Yanvalou
Drum & Dance Ensemble

Kera Washington, ‘93, is an applied ethnomusicologist whose research involves bi-musicality in Caribbean and African Diasporic arts; Haiti; identity and tourism; urban education; and bridging the gap between the resources of the academy and the “inner city.”

After co-founding Yanvalou Drum and Dance Ensemble with Professor Emeritus Professor Gerdès Fleurant in 1990, Ms. Washington returned in 1995 to serve as its Artistic Director, a position in which she continues to serve. Ms. Washington is Senior Performance Faculty in the Music Department, where she offers private lessons in African diasporic percussion, and has led, with Professor Fleurant, the Music Department’s course in applied ethnomusicology, “Experiencing Music and Dance of Haiti,” on location. In addition to her work at Wellesley, Ms. Washington is full-time Music Teacher at the Mather Elementary School in Dorchester, and through this work in the Boston Public Schools, is a META Fellow, 2018-2020. Ms. Washington has developed courses at Northeastern University, MIT, Pine Manor College, and Brown University. 

Ms. Washington is the founder, leader, and composer/arranger for the all-female, African diasporic ensemble, Zili Misik, which has won several awards, including a Boston Music Award for Outstanding International Music, and, among other honors, has been featured on NPR, on Boston’s Channel 5’s Chronicle, and in the Boston Globe. Ms. Washington appears on several recordings, including Zili Misik’s “Cross Roads” (2012), “Zee'lee Mee'seek” (2010), “New World Soul” (2008), & “zili roots” (2003); Songs in American History (Houghton Mifflin, 2000); Greatest American Short Stories (Houghton Mifflin, 2001); and Patrice Williamson’s “Free to Dream” (2002). Ms. Washington has most recently served as a Fellow of the Boston Harbor [RE]Creation Artist In Residency Program (2018), through which she produced the recording “From the Harbor, Freedom Sings,” ©2019. She was also awarded the Boston Foundation's Live Arts Boston (LAB) Grant in 2019.

As an ethnomusicologist specializing in the folk, ritual, and traditional musics of Africa and the Americas, Fleurant’s research focuses predominantly on the culture and rhythms of the Rada Rite within Haitian Vodou. Professor Emeritus at Wellesley College, he taught courses on African, Afro-American, and Caribbean musics, focussing on Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti, alongside introductory world music and fieldwork and research methods in ethnomusicology. 

Beyond academia, Fleurant’s commitment to Applied Ethnomusicology has driven practical initiatives. Together with his spouse, Florienne Saintil, they co-founded the Léocardie & Alexandre Kenscoff Cultural Center (C-CLAK) and the Gawou Ginou School (GGS) in Mirebalais, Haiti. C-CLAK serves as a community hub for celebrating Haitian culture through events like First Communions, weddings, and funerals, while GGS integrates traditional music and dance into its curriculum alongside standard education.

Fleurant’s influential research on the Rada Rite is encapsulated in his book "Dancing Spirits: Rituals and Rhythms of Haitian Vodun, the Rada Rite," shaping scholarship and influencing emerging researchers, including a Harvard Master’s Thesis. Engaged in Haiti’s socio-political sphere, Fleruant has advised the Ministry of Culture and played a pivotal role as the first Recteur of the University of the Central Plateau (UPC), expanding higher education beyond the capital. 

Additionally, Fleruant’s contributions extend internationally—he has curated drum exhibits at the British Museum, represented Haiti at the International Council for Traditional Music and Dance (ICTMD), and authored reports on Haiti’s music scene. Recently, Fleruant presented a paper on the African origins of popular music in Haiti at a colloquium celebrating the 60th anniversary of Tropicana-Haiti, underscoring his ongoing presence in both Haiti and the Diaspora to promote their culture and music.