Jeannine Osayande (Mama Jeannine), is a polycentric interdisciplinary Choreographer, Educator, Performer, Cultural Expert of West African Diaspora/African Derived dance and drum traditions whose work intersects with her community’s folklife documentation on the historically Black neighborhood of Swarthmore Oral history documentation research. She is founder and director of Dunya Performing Arts Company (DunyaPAC), specializing in Art Integration, where the arts become the approach to teaching and the vehicle for learning. She believes that people must learn and experience the beauty and genius of African and African American Folklore Traditions. Jeannine Osayande & DunyaPAC have provided programming on the Black Experience for 40 years, reaching hundreds of thousands of people, locally and internationally.

On a summer evening in 1979 in Harvard Square, Mama was introduced to African drum and dance traditions. A friend pushed her into the middle of the dance circle. Within that circle of rhythm and flow, an inner voice said: this is your calling. Shortly afterward, another friend took her to see Dance Africa at Brooklyn Academy of Music. When Mama Jeannine saw the performers, she knew that one day she could be on that stage. In 1985, her vision became reality. Since that time, her life has centered on weaving her artistic practice with caretaking and community advocacy.

DunyaPAC’s, Joy Resides Here: An Interactive Justice Journey of Oral History/telling and African Diaspora drum and dance traditions program, intersects the Black Experience with Anti-Racism curriculum and programming. Our vision is to radiate joy and seek out collaborative experiences that manifest beauty. Our mission is to add value to the environment and community through Arts, Culture and Social Change.

Some of this artist’s assembly performances come with a Creative Classroom Toolkit! The Creative Classroom Toolkit is a collection of innovative educational tools that extend your in-school performances into a series of engaging, curriculum-based lessons. Included in the toolkit are artist videos, activity videos, and an educator’s guide. Contents are delivered digitally after scheduling a David Gonzalez assembly.

DunyaPAC’s artistic, aesthetic, and philosophical approaches pull heavily from African traditions, such as polycentrism and polyrhythms. Polycentrism acknowledges that one entity can have many centers, mirroring my own identity—rooted in folk art, oral storytelling, social justice, ethnography, and African/African diasporic dance and drum traditions—with each center being intrinsically interconnected. We gravitate towards the concept of African polyrhythms, because they function as a mechanism for inclusion. When two or more rhythms are played at the same time, they manifest the ability to connect people, make space, and create a sense of belonging for all.