Today we’d like to introduce you to Arielle François.
Hi Arielle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Hey! My name is Arielle (Aya) and I am a first-generation Haitian dance artist currently based in Miami. I grew up in Central Florida where I was really encouraged to play and make my art. I am so grateful for my family, our community was so fluid when I was growing up. It gave me space to be inspired and choose who I want to be. I actually decided I wanted to be an artist when I was like 5, really confidently. I used to paint and write up wild stories as a kid. I started modeling for my sister @sarahnicolfrancois clothing brand when I was like 13. We used to shoot in my parent’s living room, my sisters @wilnise and @goldannfrancois assisted on set and I really believe it was then that I began learning about what it means to collaborate. I am fortunate enough to have been raised by black women who see, believe, and challenge me. Making art with my sisters really nurtured my creative and entrepreneurial spirit. I started my dance training at the Osceola County School of the Arts under the direction of Nealya Brunson, which sculpted my building blocks to a versatile career in performance art, concert and commercial dance.
Without public school art programs with teachers like Ms. Nealya Brunson at OCSA I wouldn’t be the artist I am today. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to a dance studio, so that 1 hour of dance a day meant the world to me. I am so grateful for her emphasis on foundation. With her support I chose to pursue dance in college. I got my BFA from the New World School for the Arts, on a scholarship. And since moving to Miami in 2018, I have been so warmly embraced by its creative community. I am able to express myself and make art outside of the rigor of dance training with my friends like @liony_garcia, @oreoflip, @orange.mooon and @dazedestiny! I have really done a lot of industry and artistic work, from runway to film back on a proscenium stage then all the way over to commercial work. Most recently I just shot for Coca-Cola which (as a freelance artist) was a huge deal and I am starting my residency with the Merce Cunningham Trust as this year’s Barbara Ensley Award recipient! I am so excited to immerse myself in this codified technique and bring back some new sauce to the Miami dance scene.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing in life is smooth, but that is why we have community. My people hold me down, which is necessary. Growing up my parents and all the adults around me made sure I was always fed and safe which is a really big blessing. This has made me equipped to turn to art in the capacity that I do. Growing up in racist ass Central Florida in the age of the internet, I gotta lot of work to do with my own deeply rooted anti-blackness. It has been a challenge, and something I am still learning, to treat myself like I am a human being. Not just a “dancing body” or a “brand” but just Aya.
All industries I fluctuate through can be cut throat, if you don’t come into the room on solid ground it will eat you up. Naturally I’ve been thrown off my center a few times which can really suck but also be a good measure of where you are. Learning and loving on myself (and others) has been the keynote speaker of it all. I used to have a lot of straight up rage being a black woman studying concert dance, then going to work as a model and being fetishized for my body. I am learning that actually there will be a wide range of emotions that come up doing this work and they are all valid and inform the process greatly.
I will say, journaling and sharing stories about my life and art practice has catapulted me through some really dark times. The people around me clock me, or the dance does. That’s why I love what I do, the dance is so honest. It is a healing superpower of mine. I am a huge advocate for a dancing practice because from my own experience, it can pull back all the layers and humanize us. There is a lot of shishishasha around the industry work I do, but I always return to a place of deep deep grounding. Because of dance I have a type of grit that forces me to choose healing. Proper expressive execution requires this of you. Now it doesn’t make navigating the world as a black queer Haitian any easier, but it does make room for me to express the wide range of emotions that couple with being the baddest of them all.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think the work I do goes beyond the explicit resume, which you can check out on my site https://ariellefrancois.world But generally I create brilliantly illuminated worlds of modern concert and Caribbean dance using performance art vocabulary. I work to tell my story from my uniquely black/African diasporic feminist and queer perspective. My practice celebrates my bright aesthetics that embrace black joy while usually centering themes of Haitian folklore. I can proudly say that I am known for being a very active collaborator in Miami, you know if you haven’t seen me floating around at any of @pressurepoints.mp3 events, my performance in Every Step is a Prayer by NOWNESS, performing at an Art Basel, or if you missed my most recent performance at the PAMM. My varied performance catalog has set me apart from any specific scene and allowed for the creation of a container of lateral movement in the art world.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I think my success has to do with my taste for balance. My ability to get shit done at lightning speed and then decide, “I actually want to slow this down” has helped me really see the world around me and stay sharp, accurate, and thoughtful with my decision-making. You know when I am moving in a powercycle because there is clarity, precision and nuance in my movement. Real flow. Another quality of mine that I attribute a lot of my success to is how I value my community. My chosen family. I take friendship very seriously and it has been a big reason why I am blessed with so many different opportunities. It fuels me to know a lot of different kinds of people. Which is also convenient for the type of work I do. But I will say, one big thing I had to learn with this is I have to move with hyper discernment. You will meet a ton of different people in these industries and I believe everyone is worth getting to know a bit. Keeping legitimate boundaries around who is a friend, collaborator, peer, or person to sip cocktails with at the function can keep you afloat.
I believe it’s a well known fact that artists who are creating in their community are endlessly thriving. I want to emulate that I also really want to be better at creating opportunities for others in the way people have plugged me.
Oh one last thing, my big sis says this all the time “do the work so when the time comes you are ready.” Stay balanced and go from what you know while having enough room for expansion. That has made me very versatile. If you are working from a love center, no idea is too out there. It may not be exactly what you’re looking for but the thought alone is informing the process. Lately I’ve been trying to give myself grace because I have never done any of this before! So I do what I can to rest, hustle, be there for others when I can, choose love always, and fight our internalized anti-blackness, fatphobic, transphobic, and straight-up ignorant tendencies. Always remembering when all black women win, everyone wins.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/ariellefrancois
- Other: https://ariellefrancois.world
Image Credits
Bobbi @metallicbutterfli, @ariellefrancois, Mar’kayla Michel, Jaylen Bell, Evelyn Lopez, Jeremiah Paul, Liony Garcia x Alice & Oliva, @matt_roy, Carlos @carlosmsemedo, @brotherjunior, @__terradame from ONYX
