Steeven Labady Marcel

Biography

Steeven Labady Marcel

Founder & Artistic Director, House of Vodou Productions™

Artistic Director & Lead Artist, HOV Band

Steeven Labady Marcel is a Haitian-born multidisciplinary artist whose work spans dance, music, theatre, cultural storytelling, and artistic direction. Based in Montréal, he is the Founder and Artistic Director of House of Vodou Productions™ and the visionary force behind HOV Band, a musical collective dedicated to blending blues, rock, reggae, Afro-diasporic traditions, and contemporary performance into immersive artistic experiences.

His artistic journey began in Haiti in 2013, where he trained in Haitian Traditional Folklore and Modern Dance under the mentorship of Jean Denis Pierre Émile through Ayiti Dans Annou. Recognized early for his talent and dedication, he received a scholarship to pursue classical ballet studies at the Académie de Danse Marie Louise Coidavid in Cap-Haïtien while simultaneously continuing his training at the Académie de Danse Régine Mont-Rosier Trouillot in Port-au-Prince. Alongside his artistic studies, he pursued Geography and Urban Planning at the University of Limonade.

In 2015, Steeven was awarded a scholarship to continue his professional development in the Dominican Republic. Five years later, he made history as the first Haitian graduate of the National School of Dance at the National Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts of the Dominican Republic—an achievement that marked a significant milestone in Caribbean dance history.   Committed to artistic excellence and international exchange, Steeven furthered his training through advanced studies in Zurich before continuing his professional career in Germany. There, he was offered a contract with the Ballet of the City Theatre Oldenburg, an opportunity that, although ultimately unrealized, represented a defining moment in his artistic development and international recognition.

His career has since taken him across Europe and North America. In the United States, he performed in Giselle with American Ballet Theatre at Lincoln Center, and a Company member with Brooklyn Ballet, and in 2024 toured nationally as a dancer alongside three-time Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award-winning artist Billy Porter.

Steeven’s creative practice exists at the intersection of classical technique, Afro-diasporic memory, ritual embodiment, and contemporary creation. Through dance, music, and interdisciplinary performance, he explores themes of identity, migration, resilience, spirituality, and cultural transmission. As Artistic Director of HOV Band, he oversees the ensemble’s artistic vision, performance direction, and creative development. His work seeks to create experiences that are emotionally resonant, culturally grounded, and artistically ambitious—building bridges between tradition and innovation, personal narrative and collective memory.

For Steeven, art is not merely a form of expression; it is a living practice of remembrance, transformation, and possibility.