KOTR is our umbrella brand! A brand dedicated to spreading global awareness of Haiti’s pop culture dance called Haitian Konpa Dancing. A dance style that belongs to Haiti’s 60+ year old music genre called Konpa. Through our brand we aim to bridge the open gap between the Haitian Konpa Music Industry and the general public, including the Haitian Student Organizations (HSO) throughout the US.

KOTR was introduced in 2008 as a concept and small project. We wanted to see more Haitian Konpa Dancing on Haitian TV networks, music videos, and proactive dance socials. By 2011, KOTR was officialized as a dance organization providing services to Haitian event planners, night clubs, restaurants, selective HMI bands and HSOs throughout Florida.

By 2012 KOTR established it’s first executive board to help oversee and manage KOTR’s brand via Facebook and Instagram (as @wikotr ). The board also managed the Gainesville based dance crew who were responsible for booked events, cultural dance showcases and for creating content for our Youtube channel.

After over 8 years of dedicated work in leading and fueling the Haitian Konpa Dance community with Konpa dance lessons, demonstrations, and education…. we’ve established the first Haitian Konpa Dance Studio.

The founder of KOTR, Sony Laventure, traveled throughout different countries to sharpen his skills and knowledge of Haitian Konpa and it’s diverse dance styles via collaborations with professional konpa/zouk dancers from Brazil to Montreal, Haiti, Martinique, US, France, and Europe. After his studies at Santa Fe College and University of Florida in Gainesville, he officiially moved to Miami, FL in 2018 to obtain a property to operate KOTR’s headquarters.  

By 2019, KOTR Dance Studio was legalized and had a physical address location. This was yet another milestone for our movement as this was the first Haitain Konpa Dance Studio since Konpa’s creation ( over 60 years agao ). While KOTR was not the first to teach Haitian Konpa as a style at a dance studio, KOTR Dance Studio was the first Haitian owned and Haitian operated studio to teach Konpa.

Tourists or visitors visiting Little Haiti in Miami are now able to visit our studio for a visual explanation and experience of Haitian Konpa. Whenever you’re in the area, visit us and experience our social dance lifestyle.