Gaspard Louis is a Haitian dancer, choreographer, and artistic director. A former dancer with

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a h ...

, he is the founder and artistic director of the

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

company Gaspard and Dancers. Louis is also on the faculty at

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from ...

and the

American Dance Festival The American Dance Festival (ADF) under the direction of Executive Director Jodee Nimerichter hosts its main summer dance courses including Summer Dance Intensive, Pre-Professional Dance Intensive, and the Dance Professional Workshops. It also ho ...

Early life and education

Louis was born in Haiti. He immigrated to the United States when he was thirteen years old, living in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

through a partnership program at the

. He continued his dance studies as a scholarship student with

Giordano Dance Chicago Giordano Dance Chicago, formerly Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and Gus Giordano's Jazz Dance Chicago, is a jazz dance company based in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by Gus Giordano in 1963 as Dance Incorporated Chicago, it has toured worldwide, includi ...

and the Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab in New York. He received a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance from

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

Career

After finishing his undergraduate studies, Louis joined the New York-based dance company AllNations, where he performed traditional world dances. He was a company member with

for ten years and also collaborated on the choreography for nine major dance works with the company. He has also guest taught for dance programs at Duke University,

, and

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctora ...

. He later joined the faculty at North Carolina Central University. Louis formed his own company, titled Gaspard and Dancers, in 2009 which is based in Durham, North Carolina. He and his company have performed at the

Wake Forest Dance Festival The Wake Forest Dance Festival is an annual public arts festival in Wake Forest, North Carolina. The festival is presented by ARTS Wake Forest and the Wege Foundation in partnership with the Wake Forest Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural ...

, the Cape Fear Stage in Wilmington, the

North Carolina Museum of Art The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) is an art museum in Raleigh, North Carolina. It opened in 1956 as the first major museum collection in the country to be formed by state legislation and funding. Since the initial 1947 appropriation that e ...

, Duke University, the North Carolina Dance Festival, the

, and in

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. In 2012 Louis choreographed a trilogy of works, titled ''L’Espirit'', ''Souke'' and ''Annatations'', in response to the

2010 Haiti earthquake A catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest department, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's c ...

. The works focused on dealing with tragedy and the human response to it. The trilogy was performed at the

Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts The Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts is the principal theatre of Pace University and is located at the University's New York City campus in Lower Manhattan. Facing New York City Hall, City Hall near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge and blocks ...

in September 2015. It was later presented at the 18th annual International Festival of Contemporary Dance in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk ( ; rus, Красноя́рск, a=Ru-Красноярск2.ogg, p=krəsnɐˈjarsk) (in semantic translation - Red Ravine City) is the largest city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yeni ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and at the American Dance Festival. Louis has also worked with

Justin Tornow Justin Tornow is an American dancer, choreographer, dance scholar, and dance teacher. She is the founder and artistic director of COMPANY, a co-founder and co-organizer of Durham Independent Dance Artists, former Board President of the North Caro ...

who, with himself, he set a duet on called ''Forbidden'' which was performed at Duke University. In September 2019 he and his company performed at Elon University as part of the Lyceum Series. The show had political undertones, focusing on

immigration in the United States Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. In absolute numbers, the United States has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the worl ...

. He has also choreographed for Free Space Dance Company in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

and the Kentucky University Dance Ensemble. Louis has served on the faculty at the American Dance Festival, serving as the director of the Creative Movement Outreach Program.

Personal life

Louis married

Jodee Nimerichter Jodee Nimerichter is an American arts administrator and film producer. She currently serves as the executive director of the American Dance Festival. Early life and education Jodee Nimerichter is the daughter of Fred Nimerichter and Mary Lou B ...

in October 2005. They have two children, named Dahlia and Preston. They split their time between homes in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and Durham, North Carolina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis, Gaspard Living people 20th-century dancers 21st-century dancers African-American choreographers American choreographers African-American male dancers Arts administrators Contemporary dance choreographers Contemporary dancers Dance in North Carolina Haitian dancers Haitian emigrants to the United States Male dancers Modern dancers Hollins University alumni Montclair State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people