Cliford & Gaëlle

Since 2011, they have successfully promoted Haitian ballroom dance, Compas or Konpa (in Creole).

• At the beginning of the school year in September 2011, konpa was on the schedule of classes at their dance academy, Salsabor Paris;

• In 2013, they crossed over to Florida, where they also launched the “Konpa Artistic Dance” movement;

• In 2014, they introduced konpa dance to Florida International University (FIU North) and the initiative would soon find echo in other universities such as FAU, UM, FIU South as well as in Tallahassee, Orlando, Gainesville ;

• July 2014, they were able to give visibility to konpa dance during the 14th edition of the Miami Salsa Festival, where they gave a class followed by a demonstration;

• In the same dynamic, they have multiplied publications on the subject:

  • “Will Konpa one day be Haitian Zouk? » published on March 16, 2015,

  • “Is Konpa in itself an easy music? » published on August 16, 2015,

  • “Plea for a national Konpa day” published on March 28, 2015,

  • “Le Konpa, 62 years old and only one leg” published on July 8, 2018;

• They also “canvassed” concert organizers and musicians, to offer them space for dance during live performances. This is how they were able to accompany and collaborate on stage with groups such as Carimi (at FIU fest), Alan Cave (at the Little Haiti Cultural Center), Tabou Combo (Miami Compas Fest, Haitian Compas Fest Martinique), Orchester Tropicana (birthday TV Kiskeya Haiti) ...​

• 2014 and 2015, organization of the “Caribbean & Latin Dance Party”, once a month, in collaboration with the Gold Choice ballroom in Florida, which offered a tasty mix of konpa music from different eras and Latin rhythms, for an audience of all ages. also plural, all communities combined, some of which were just getting acquainted with konpa;

• Their artistic approach to konpa dance caught the attention, on the web, of a researcher from King's College London, Professor Ananya Jahanara Kabir who was then leading the research project “Modern Moves: Kinetic Transnationalism and Afro-Diasporic Rhythm Cultures1 » (June 2013 - May 2018), funded by a grant from the European Research Council. She thought it appropriate to invite them to London for a dance conference on konpa, as part of a tribute to Katherine Dunham.

• 2016, they co-founded the Ayitidans association in Haiti, with Aly Acacia.

• At the end of July 2016, through Ayitidans, they organized the 1st International Konpa Dance Festival in Haiti at the Royal Decameron beach resort. This achievement benefited from the artistic collaboration of the Ballet Folklorique d'Haïti, directed by Nicole Lumarque, and that of the troupe of Decameron dancers, to whom they offered one of their meringue and konpa choreographies, “Haïti Chérie” and their dancer friends Kenson Fontilus alias Nico, Levenson Jean-Louis alias Kedo, as well as Sony Laventure from KOTR, who had traveled with his partner from Florida. The hotel, which had recently opened its doors, was full for the first time that weekend. For three days, festival-goers were able to enjoy konpa, meringue and Haitian folklore dance classes during the day and in the evening local color shows around these same dances, followed by a live dance evening with the groups Ju Kann, Djakout #1 and Boulpik Twoubadou;

• They created their dance company in Haiti, the Ballet Ayitidans, which honored konpa dance and carried the colors of Haiti high at the “Haitian Compas festival” in Martinique in November 2018, as well as at the edition of Carifesta which took place in Trinidad in August 2019. Two important performances, made possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture of Haiti;

• From July 2019 to December 2020, they organize with Ayitidans, the first edition of the “Konpa Danse Challenge” (KDC), the national konpa dance competition, the first of its kind, in collaboration with the production Dream Master w.i. and in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Haiti and the National Credit Bank. KDC featured 82 dancers from all over Haiti and was broadcast in 10 broadcasts by several television stations and on social networks in Haiti and abroad. KDC met with great success with the public, confirmed by the opinion poll carried out the day after the national final. To the question: “What do you think the KDC brings to the country?” ", the majority responded "a beautiful image for Haiti" and "an initiative that can help Haitians learn to be proud of their culture."

• In the same year, as active members of the Association for Haitian Music and Dance (AMDH), they successfully contributed to the advocacy for the registration of konpa/Compas in the register of national intangible cultural heritage and actively took part in the preparation of the file submitted to UNESCO on March 2, 2024 for the inscription of the Compas/Konpa on the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of Humanity.

• 2021, release of the Book and Videos box set "All about Compas/Konpa dance" which made the front page of the newspaper "Le Nouvelliste" on the occasion of the P-au-P book fair, "Books en madness"

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