About Us

Mission Statement

Yewande Kelley-Johnson is a dynamic dancer, choreographer, teacher, storyteller and poet. Yewande, which means “Mother Africa Comes to Find Me”, loves weaving these skills together to express herself in various African, Caribbean and African American dance & arts traditions. She is the Artistic Director of the Iwa L’ewa Heritage Dance Ensemble, a multi-disciplined performing ensemble, a member of the music and spoken word ensemble, Songhai Djeli, a former member of Maimouna Keita School of African Dance, Sabar Ak Ru Afriq and P.A.K.A. (Passing Ancestral Knowledge Along).  As a five time and current recipient of the New Jersey Council of the Arts’ Folk Arts Grant, Yewande has been designated a master teacher of traditional West African dance and through this grant is learning Orisha dance and song with Iyalorisha Amma McKen. She is also a recipient of the Mid Atlantic Artist as Catalyst grant and the Washington D.C. Folger’s Library Poetry award.

Yewande sees her work as a djeli; which means “the keeper of culture and history”, through music, dance, song and spoken word. Currently, Yewande conducts ongoing dance workshops in Montclair and and Plainfield, NJ. Drawing from traditional Yoruba teachings, she strives to reach for what she loves to do in life, a vital lesson of Olodumare (God in Yoruba tradition). Originally, Yewande had no intention to be active in the arts, especially for a living. She has a B.A. in Radio, TV and Film with a minor in Journalism from the University of Maryland. She has held several jobs working in television, radio and print and even managed a medical dental bookstore. However, she believes that Olodumare made working these jobs impossible for her. Through many unpleasant zigzag experiences, she has come to a place in her life where she feels blessed to witness children and adults learning how to move in new way and to see them grow in confidence in expressing themselves through a dance or story experience.”

Yewande is an Olorisha omo Obatala, a co-founder of the HANDS Rites of Passage for young girls, a former staff writer for Attitudes: The Dancer’s Monthly and author of the children’s book Let’s Celebrate Kwanzaa. She is an active teaching artist and regularly goes into the schools for Iwa L’ewa, NJPAC, Arts Horizons and other arts organizations.

Yewande Kelley-Johnson feels blessed to work and collaborate with many talented artists in music, visual arts, poetry and, of course, dance. Since 1993, Yewande has conducted the Affirming the Afrikan Woman In You workshops. She designed these workshops to be a wholistic way of affirming the physical and spiritual needs of African American women. She continues to pursue her interest in West African drumming, in learning dances that honor African gods and goddesses and in working with master teacher Clyde Wilder on the African American traditional dance known as the Lindy Hop.