October 20, 2012. 8:00 p.m.
Compagnie de Danse Jean-René Delsoin, Haiti’s acclaimed dance company under the direction of Jean René Delsoin, performs choreography that captures Haiti now-raw and refined, spiritual and powerful. Traveling from Haiti as part of Center Stage, a U.S. State Department program, the Company will perform a one-evening public engagement at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center on Saturday, October 20 at 8:00 p.m. The Company will be in Miami in advance of the show to conduct a free community outreach and open dance classes for the public on Thursday, October 18, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, and on Saturday, October 20, from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center.
Compagnie de Danse Jean-René Delsoin, like its founder and mastermind moves through the many worlds that intersect in Haiti: the rough-edged and vivacious rural dances and ceremonies, the refined social dance of the cities, and the vivid yet stark lines of contemporary global dance. Bold swaths of color alternate with somber, focused intensity. The earthy, expressive voices of traditional drums and other music interweave with the precise grace of classical ballet. Modern dance aesthetics and a deep love of popular moves meet beats that migrated from West Africa to Haiti: They all come together effortlessly in bold, emotionally resonant moments that will open doors to a better, more nuanced interaction and understanding between Americans and Haitians, between the artists and their American viewers and counterparts.
“Dance is my prayer,” Delsoin explains. “I want everyone in the audience to be touched by the colors and the rhythms, and to feel the energy and spirit of the Company. I can’t imagine a more powerful way to promote understanding between us.”
Impeccable performers and evocative artists, the company of four dancers and three musicians has cultivated a distinctively nuanced, sophisticated view of Haitian culture and movement traditions, drawing on ballet and modern dance techniques in dialogue with Haiti’s plethora of traditional rhythms and sounds.
Tickets for the show are $25 – $10 ($5 tickets available through cultureshockmiami.com for ages 13-22). To RSVP for the free community dance classes at Little Haiti Cultural Center and SMDCAC the public should contact Carla Hill, 786.573.5319 or [email protected].
South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center
10950 SW 211th Street
Cutler Bay
786.573.5300
www.smdcac.org
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