Haitian Beatz

One aspect that we often tend to ignore about our rich Haitian culture is the traditional dance of Haiti. But one person that has not ignored this aspect of our culture is Haitian traditional dance instructor, choreographer and performer, Nadia Dieudonné.               

Nadia Dieudonné is a talented choreographer, dancer and teacher who began dancing at an early age. By the age of 12 Nadia was performing with well known Haitian folk singer and activist Mrs. Myriam Dorismé.  Nadia’s innate talent as an Afro-Haitian dancer grew stronger in 1990, as she began to travel back to her homeland to research and study the origins, purposes of Haitian dance and its connections to Africa.  Today, after more than 15 years of dancing and performing, Nadia is known as the best Banda dancer outside of Haiti. Her expertise comes out of her diligent study of the folkloric heritage of Haitian dance.  She honed her skills by attending several Lakous (communities that preserve and practice specific Vodou ceremonies) in the countryside and dance schools in Port-au-Prince.   She also has been guided under the tutelage of the renowned school of Haitian dancer Viviane Gauthier along with independent study with various esteemed folkloric dancers and dance companies.

As part of her commitment to preserve her culture, Nadia founded in 1994, Nadia Dieudonné & Feet of Rhythm, an Afro-Haitian dance company where she creates, develops and fuses the traditional Vodou dances with her unique contemporary style. The group has personified Haitian pride by performing at cultural events worldwide including the Wasshoi International Dance & Music festival in Saki, Japan; Brooklyn Museum of Art; several cultural festivals in Canada, Downtown Dance Festival in Battery Park; Summer stage-Central, Prospect Bark-Band shell, Bryant Park, The African Heritage Guggenheim Festival, The Dance Theater Workshop/NYC, Schomburg, Lincoln Center-Out of Doors and Jacobs Pillow.

Nadia has been a teaching artist since 1995, were she has taught youths within the public schools, community based organizations, and daycare centers throughout the Tri state.  Nadia has conducted adult master classes at many prestigious institutions such as City College-San Francisco, State University-San Francisco, Lincoln Center-NYC,  Jacobs Pillow (assistant to Jean Leon Destiné)-Boston, Lincoln Center Mid Summer Night Swing- NYC, The Katherine Dunham Dance Institute-NYC and Alvin Ailey NYC(substitute dance instructor). Presently she pursues her M.A in Dance Education at New York University.