Haitian dance group to perform

Haitian dancers and drummers known as the "Ayiti Dans Ansan'm" will perform this week at two local churches. The name translates to "My Haiti Dance Ensemble."

The group will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church, 176 Main St. and at 7 p.m. Friday at Geneva United Methodist Church, 211 Hamilton St.

Tickets will be sold at the door. The cost is $10 for adults and $3 for children younger than 12.

Proceeds will go to the dance troupe and to International Child Care, a health development organization that operates Grace Children's Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Gregory Adrien, a member of the troupe, will share his experiences as a child being treated for tuberculosis at Grace Hospital.

"It will be a quick tour but a significant one for them," said the Rev. Steve Good of Sugar Grove United Methodist Church. Good visited Haiti as a college student and later served on the board of Grace Hospital.

"The hospital has a wonderful holistic approach and the nurses read the Bible with the patients," said Good. "They are serious about their spirituality and working to break the cycle of poverty.

"Greg was living on the streets when he developed tuberculosis," Good said. "He discovered his faith when he was treated at Grace Hospital and it changed everything for him. Now he wants to give back."

The dancers will perform traditional dances to Haitian drum rhythms. The dances tell the story of Haiti's culture, history and people.

Good says the ten members of the ensemble are also performing in Ohio and Michigan.

While in Sugar Grove, they will stay with members of the church. The dancers will also perform at Kaneland High School.

Good has also planned a trip to the DuSable Museum of African-American History on Chicago's south side on the dancers' off day. The museum is named after Jean Baptist Pointe DuSable, a Haitian fur trader who was the first non-native settler in Chicago.

For information on International Child Care, visit www.intlchildcare.org.

For information on the performances, call the Sugar Grove church at (630) 466-4501 or the Geneva church at (630) 232-7120.