Jean-René Delsoin's Dance company was magical.  The energy, the talent, the drive.

And to see them in such a wonderful setting.  Small stage built outside on the back of Jean's house/dance studio.  Audience of 60, maybe 70.  The sun has set, and the sounds of the city can be heard in the back ground.  One can feel Port-au-Prince around them, but one is safe in this little dance haven, watching incredible dancers perform to live drumming and a score by Daniel Bernard Roumain.  The smells of cooking, of a city that has seen better days are present, but so are the smells of the performance, dancers stepping in and out of buckets of red, could be blood, could be  something else, then dancing on a white paper laid across the entire stage. Powerful, poignant, and all the more real in such a real setting.

The folks that were there seemed so happy to be able to be transported, while still reflecting on their lives, their history, and their future.  Transported in a way that good art can truly do.

Front photo: Jonathan Secor. Photo by Rebecca Blunk.
Right photo: drummers with Cie. De Danse Jean-René Delsoin.  Photo by Rebecca Blunk.