Jayson Shawn Paul

Jayson Shawn Paul grew up in New York City within a Black and Hispanic community full of music and dance. Dancing was the norm at block parties and family events. As a child, Jayson would learn new dance steps to share with his Aunt Janet whenever she visited. As an adult, he studied many dance styles, including Hip-Hop, Modern, Haitian Folkloric, Georgian, and dances from Africa and Latin America. As a teacher, Jayson has seen many books and characters related to ballet, but very few books about dances from Africa or the diaspora. So he decided to write a story that reminded him of growing up in an environment where music and dance were his connections to the world. We hope you enjoy reading the story about Jembé as much as Jayson’s inner child enjoyed telling it.