On Friday, September 25, at 7:30 p.m. at Dixon Hall at Tulane University, the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) is highlighting the New Orleans performance of Flamboyants!, an international documentary theater and music production bringing together Louisiana Creole tradition bearers and artists from Réunion Island and Puerto Rico.
The production grew out of a cultural exchange that began in Louisiana and expanded through relationships fostered by CODOFIL and its network of community and cultural partners. What started with an introduction between French playwright Florient Jousse and Big Chief Juan Pardo at the 2023 Festival Francophonie has developed over the past three years into an international creative collaboration. The festival gave Jousse the initial opportunity to meet Pardo and begin developing the vision that would become Flamboyants!.
The production explores the shared roots, memory, and resilience of Creole cultures across continents, bringing together artists from Louisiana, Réunion Island, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean, and Puerto Rico.
Flamboyants! features Zélito Déliron, Marién Torres López, Florient Jousse, Big Chief Juan Pardo, Ivelisse Diaz, and Frédéric Madia. The performers weave together five languages, three distinct Creole traditions, and nearly a dozen instruments to tell a story that connects communities separated by thousands of miles but linked by history, culture, and language.
Following its premiere in Réunion, Flamboyants! is now traveling across the United States on a seven-week, 23-performance tour organized by the Collectif Tilawcis, with support from the French government, Villa Albertine, and the Institut Français.
"CODOFIL's mission is not only about preserving the French and Creole cultures that are part of Louisiana's identity. It is also about creating connections that allow those cultures to be shared with the world," said Peggy Feehan, CODOFIL Executive Director. "This project is a great example of what can happen when we connect international artists with Louisiana tradition bearers and cultural organizations. A connection made during the Festival Francophonie in New Orleans grew into a creative collaboration that is now traveling across the country."
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit Alliance Française de la Nouvelle-Orléans
