Lakaï Dance Theatre. A dance theatre company of the people, for the people, by the people.
Boston · The World · The Diaspora
A dance theatre company
Who We Are
Movement is
the story
Lakaï Dance Theatre is the performance company of Lakaï Arts, a nonprofit opening the doors of the arts to everyone. Using dances of the Afro Diaspora, we put stories on stage from communities and lives that are not normally shown there, and we tell them in a way that is both beautiful and thought-provoking.
We keep it raw. Telling our stories means moving how we move, and every style we pull from carries its own history and its own intention. Each one is a tool that serves the story, and the story serves the people watching.
We believe the arts can heal and transform. Everything we build stands on that.
Our Staple Event
Fèt Lakaï
Theater-caliber performance brought into neighborhoods and community spaces, for the ultimate house party. A collaboration between performers and audience where the boundary of the stage disappears.
There is no preset stage and no schedule. The party is the draw, and everybody knows and loves a good dance party. Then the song you are dancing to becomes somebody's set. Local artists fold into the room as the night goes on. The floor opens into a circle. Lakaï Dance Theatre performs among the people, close enough to touch, and sometimes you find yourself inside the piece. Call and response. Come dance it with us. We perform segments from our full-length works, so when the complete piece reaches the theater, you can remember being part of it.
Real talk, too often we perform in theaters where we do not see the people our message is meant for. Folk rarely see themselves in rooms that historically excluded them. Fèt Lakaï is our answer. We bring the theater experience to the neighborhood, keep it safe and welcoming, and let people find that the theater holds artists who look like them, with pieces that speak to our shared cultural history. Then, hopefully, they follow us and other artists back into those rooms.
This is how we create new art patrons. Bring the arts to the people we want to see in art spaces.
Right Now
Built local, on purpose
The work is rooted in the communities we come from and answer to. Hip-Hop. House. Folkloric Haitian. West African. Jazz. We carry these cultures with us into the cypher and onto the stage.
And we are growing neighborhood initiatives for the youth, block by block.
This is a grounded dance theatre company.
The Rhythm
How we move through the year
This is the pulse we are building toward. Not a schedule. A rhythm. Tap in to register.
No dates live on this page. When something drops, we announce it on our socials first, and the list always hears it. Get on so nothing passes you by.
Get on the list
The arts can be a powerful tool for healing and transformation.
What we hold close
Learn With Us
Workshops. Classes. Outreach.
Everyone should get the chance to experience the power of the arts, so we bring the work to schools, community spaces, and wherever the people already are.
If you want Lakaï in your classroom, your org, or on your block, reach out. We will build it with you.
Support the Mission
Keep the doors open
Lakaï Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Every gift keeps the doors of the arts open: classes that stay accessible, artists paid for their work, Fèt Lakaï pulling up in more neighborhoods, and youth programs growing where we live.
Give to LakaïDonations are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows.
Money is one way. Booking the company, bringing us into your school, or pulling up to the fèt counts too.
The Horizon
Same vision,
deeper roots
We intend to tour this work across the US and the world, open real conversations everywhere we land, and inspire others to tell their own stories. We will get there the way we do everything. From the ground up.