Osayande launches “Making a Homeplace” video series
Jeannine Osayande on her newly commissioned work titled, “Making a Homeplace: Stories From The Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore.”
Osayande’s oral history video series highlights the multi-generational stories of a Black neighborhood in Swarthmore, Pa. This series was commissioned by People’s Light in Malvern, Pa.
Jeannine Osayande has been a guest artist and lecturer with the theater and dance department at Ursinus College since 2013.
Jeannine Osayande Biography:
Jeannine Osayande is an anthropologist and master teaching artist/choreographer of Diasporic West African dance traditions. She is founder/director of Dunya Performing Arts Company and a YANJEP teaching artist. Ms. Jeannine’s vision is to radiate joy and seek out collaborative experiences that manifest beauty; her mission is to add value to her environment and community through arts, culture and social change. Vision/Mission at work: Ursinus College Guest Artist/Lecturer in Performance (2013-current), Co-curated Philadelphia Folklore Project’s Honoring Ancestors Exhibit (2014), Keeper of the Culture Honoree, Ngoma Drum Tribute Committee Phila, PA (2017), Commissioned choreographer Peoples Light, Nina Simone: Four Women (2019), Master Teaching artist 39 years’ experience (1980-current). Ms. Jeannine apprenticed with De Ama Battle, ABDM, Boston, MA; Mentors include: Ibrahima Camara, Koumpo/Sahal, Senegal; and Prof. F. Nii Yartey, Noyam African Dance Institute, Ghana. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Temple University; a Certificate in Traditional and Contemporary African Dance from Noyam African Dance Institute; the Ghana Board of Education; and A Teaching Artist Professional Certification from Columbia University Teacher’s College. Ms. Jeannine served on The Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation (2013-2018), and is co-chair of The Philadelphia Folklore Project’s Board of Directors.