Accompanied by dancers, vocalists, and celebrated musicians, the company brings to the stage a broad spectrum of diverse Haitian dance forms, from vibrant rituals of Vodou, the turbulent legacy of political struggle, to the celebratory and festive dances of Carnival, Rara Tou Limen is at the cutting edge of the evolution of Haitian dance and music in the Bay Area. The use of traditional rhythms, chants, and movement integrates Haitian folkloric dance’s grace, strength, fluidity, and precision.
Established in 2004 by Artistic Director Portsha Jefferson, Rara Tou Limen has continually offered Bay Area residents, as well as people from all over the United States, the opportunity to experience Haitian music, dance, and culture through classes, workshops, performances, and educational events in both the United States and in Haiti. Our objective is to help nurture and grow Haitian dance and musical traditions in the Bay Area. The company is committed to showcasing the best of folkloric dance and music, which carries into it the stories, struggles, and spirit of the first free Black Republic in the world. Rara Tou Limen continues to uplift a country whose culture has increasingly sustained the Bay Area’s artistic community and beyond.
Our mission is to educate audiences about the richness of Haitian culture through artistic expression while building and enhancing working relationships with other Haitian cultural groups in the U.S. and Haiti. The company is carrying on the long legacy of creating strength and solidarity within the Haitian community while actively raising awareness (and funds) for Haitian organizations.
Portsha Jefferson is the founder and artistic director of Rara Tou Limen, an arts organization promoting Haitian culture for the past six years. RTL has continually offered participants the opportunity to experience Haitian music, dance, and culture through classes, workshops, performances, and educational events in the United States and Haiti. Portsha has taught creative movement and Haitian Folkloric dance in schools, universities, community centers, and dance studios for eleven years.
A passionate believer in education and youth development, she has worked for several youth organizations, including The Young Performers Theater, The San Francisco Arts Education Project, Westlake School of the Arts, Opera Picolla, DanceVersity, and Swivel Arts. Portsha’s dedication and exploration of Haitian culture have brought her to Haiti, where she has traveled throughout the country to research regional dance, rhythms, and musical traditions.
Portsha is an artist in residence for Oakland, Berkeley, and SF Unified School District. In addition, she is a faculty instructor at East Bay Dance Center and the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts. She also serves as a Cultural Arts Specialist with Oakland Parks and Recreation.
Daniel Brevil’s family background led him to become a drummer. A respected community activist, houngan (Vodou priest), and an accomplished drummer, Daniel Brevil’s father were one of his first teachers and the source of knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration he received throughout his life. While a young boy, Daniel would accompany his father to Vodou temples in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where he was in high demand for performing all-night rituals at the Vodou temples.
As a student, Daniel has gained a deep understanding of Vodou, a religion that is prevalent in Haiti. As a student at Ecole Nationale des Arts, Haiti’s premiere art school, he also discovered drumming, dancing, and singing while studying there. As the former Artistic Director of Artcho/Ayikodans Company and Tamboula, two of Haiti’s premier folkloric dance troupes, he has a wealth of experience in the field of dance. In addition to performing with Rara Tou Limen Haitian Dance Company, he is the company’s musical director. Daniel has dedicated the last 25 years to fostering an understanding of Haiti, its traditions, and its distinct cultural expressions and has done this for the past 25 years. He is also the Ensemble Director of Haitian Drumming at Mills College in Oakland, California, where he has been since 2014.
Rara Tou Limen continues to further the company’s vision, to Uplift, Inspire, & Inform in our community work and studies locally and abroad. Each year offers new opportunities to learn, stretch, and grow through RTL Vodou Voyage, a research/study travel excursion to further artistic growth, and aid in both personal and professional development. RTL Vodou Voyages have included Haiti (2014), Montreal, Canada (2016), Havana Cuba (2017), NOLA (2018), and most recently, Benin, West Africa, to gain an ethnographic perspective of Benin’s dances and drum rhythms, Vodoun ceremonial practices in relation to those of Haiti and its diaspora.
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