2024
• SYMPHONY OF HEARTS •
The company's lastest work is Symphony of hearts (SYDC), a large-scale project combining the arts of dance and music about the heart. This large-scale work features 10 performers on stage, 2 live musicians and is based on over 40 testimonials from heart patients and specialists! A work that has already been performed in 2024 in Canada and Switzerland with 3 symphony orchestras: Orchestre Métropolitain (in Montreal), Orchestre du Centre National des Arts d'Ottawa (in Ottawa) and Orchestra della Svizzera italiana (in Lugano).
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2023
• TÈ BIOSPHÈRE •
The second work of the serie TÈ. TÈ BIOSPHÈRE is displayed at the Biosphère (a Space for life museum) in Montreal, in the company of artist Kama La Mackerel. A unique experience that unfolds the multidisciplinarity of the artists.
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2022
• MWON'D •
The choreographic-documentary piece composed of 6 performers and 1 aluminium film, at the heart of the questioning of the acceleration of climate change. Premiered at the Agora de la danse, December 7-10, 2022.
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• TÈ BIC •
The new choreographic-documentary creation on the memory of the Bas-St-Laurent, in collaboration with Tom Jacques and the Théâtre du Bic. The premiere takes place on March 3 in Rimouski.
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2021
• CONVERSATIONS •
The first exhibition of Rhodnie Désir in co-creation with 4 artists : Manuel Chantre, Paul Chambers and Engone Endong, accompanied by the curator and artist Cecilia Bracmort.
Commissioned by : John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art
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• BOW'T TRAIL YOUNG LEADERS •
BOW’T TRAIL YOUNG LEADERS is the newest youth project of the BOW’T TRAIL. Through transmission, the objective is to bring autonomy through creation and to make discover the choreographic-documentary process, this methodological approach and signature of Rhodnie Désir.
For 30 days, young people are invited to complete the different stages to create their own BOW’T TRAIL. From research, to meeting specialists, to creation, young leaders are followed by the choreographer and their associate teacher to the project throughout the process of their BOW’T TRAIL. An invitation to bring creation to schools.
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The first BOW’T TRAIL YOUNG LEADERS was held with Booker High School in Sarasota, Florida from August 2021 to January 2022. A remote experiment that resulted in a dance performance of high school students at the John & Mable Ringling Museum in Sarasota.
• Credits •
Original idea from RD Créations
Supported by John & Mable Ringling Museum
Produced in collaboration with Booker High School
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• HUMA'E •
The work Huma'e was specially produced for the show Autour de minuit - un cabaret historique ! Presented by Gregory Charles at Télé-Québec on November 20th.
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Commissioned by : Gregory Charles and Télé-Québec
Productions : Télé-Québec and Productions Déferlantes
• Credits •
Choreography, voice et musical composition, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Musical composition and Beatmaker | Engone Endong
Rehearsal Director | Isabelle Poirier
Stylism | Gérardine Jeune
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• BOW'T-TIO'TIA:KE •
BOW'T-TIO'TIA:KE is the 9th version of BOW'T TRAIL. A choreographic-documentary show presented at the Festival TransAmériques 2021 in Montréal in June 2021.
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• Z’maye •
Z'maye
Knock on the door of memories.
To address the strength of the oldest stars, to guide the humans who lost the East in the night of the desert.
Dialogue of spaces.
Land and time.
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The piece Z'maye was created in collaboration with talented harpist Valérie Milot as part of the Future Stars’ Grand Premiere, for the annual benefit event presented by the Place des Arts Foundation.
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Commissioned by : Fondation de la Place des arts and Valérie Milot
• Credits •
Choreography, voice et musical composition, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Harpist | Valérie Milot
Stylism | Lolë
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2020
• BOW'T TRAIL RETROSPEK •
AN ACT OF MEMORY
The ambassador piece of the BOW’T serie BOW’T! BOW'T TRAIL RÉTROSPEK is a conversation between the present and the past, combined to the channelling body of Désir, where more than 130 testimonies collected on 7 lands of the Americas still reside.
BOW'T TRAIL RETROSPEK won two PRIX DE LA DANSE DE MONTRÉAL : GRAND PRIX and ENVOL price in 2020.
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• KOH:Min li •
“KOH: Min li”, which means in Haitian Creole “Body. Their hands./Here it is) is an artistic memorial for the dignity of those who have died of Covid-19. For the past few months, death has been named daily, but only in one way: numbers. From a human, a life, a story everything is reduced to one ... big number. These numbers pile up, as do dead bodies cremated too quickly, put in plastic bags or refrigerated in trucks. Here, the grieving process is fragmented, leaving families to the sole source of comfort: suspended time.
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This 9-minute solo work was created during the pandemic in memory of the deceased, thanks to dozens of testimonials collected from their loved ones.
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• Credits •
Choreographer and dancer | Rhodnie Désir
Musician and beatmaker | Engone Endong
Filmmaker | Alejandro de Leon
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2019
• BOW'T-NEW ORLEANS •
The song, “Call Me By My Name and… Remember Me”, was written by Spirit MCINTYRE. The artist accompanied Rhodnie throughout the creation of the work BOW'T-New Orleans. As a tribute to the ancestors, the performance of the two accomplices came to life in City Park, as many others, it is sadly known for its series of monstrous lynchings.
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Discover the entire 7th edition of the BOW’T TRAIL, the BOW’T-NEW ORLEANS stopover on the interactive website ICI.ARTV.
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Author-compositor-performer, musician and singer | Spirit Mcintyre
Find all the credits of the web-documentary on ICI.ARTV.
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2018
• BOW'T-MEXICO •
In the heart of an old market in Veracruz where dehumanized bodies were sold, the guitar of the musician Yesenia Garcia resonates. Rhodnie, on the other hand, executes movements that symbolize the act of resisting despite the adversity and consequent enslavement of colonialism. Liberation.
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Discover the entire 6th edition of the BOW’T TRAIL, the BOW’T-MEXICO stopover on the interactive website ICI.ARTV.
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Author-compositor-performer | Yesenia Garcia Leon
Find all the credits of the web-documentary on ICI.ARTV.
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• BOW'T-HALIFAX •
A poignant manifestation of both the historical and contemporary tribulations of the Black and Aboriginal peoples of Nova Scotia is brought to life through the great creative complicity between Rhodnie Désir and the musicians Owen Lee and Keigan Sack. The work BOW'T-Canada raises the voice of the voiceless and sheds light on the courage of the souls they are trying to stifle.
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Discover the entire 5th edition of the BOW’T TRAIL, the BOW’T-HALIFAX stopover on the interactive website ICI.ARTV.
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Musicians | Owen Lee & Keigan Sack
Find all the credits of the web-documentary on ICI.ARTV.
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2017
• DUSK SOCIETY •
In the piece DUSK SOCIETY, originally commissioned by Dusk Dances Festival, Désir offers a strong contemporary and documentary look at current social issues. In this universal message, the body of the choreographer becomes a graphic representation of the society’s pulse, as a way to express people’s voices and thoughts. The piece is still available in 2022.
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2016
• BOW'T-AYITI •
The strength and courage of the descendants of Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint Louverture, key figures of Haiti’s independence, are inexhaustible. Even tired, the people remain standing. Kebyesou’s drums and the body of Rhodnie try to embody this new revolution that was so hoped for.
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Discover the entire 4th edition of the BOW’T TRAIL, the BOW’T-AYITI stopover on the interactive website ICI.ARTV.
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Musician | Jean Mary « KEBYESOU » Louissaint
Find all credits of the web-documentary on ICI.ARTV.
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• BOW'T-BRASIL •
After twenty days of creation, the stay in Brazilian soil of Rhodnie Désir culminates in the performance of BOW’T-Brasil at the Valongo quay. This work is both an echo of the uprising of the African peoples deported to this country of South America and a wind of hope and social justice, as cherished by their descendants.
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Discover the entire 3rd edition of the BOW’T TRAIL, the BOW’T-BRASIL stopover on the interactive website ICI.ARTV.
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Musician, singer et researcher of Afro-Brazilian culture | Carlos Negreiros
Percussionist, multi-instrumentalist and composer carioca | Jovi Joviniano
Saxophonist and singer-songwriter | Glaucus Lyns
Find all credits of the web-documentary on ICI.ARTV.
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2015
• BOW'T-MARTINIK •
This work is part of the great BOW’T TRAIL project and was the first in a series of 40. For this work, the choreographer collaborated with the tambouyé (drummer) Alain Pinel-Féréol, over a period of 3 weeks.
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The second work of the BOWT TRAIL. The first two weeks took place at the Maison Rouge-Maison des Arts (research and studio creation) and the last stage took place at the Domaine de Fonds Saint-Jacques (technical residence - lighting and sound).
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Tambourine player | Alain Pinel-Féréol
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• D2US’T •
What do we have to walk and clean from our memories? What do we carry?
This choreographic study, D2US'T, was born from a desire to deepen and apply the LOKETO principle transmitted within the Nyata Nyata Dance Company’s development program. Marking the first solo created for another performer than herself, Rhodnie Désir articulates her gesture with a professional dancer.
• Credits •
Choreography, singing and musical arrangements | Rhodnie Désir
Interpreter | Natalia Sirdey
Musical excerpt | MUSE, The 2nd Law: Isolated System
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2013
• BOW'T •
"Resistance allows you to be born. Resistance is a necessity of society, and a necessity not to sink, to live!" - Rhodnie Désir
For Désir, the etymology of the word BOW'T (boat) is inspired by the word "bow" which means in Creole "give" and in English "bow, thank, bow of a ship". With force and as a cry of freedom, Rhodnie Désir approaches the subject and the psychic impact associated with migration and deportation. From History, she draws a bridge with current events by embodying this movement that marks the foundation of today’s world. On stage, three wooden benches, suspended boats and a percussionist accompany this soloist, in order to evolve the space in a candid and narrative way. A work that capsizes and carries the intensity of thousands of peoples who continue to anchor towards the land of the unknown...
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Discover the very first work BOW’T. This piece marks the premise of the history of the BOWT TRAIL and all the works known today.
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Musician-tambourine player | Ronald Nazaire
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• AYEWA •
AYEwa is an onomatopoeia pronounced by the migrant being who seeks to find his inner strength within the benchmarks of routine belonging to his past. It is also a thanks from the spiritual guides who accompany him throughout this repetitive whirlwind. Through contemporary dance and singing, Rhodnie Désir focuses on the gestures and emotions that arise from the perpetual and circular movement that pushes her to a quest for references. Her voice seems, at certain moments, to give birth to herself with force, like an impulsive but reasoned language.
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FIRST SCREENING at the Hydro-Québec Studio of the Monument-National as part of the Hybridité and Émergence evenings of the 2013 Quartier Danse Festival (Montréal).
• Credits •
Choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Music | Rhodnie Désir (voice, composition and arrangements), Excerpts from the album Pygmies in The Congo (2009), JFL’s Psycho House (Jean-François-Lemieux)
Artistic advisor: Zab Maboungou
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2012
• VÍ [REC] •
«By immobilizing oneself, one creates a powerful wave; one succeeds in better perceiving the greatness of the movement that the other tries to share with us, like a vibration on the sea.» - Rhodnie Désir
With VÍ[REC], Désir bares all and exposes the juncture between present and past lives. Like a countdown, the messengers will lend themselves to the ritual of life in seven sacred steps. A meditation on the mysterious and erratic flow of breath, and on where it breaches the limits of balance and leaves its mark on the body. An emerging artist of Haitian descent, Désir draws upon collective strength and memory - particularly those of her African ancestors while allowing for cultural cross-fertilization. Contemporary African dance, the vehicle of breath itself, merges with audio visual projections by Ian Cameron. Accompanied by a percussionist — Joannie Labelle —, a singer who uses an invented language — Ramon Cespedes — and a juggler — Kyle Driggs, the artist brings into focus the constant presence of one’s own breath.
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Ascen/danses – Throughout Black History Month, six organizations - Agora de la danse, Circuit-Est, the MAI, Studio 303, Tangente and Nyata-Nyata – will celebrate contemporary creation from artists of the African Diaspora.
Rhodnie Désir, through the MAI’s mentorship program, has benefited from financial support from the Ministère de la Culture, Communications, et Condition féminine du Québec and the Ville de Montréal under the agreement on the cultural development of Montreal 2010–2012. The artist wishes to thank the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec for its financial support under the Vivacité Montréal program.
• Credits •
Artistic director, choreography, interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Perfomers | Ramon Cespedes, Rhodnie Désir, Kyle Driggs, Joanie Labelle
Videos projections | Ian Cameron
Lighting design and technical director | Caroline Nadeau
Costumes designer | Isabelle Boudreau
Sound engineer | Jean-François Gagnon
Artistic advisors | Arianna Bardesono and Zab Maboungou
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2011
• É'TA •
E'TA is the expression of a woman through the women of her past; of her mother and her grandmother. They have both chosen words to assert themselves and thus continue to use it.
E'TA is the Protestant Haitian grandmother, the pastor’s wife who dedicated herself to the church and the word of God. Who has read and reread the words of the Bible every day and who continues to preach only with these words, even when she has lost her sight. Even living in this vice of Alzheimer’s where words are sometimes more evil than anything else. E'TA is the woman of today, descended from this branch of the family tree, who chose the words of silence to BE. She is the one who chatters with silence through her body and breath.
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Premiere in 2011 in Montreal, intercultural arts as part of the Eclectik11 event.
• Credits •
Choreography, texts and interpretation | Rhodnie Désir
Musician | Boom Jacak
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2009
• Ví •
SEVEN MIRRORS OF LIFE.
SOUL
The multidisciplinary show Ví places before you the mirror of what life represents for everyone in a given space-time. Designed around the number seven and the symbols associated with it, these seven arts appear to illustrate a stage of life. Photography, dance, illustration, theatre, singing, music, percussion and cinema share the same space in order to be messengers that will pay homage. Yes, a tribute and a sharing of what enriches us all at different levels: life.
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Premiere in 2009 at the Centre Culturel Calixa-Lavallée.
This self-production was made possible thanks to the financial support and contribution of DÊZAM, Multi-services Soleil, Notaire Bois, Audiogram, Photo Service, Uniprix, La Fondation du Maire de Montréal, De Serres, Kolt Productions and Illustration Québec.
• Credits •
Choreography and Direction | Rhodnie Désir
Interpreters | Sounia Balha, Rhodnie Désir, Kattam, Jean-Philippe Loignon, Mélissa Lavergne, Bruce Roberts
Costume designer | Mélanie Fererro and Caroline Boivert
Lighting designer | Marie-Émilie Gagné
Production and technical director | Émilie-Julie Dumontier
Hair and makeup design | Émilie Tremblay-Lévesque
Dressmaker: Barbara Cerbo
Photographic creation | Vista Photo and Aleski
Video editing | Marc-André Gauthier (assisted by Lorraine Brassard)