Jean-Jacques was born the last child of a magical mother and a powerful painter. His first years in Haiti were filled with color, kite flying, shoeless footraces, sugarcane, nightly serenades to the moon, storytelling and untold hours painting in his father’s studio. He continued the wide-eyed wonder and creativity of his ever-growing childhood shifted to the northeast USA.
He has spent lifetimes pursuing beauty, early in this current one, through visual forms (painting, drawing, collage, printmaking, small bits of digital design and book making), and most recently through breath, body and presence.
He began his deep dive into yoga 9 years ago, digging roots into Vinyasa flow and Ashtanga. During this beautiful journey, he came across Acroyoga, an incredible blend of love, laughter, and beauty. He is also engaged in creative community work around alternatives to violence founded in art, yoga, self-awareness, communication, and love with city youth, prisoners and other members of some of our most disenfranchised communities.
The work inside correctional facilities includes helping to facilitate a mentoring program, leading a class at the women’s pre-release institution, helping the women prisoners deal with conflict and stress through drama, yoga and meditation, communication skills, and conflict resolution tools.
