Rhodnie Désir

Rhodnie Désir has created about fifteen choreographic works, among them, her flagship piece BOW'T TRAIL Rétrospek and her pioneering memoir journey BOW'T TRAIL, which have earned her two awards from the Prix de la danse de Montréal (2020): Prix Envol and the highly coveted Grand Prix de la danse.

Rhodnie Désir's signature documentary and Afro-contemporary choreography 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 continually surprises with 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 her works is created and designed as a way to transmit, awaken, unveil and encounter live, past and present memories of the world. This process occurs through cultural mediation, particularly with young people, and by recreating works based on the convergence of ancestral rhythms.

An entrepreneur at heart, she has led the Dêzam organization, which she created in 2008, for 10 years. Through it, she was able to present more than 2,500 cultural actions for youths. In 2017, she founded her dance company, RD Creations. In 2021, she was chosen as one of the 25 to watch by Dance Magazine in New York. In 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 Dancer of the Year award at the Gala Dynastie she became the first Associate Artist of Montreal's Place des Arts. Also in 2022, she was honored by the Dance Collection Danse (DCD) Hall of Fame with the Sandra Faire Next Generation Award.