The identity of my work.
As a Haitian Traditionalist and Contemporary Artist, I consider Africa in everything I do.
I value the African Culture, and chose to share my Haitian perspective of it through dance and story telling. And though I travel to the continent and share the uniqueness of Haitian culture, my understanding of the Haitian identity is through an Afrocentric lens. I look at “Afrocentrism” as the basis for all cultures of the African Diaspora. Sharing its beauty and its essence is my passion.
More than one thousand different African ethnic groups from all over the continent came to Haiti. They mixed with a number of Indigenous people and a few Europeans, and fought in an epic slave revolution that birthed Haiti and its rich culture. I call it the making of the first African Union.
This history is deeply rooted in my art-making, my teaching, and my movement practice.
If you are Haitian, you are black; regardless of your skin, hair, or eye color. It is in our constitution.
In this way, Haiti has a very clear Afro-identity within the context of globalization.
To capture this cultural aspect of my personal identity as an artist, I consider my work AFRO. I share Haitian Tradition in my practice of Contemporary Dance. And though I emphasis on this cultural aspect of my work, I dance my “Afro-Dance” as my contribution for this world to be a better place; not just for black lives, but for all lives.