All photos by Haset Tesfaw.
Haitian Konpa night, sometimes spelled “Kompa”, was an overall success for everyone.
“Everyone was dancing and having a great time, the food and music was great and I was so glad to see that everyone came out to support us,.” Leisha Fortunat, the president of the Haitian Club stated.
The Afro-Caribbean girls performance, the food, the crowd, the music, were the things that everyone really enjoyed. Everyone showed up looking their best to have the best time. “I had a lot of fun. From the music, the atmosphere and the people there, it really made it a special night,” Olivia Ivy, one of the dancers on the Afro-Caribbean team said.
The night started off with everyone starting to come in and just sitting down on the chairs waiting for the fun to start. When the music started playing people started getting up and dancing with their friends. When the Afro-Caribbean girls showed up and started dancing, the crowd got much more hype and more excited.
“I loved dancing with my team. We used the same dance from JV’s but changed it a bit to add more Haitian music for the event and it was so fun to get the crowd involved as well. It made the whole experience 10 times better,” Erikah Macharia, another one of the dancers in the Afro-Caribbean team explained.
The step team performing as everyone cheers them on.
After the Afro-Caribbean performance, the food came out and everyone got in line to enjoy the delicious Haitian food that was laid out on the table. Everyone enjoyed the food and most people even went back for seconds.
Fortunat explained that this event was created so that they could raise money for organizations in Haiti and to just have a night where everyone can have fun and dance with their friends. “We wanted to close out the year with a big event for the community. The idea was brought up by a few members who thought that we should be teaching Konpa to others since it’s one of our cultural dances,” she said.
“As a non-Haitian, I loved being able to experience part of my friends’ culture and celebrate this event with them,” Macharia said, showing how this event is not only for Haitians, but for anyone who wants to learn more about Haitian culture and have a good time.
The only problem everyone had was that the night was that it was not long enough. “The only thing I would change is the event being longer; I was having such a good time I truly did not want it to end,” Saniah Charles, another dancer on the Afro-Caribbean team stated.
“My experience at Konpa night was definitely fun and I definitely enjoyed myself and I was happy to see how Haitians celebrate their culture and I was glad that I performed with my girls and glad everyone enjoyed it,” Kennedy Clark said.
The whole point of the event was mainly to show how great Haitian culture is to everyone. “Konpa night to me at least in probably too many is a night of dancing and embracing a dance that is very popular in our culture and it means just getting out and having fun,” Giselle Dessert explained.
“This event really was for us to show people the many aspects of Haitian culture and how versatile and resilient we are as a union. Even with everything going on in Haiti we still have those beautiful moments about our culture,” Christina Anasthal added on.
Before the night ended, it was announced that there was going to be a fashion show. Everyone partnered up or got into groups with their friends, and walked all the way down the gallery while hearing everyone on the sidelines cheering them on.
“My experience was amazing, I shared so many laughs and cultural dances with everyone. I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to more of these events,” Sarah Boucher stated.
