2008-2009
Performance Season Highlights.

The 2008-2009 season presents two new initiatives designed to coincide with and complement the opening of the new Haitian Cultural Complex:  Comedy Night and Classical Haitian Theater (Antigone) . These initiatives will round out Koukouy’s traditional Haitian cultural programs which include new and original plays, dance and visual arts performances and workshops. Because Koukouy’s cultural programs interface with Haitian dance, music and visual artists in Port-au-Prince and other provinces of Haiti as well as Haitian organizations throughout the United States and Canada, integral in the 2008-09 artistic planning process, is continuing to refine the artistic product to reflect a much more professional presentation. The planning process also takes into consideration the input of professional lighting and sound technicians, presenters, choreographers to adjust staging problems, adapt works for touring and enhance the overall professional image of the Company.

A celebration of forty three years of Haitian cultural performances and creating opportunities in which Haitian artists can define, preserve, develop and present works indigenous and relevant to Haitian tradition and heritage.  As a part of its strategic plan, Koukouy will devote additional attention to the issue of succession, in artists and administration for the organization. Like many organizations, engaging new and younger participants is essential to its longevity and survival. Therefore, a key component of the organization continues to be to bring emerging artists in as apprentices and performers of new and traditional repertoire. We are saturated with requests from schools seeking to motivate and encourage pride and self-esteem in Haitian children and families, particularly those situated in disadvantaged communities like Little Haiti, Liberty City, Richmond Heights. We will take our involvement with these programs to a new level by using these performances as recruitment opportunities for our classes and workshops.

Other programming scheduled for 2008-2009  include the creation of at least one major original work capturing Haitian history in a stage production of music, drama and dance; presentation of four performances of an original play; “Dances of Haiti” featuring the best choreographers of Haiti in a presentation of folkloric dances inspired from Haitian voodou to be presented at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex in November 2009; Haitian Heritage Month Celebration and Flag Day –at Notre Dame Church in Little Haiti in, May 18 , 2009, a community festival of children, games, book fair, exhibitions of Haitian art and cuisine and other uniquely and indigenous Haitian cultural events and activities; The first annual Discover Little Haiti Tour to replace Discover Miami of which Sosyete Koukouy is a popular community site  will take place  in September 2009 along the corridor of NE 2ndAvenue and 59th Street. This program brings visiting dignitaries, Leadership Miami, tourism delegations and professional organizations into the Mapou Cultural Center where they are exposed to a company performance and provided information and resources about Haitian culture and the community; the Literary series including book signings, and guest speakers and weekly vignettes that take place at the Mapou Cultural Center; The “Literally Creole” conference whose focus is on Creole as a language, its orthography and grammar, in February ’09 at Florida International University,(North)  and the Mapou Cultural Center; Haitian Voudou Conference with guest speaker, Haitian Vodou Priest/coordinator, Max Beauvoir, . (Student delegations from St. Leo University and other colleges and universities will participate in both conferences). Several tours of Miami-Dade Public Libraries and schools with folklorists, dancers and musicians; Caribbean Dance Celebration 2009 in partnership with Jamaica Awareness, Inc. with performances in Ft. Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Tampa, Orlando and West Palm Beach.