Photograph : Liliana Reyes at the Dance Collection Danse, Hall of fame - 2022
“The stage: a land of memories where energies and ideas circulate, which we can retrace like an archeologist of gestures” | Rhodnie Désir
Rhodnie Désir has created over twenty choreographic works. Her flagship piece BOW'T TRAIL Retrospek and her pioneering memoir journey BOW 'T TRAIL have earned her two awards from the Prix de la danse de Montréal (2020): The Prix Envol and the highly coveted Grand Prix de la danse.
Rhodnie Désir's documentary and Afro-contemporary choreographic signature is rooted in African and Afro-descendant rhythmic languages from places like her homeland (Haiti), as well as in rest of the Caribbean, in Central and Sub-Saharan Africa. A performer of remarkable power and uncompromising integrity, she surprises by her great connectivity to humanity. Her unique approach, her words, her performances and her civic actions have brought her strong international recognition and have made her a guest speaker at numerous organizations and universities, as well as at the UNESCO, among others.
"Each of my works is created and designed as a way to transmit, awaken, unveil and encounter live, past and present memories of the world. This occurs through cultural mediation, particularly with young people, and by recreating works based on the convergence of ancestral rhythms (drums and voice)." | RD
Rhodnie Désir graduated in communications and marketing from the Université de Montréal and from HEC Montréal. An entrepreneur at heart, she has led the Dêzam organization, which she created in 2008, for 10 years. Through it, she set up more than 2,500 youth cultural actions. In 2017, she founded her dance company, RD Creations. In January 2021, she was chosen as one of the "25 to watch" by Dance Magazine in New York. In April 2021, she was nominated by APAP for the prestigious career award The award of merit for achievement in the performing arts 2021, alongside Yo-Yo Ma and Ronald K. Brown. In 2022, she received the “Danseuse de l’année” award at the Gala Dynastie she became the first Associate Artist of the famous Place des Arts institution in Montreal for a three-year pilot project. In the fall of 2022, she was honored by the Dance Collection Danse (DCD) Hall of Fame with the Sandra Faire Next Generation Award.
"Maybe creation is about accepting that, with every millisecond, we can endlessly re-create ourselves, to better come to terms with the world in which we exist." | RD