has served as music advisor, dancer and musician for the Phyllis Rose Dance Company since 1991. He has also served as faculty at the The School at Jacob’s Pillow. In 1999 Roderick was the understudy for the lead percussionist role in the Broadway musical Marie Christine, starring Audra McDonald. Roderick has been the Music Director of  Batoto Yetu since 1992.

He is the co-founder and musical director of the percussion-centered recording group Palms Down Inc, and is a founding member and musical director of the acclaimed Asase Yaa Dance Company.   Ayanda's recording credits include collaborations with master musicians Abraham K. Adzenyah of Ghana, and Mbemba Bangoura of Guinea, as well as two CDs under the Palms Down banner. He has performed on such television programs as Good Morning America, Good Day New York, Sesame Street, and David Letterman, where he worked with pop artist Jewell.

dancer for Ballet International Africans (NY) and the New Works World Traditions Dance Company (RI). Jackson was the co-director of the Fusion Dance Company in Rhode Island from 1996-2000. As a dance instructor he has worked extensively with grade schools in New York and Connecticut. Jackson graduated with Honors in May of 2000 from Brown University, where he took opportunities to train with National Ballet du Mali in West Africa

past 17 years, Mr. Leitão has worked extensively as a choreographer.  He staged “Sing on Ms. Griot” for the National Black Theater and choreographed for Jacques D’Amboise’s National Dance Institute, Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary with Whitney Houston, Usher, and Mya. He has collaborated with Harry Belafonte, Roberta Flack, Patti Austin, Sónia Braga, Ali MacGraw, among others.  He has also created original pieces for “Sesame Street” including  “The Dance Bridges” (an Emmy Award winner). In 2002, he was featured dancing with Elmo for Elmo’s Christmas Special.  He also choreographed “Celebration of Storytelling” for PBS, a Rabbit Ears Production hosted by Danny Glover, and was a choreographer for “Beloved” (1998), a Jonathan Demme and Oprah Winfrey production of Toni Morrison’s Nobel Prize-winnng novel.  In 1990, Mr. Leitão founded Batoto Yetu in a Harlem playground; within one month, donning self-made costumes, the group performed on Staff Day at the United Nations, receiving a standing ovation.  Since then, Batoto Yetu’s outstanding accomplishments and its alliances with sister programs in Brazil and Portugal have brought the children of three continents together at national and international venues.  In addition to his work with Batoto Yetu, Mr. Leitão has worked with children at schools and community workshops in New York (including The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Saint Anne’s, The Day School, the Dalton School, and an ongoing residency at P.S. 180) and around the country.

Mr. Leitão has worked internationally, holding children’s workshops in Brazil, Portugal, and Angola. In 2000 and 2003, he directed the Cultural Traditions program at Jacob’s Pillow.  Mr. Leitão was part of the Youth Planning Committee for New York State under Governor Mario Cuomo, and he was one of the US representatives for Rehabilitation International at their  tenth Asia Pacific Conference. He has served as a panelist for New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Mr. Leitão currently serves as an advisor to Sesame Street and is a 2001 recipient of a “Sun Days” award from that program.  He is a recipient of a 2001 Samuel and May Rudin Community Service Award from NYU’s Wagner Graduate School for Public Service for his contribution to the arts in New York City, and a 2003 Children’s Champion Award from Child Magazine for his commitment to the children of New York City. Mr. Leitão co-authored African Dance: Drumbeat in Our Feet with Patricia Keeler, published by Lee & Low Books in September 2004 and 2006. Most recently, Mr. Leitão produced performances for BP’s First Oil Celebration in Luanda and London.