biography

sheila anozier is a haitian-american multidisciplinary performing artist combining dance, songs, and visual art into her work. she was born in new york where she has lived most of her life, but it is ayiti (haiti) she calls home. her earliest memories are of haiti where she lived with her grandmother and other family until she was seven. in haiti, art is prevalent in everything as it is to sheila anozier.

while majoring in journalism at long island university, she began her formal training in dance where she met ella thompson moore, an original member of the alvin ailey dance theatre. it was she who encouraged sheila to keep dancing, which she did professionally even as she pursued her career in journalism. after 10 years on the editorial staff of the new york times, she transitioned to a full time professional dancer.

notable performances have taken sheila to venues and festivals across the united states and abroad, including ha noi opera house, & white palace convention center in vietnam with singer and political activist peter yarrow (of peter, paul, and mary), ageha in tokyo, japan with singer/dancer wunmi olaiya, nuits atypiques de langon in france, montreal international jazz festival in canada, vollos festival in greece, the hague holland dance festival in the netherlands, and the altstdtherbst festival in germany with tamango’s urban tap. new york performances include: lincoln center "out of doors," the joyce theatre, town hall, dance theatre workshop, the kitchen, joe's pub, and SOBs, prospect park bandshell, usdan center for the creative and performing arts, and BRIC.

TRANPE is sheila's collaboration with rufus cappadocia. the duet released an album entitled, twa fèy twa rasin - a convergence of sheila's deep relationship with haitian folk and vodou melodies and rufus’ mastery of modal music and polyrhythm. together, they create a transcendent version of the "mizik rasin".

as an actor, sheila has a leading role as esperance in the full-length feature film, mountains, directed by monica sorelle and produced by robert colom. nominated for two independent spirit awards, mountains made its national debut at the tribeca film festival where it won the special jury mention “for its authentic, specific portrayal of a culture we had not seen on screen. a deeply emotional and empathetic portrait of a family in a changing world with brilliant leading performances.” the film went on to premiere internationally at the toronto film festival and win numerous awards in festivals.

sheila served as choreographer and dancer in breaking the thermometer to hide the fever - a multidisciplinary performance set to music by haitian-american singer-songwriter, leyla mccalla, and directed by kiyoko mccrae. the project premiered at duke university (2019) and explores the legacy of radio haiti-inter, haiti’s first privately owned creole-speaking radio station, and the assassination of its owner, jean dominique.

she also serves as choreographer for brave new world repertory theatre: shakespeare on stratford (2019, 2021, 2022), street scene (2013), as you like it (2010), the crucible (2008 & 2010), the tempest (2009), crossing brooklyn ferry (2007), and served as director and choreographer of haitian spring celebration (2023). she performs with bonga and the vodou drums of haiti, bethany and rufus roots quartet, and the pat hall dancers. it was with bonga jean-baptiste that sheila began performing the traditional folkloric and vodou songs as a singer on stage. it is with the support and inspiration of master teacher, pat hall, that she has found her freedom in dance and the inspiration to incorporate her singing into her performance. sheila is creator and artistic director of vwa zansèt - a full length theatrical production based on folkloric and vodou songs of haiti.

sheila's artwork was featured in the brooklyn arts council's nou la-we reach! exhibition, a mixed media interactive exhibition designed to translate the multilingual voices of the caribbean diaspora, at the wyckoff house museum in 2018. she is currently illustrating her adaptations of haitian folktales.

she is a grant recipient of the NYSCA folk art apprenticeship program (2017) working with eminent haitian singer and folklorist georges vilson collecting and performing the music and stories of haiti. she is also a teaching artist educating students of all ages nationally and internationally.

ig: @kreyolwoman