RHYTHMS AND RESISTANCES: AN ACT OF MEMORY IN HERITAGE
Choreographic-documentary work

BOW’T TRAIL Retrospek is a two-part work for four physical bodies : one female dancer, two musicians, and one immersive display of digital projections. Rhodnie Désir used BOW’T, a piece she created in 2013, as the point of departure for this piece, which was conceived in Montreal. It is the fruit of a year long research process and joint efforts spanning the four corners of the continent.
The choreographer, driven by a desire and a need to transcend her origins, drew from the jungo (Brazil), danmyé (Martinique), Vodun dance (Haiti), son jarocho (Mexico), blues (New Orleans), and gospel paired with Mi’kmaq rhythms (Canada) to immerse herself in the African cultures and rhythms brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans.
​
Her IMPULSE : to rise up, in an innovative and authentic way, against one of the greatest crimes in human history, the slave trade.
Her QUEST : to tell the story of resistance movements with humility and thus pay tribute to the expression of her ancestors’ creative genius.
Her PROCESS : BOW’T TRAIL, a ground-breaking international and interactive documentary and choreography project, that bear the UNESCO Slave Route label.
​
Over the past four years, she recreated the original work, gradually lending it the multiple rhythmic voices – danced, sung and drummed – specific to each of the six countries she visited.

Rhodnie Désir will take the stage to present the 8th and final iteration of the work BOW’T. The performance will feature video projections illustrating her approach with the bearers of memory who inspired her, while connecting the audience with the subject matter and immersing it in multidimensional visual and sound textures.

CHOREOGRAPHY, ARTISTIC DIRECTION & VOCAL COMPOSITIONS  Rhodnie Désir
DANCER  Rhodnie Désir
MUSICIANS  Engone Endong + Jahsun
LIGHTING AND INNOVATION DESIGN  Juliette Dumaine + Jonathan Barro (1st phase of the creation)
DIGITAL DESIGN & PROGRAMMING  Manuel Chantre
COSTUME DESIGN  Mélanie Fererro
BEATMAKER & MUSIC COMPOSITION  Engone Endong
MOBILE APP DESIGN  Ingrid Ingrid
PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL DIRECTION  Rasmus Sylvest
Coproduced by RD Creations and the National Arts Center (Ottawa)

Live Performance Link: Click Here

Home Base: Quebec

Touring Schedule: Click here