Rachel Tavernier

Rachel Tavernier was born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, where she started dancing at the age of 5. She received her primary training at the Lavinia Williams Dance Institute. There, she studied Ballet, Haitian Folklore, Modern and Tap, and had the opportunity to work with renowned dancers such as Sarah Yarborough, Salvatore Aiello, Alec Zybin, Geoffrey Holder.

At the age of 13, Rachel enrolled at the Gertrude Bouda Dance School, where she deepened her knowledge of and passion for Ballet. At 17, she received a scholarship to study in Stuttgart, Germany, at the John Cranko School. She trained there at the State Ballet Academy under Anne Woolliams and Jürgen Schneider.

Upon returning home, Rachel began teaching and subsequently opened the Rachel Jean-Louis Dance School in Pétion-Ville, Haïti, which she directed for 15 years before immigrating to the United States. While running her dance studio, she took numerous classes and workshops, and attended seminars and conferences to hone her skills as a dancer and as a teacher. In 1988, Rachel was chosen to represent Haïti at the American Dance Festival’s International Choreographers Residency Program.

In 1982, she was introduced to the Dunham Technique, while attending the dance conference Modern Dance in the Americas: Black Influence in Port-au-Prince, Haïti. Until Katherine Dunham’s death in 2006, Rachel trained directly under her in Port-au-Prince, East St Louis and New York. She also studied with former Dunham Company members and Master Teachers, such as Vanoye Aikens, Lucille Ellis, Tommy Gomez, Pearl Reynolds, Talley Beatty, Walter Nicks, Theodore Jamison, and Joe Sircus.

In 1999, Katherine Dunham named Rachel a Master Teacher in Dunham Technique. As well, Rachel earned her teacher certification from the Institute for Dunham Technique Certification in 2000. She served as a demonstrator for Katherine Dunham numerous times, in Port-au-Prince, Philadelphia, Washington DC, East St Louis, and New York. She has taught master classes in New York (Ailey School, NYCBOE Dunham Institute), Philadelphia (Philadanco), East St Louis (Dunham Seminar), St Louis (Dunham Seminar), Santiago de Cuba. She has also demonstrated for Julie Belafonte, former member of the Dunham Company, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

As an instructor and a consultant, Rachel was a collaborator on the 2002 Library of Congress documentary about Dunham Technique. Presently, Rachel is on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Dunham Technique Certification (IDTC), as chair of the Technique Committee. She is an integral member of IDTC, contributing to the annual Dunham Technique Conference as a visionary, organizer and teacher She also is a member of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities (KDACH).

In 2009, she was invited to Toulouse and Paris, France, by the Centre Chorégraphique James Carlès, as instructor and répétiteur for their revival of works by Katherine Dunham. In 2015, she was invited as artist in residence by the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine (CNDC), directed by Robert Swinston, in Angers, France.

From 1998 to 2017, Rachel held the position of Ballet Director at Chorus Line Dance Studio on Long Island, NY. At Chorus Line, her mission was to make a difference in her students’ lives by infusing her Ballet classes with the Dunham Technique Philosophies of Self-Examination, Discrimination (discernment) and Detachment, as well as using the Dunham Theories of Form and Function, Intercultural Communication and Socialization Through the Arts.

Throughout her teaching career, Rachel has choreographed many dances, ranging from solos to evening-length large-company works. Her choreography includes: L’Oiseau Bariolé, Soleil Dambala, Carmina Burana, L’Esclave, and Nocturnes. She has also created pieces for the young, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion King, Harry Potter, and Tinker Bell Friends.