koute

Thursday, March 20

Midnight, Peniel’s birthday, we sing him a song of celebration

Happy Birthday Peniel

Peniel’s birthday, with a full agenda for the day…at least he’ll get to relax at night with some cake, rum and RAM.

After breakfast at the hotel we load on to the bus and head for Mortrouis, Haiti for a day at the beach, Moulin Sur Mer. The sound of the sea, the warmth of the sun, full relaxation.

ahhhhhhh

Then back on the bus to ENARTS. Oneza led yet another song to carry us to the next stop.

song

Birthday boy, Peniel, taught an amazing class(the LAST class at ENARTS!)There was a celebration of birthday singing with the entire class and drummers. I was recording while dancing but bumped into one of my dancing friends, down falls the recorder, and deleted the track was, at least everything else was saved.

And lastly, an evening with RAM. Selena and I busted our way through the crowd and had a dancing good time.

RAM

Pictures to come...

I picked up the prints for the 1 roll of film and one roll of a disposable camera film that I shot in Haiti. Being that I thought I had 5 more rolls of film to shoot, I took my sweet photographer time composing shots of my first impression of Haiti, the Hotel Oloffson…not knowing what more I would not be able to capture.

Check back for posted images.

Wednesday, March 19

On the bus to start our day touring the city and museum visits.

bus ride

We stopped at a Theological/Voudou museum. Oneza explains the preservation.

concept

Back to ENARTS where we took an amazing dance class with Florencia, a drum class with Samba Zao and a suprise dance class with yet again, Peniel, he worked us!

Oneza translates as Samba animately speaks creole, where you think you understand him just by his body language and excitement. He explained the written language of reading the rhythms… I want to learn more. It was a complex subject for such a short amount of time.

samba teaches

the sounds of ENARTS

After 5 hours of dancing, a cold beer was well deserved.

sweet Bev

Tuesday, March 18

While staying at the Oloffson I would wake up and step out onto our balcony, stretch in the sun, sit on a rocking chair and take in the many sounds surrounding me.

The sun was my only indication that morning was here, as I had no watch, cell phone or any source for telling time.

bonjou

The day continued with many hours of dancing at ENARTS. I must have been so consumed by the dancing that I only recorded 6 seconds! A quick dose of rhythm.

We took two dance classes. One with Fritz Jolicoeur, the other with Peniel.

wish i had more

First sounds of Haiti... Day 1. Monday, March 17th

Here is the first posting of sounds from Haiti. Each link will bring you to a separate page, you are then able to download the MP3s for yourself. There are many artists involved in these recordings, all respect to them.

Hope you like.

Upon arrival at Port-au-Prince airport, first sounds of Ayiti
hear here

First dance class at ENARTS with Ramses Filius, the room was filled with drums, singing and energy so high it could lift you.
feel hear

Lecture/Workshop on Songs of Struggle with Oneza Lafontant
listen hear

listen hear 2

listen hear 3

Closing our first full day in Haiti with a Live Traditional Troubador Band at the Hotel Oloffson
song 1

song 2

Brief summary of my trip

I traveled in Haiti for a total of 13 days.

The first five days I traveled with one of my dance teachers, Peniel Guerrier, and his organized group of about 15 individuals. We stayed at the Hotel Oloffson and danced and took drum classes everyday at ENARTS with many different teachers. We also visited a museum, the beach, an art gallery, Leogane, Fort Jacque, saw RAM perform at the Olaffson, etc. Peniel’s sister made us authentic Haitian food each evening for dinner which was absolutely delicious.

Many friends were made on the first half of my trip, which then carried over into the second half of the trip. Selena, Carine, Dominique and Hughes:

After Peniel’s trip was over I continued my adventures with a friend I met on Peniel’s trip, Selena. She decided to change her flight to a later date and became my travel partner for the next 8 days. We also made friends with Carine and Dominique, two dancers of Peniel’s Haitian Folkloric group in Haiti. Carine lives in Petion-ville and took us into her home along our travels, just like family. Many thanks to her.

We also made friends with Hugues, a cousin of Oneza (a friend who came along on Peniel’s trip, a Haitian who “lives in the US physically” (as he would put it, makes sense…) Hughes lives in Haiti and became our friend and travel guide.

The next 8 days consisted of a visit to Cite Soleil, a disco in Petion-ville, home-cooked meals at Carine’s, dancing and yoga at BFH, Souvenance (where I met with 2 American friends Ann and Isa), dancing with Vivian Gauthier at her home, met with Rea whom started Woman’s Organization in Haiti, visited a local hospital, RAM again, etc.

It feels odd to list all these things in one sentence as each experience is a very different experience from the other. But that’s part of the beauty of Ayiti.

Ayiti, the first trip of what will be many

Here I will post documentations of my first trip to Haiti. I have been studying Haitian Folkloric dance for about 4 years now and finally I had the chance to visit the country from which these movements, drums, songs and culture have originated.

To lighten my load, I decided to only bring one camera, a hand-me-down 35mm Pentax K1000, my mother’s as a young adult. I took a roll and a half of film then WHAM it stopped working. Instantly I fumbled to open the battery compartment, out falls the battery and on it reads, “EXPIRES 1976” WOW. So alas, I guess I was to experience this trip through my eyes only and not behind the lense…so in turn, I decided that it meant that this is one reason to come back.

Luckily I also brought a sound recorder, which did not fail me. I will bring you thru my trip thru sound… and some pictures.

enjoy.