At what point during the creative process did you arrive at the title Braids & Heritage?

Stacey Désilier: Over the years, we’ve learned how to celebrate our black identities through our hair and clothing. We started getting together and doing each other’s hair, then created clothes made of braids. We made dresses and jackets. All of that takes time. The title came to us during the first photo shoot for these pieces. The spiritual aspect of braiding—helping each other, caring—is deeply connected to the exchange of energy. There’s something poetic and also political about the act of untangling and then strengthening.

Jossua Satinée: In Afrodescendant cultures, hair plays a fundamental role: it’s part of our identity, something that’s omnipresent. For me, braids were my first connection with my femininity. There’s an emotional link between my identity and the feeling of movement in my hair. When we both braid our hair, we look so similar that if we told people we were twins, they would believe us. That’s also where the idea of heritage comes in. We weave things together: images from popular culture and other slightly more obscure references. Past, present, and future become three threads that we intertwine.

You have stated that your creative space is a safe space. In concrete terms, how do you accomplish that in your work?

Stacey Désilier: First and foremost, it’s a porous space where we allow ourselves to redefine terms psychologically and physically. Our safe space is a space where we let ourselves feel joy and be totally creative. We talk a lot about the style, tone, and reference points of our work. We made very conscious decisions: who we work with, how we do things, setting our boundaries. Working with people in our community is part of the process.

Jossua Satinée: The lighting and photos are also part of the performance. I want to be represented through the lens of Afrodescendant culture. I’ve done plenty of photo shoots where the colour of my skin was not respected. In creating our own aesthetic, we need to represent people from our community to dignify our skin.

Your work draws on different choreographic heritages. How did you combine these different styles and movements?

Stacey Désilier: The origins of this work go back to 2019. My mother was returning from Florida and wanted to teach us line dancing. From there, we started reading, looking up references, and understanding how this dance appropriates traditional dances. There’s also a link between the absence of touch in line dancing and repression by the church. If you introduce more rhythm and more groove, you start to see connections with other dance styles like disco, locking, or house. Our discussions then shifted to the mainstreaming and deracination of the Afrodescendant heritage that is a part of who we are.

We’re playing with various ideas—intimacy, roots, pop culture, and, above all, dignifying our skin. In working out and celebrating these ideas, we incorporate a variety of African-American dances.

Jossua Satinée: We moved from line dancing and the cowboy trend to exploring the connection between Afrodescendant people and pop culture and how that culture colonizes our bodies. Even if you don’t want to visit the U.S. because of the political situation, you will inevitably be influenced by American culture. There was another question that interested us: how do we fit into the place where we live? Line dancing comes from Afrodescendant cultures, but where is it represented in the history of Quebec, Montreal, or Canada?

What role did Steven Doman’s sound design play in the construction of the piece?

Jossua Satinée: When you work with a composer, it adds another voice to the mix. We create the images, then the sound design completes the picture. We are all constantly redefining ourselves and continuing to develop based on the events we experience. Identity is constructed through the accumulation of experiences, and that process of transformation is also part of the sound work.

Stacey Désilier: Our musical choices create density through layering and references. The music adds a perspective that supports us and influences our choices, sections, and images. What is important is the BPM. Then it could be a medley of pop songs and it would still work, because the message is strong enough that it allows things to glitch and move at a different rhythm. There’s something about this sonic layering that relates to the celebration of racial diversity.

Interview by Malika Rafa

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Interview with Stacey Désilier + Jossua Satinée | 2026

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