes, Arnaud Lauture, Josil Rebert, and Wichemond Thelus.
Banboche 2025 continues JAE’s mission to use dance as a tool for cultural expression and community connection, while celebrating the vitality and resilience of the Haitian diaspora in Boston and beyond.
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