Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sanford Placide grew up in Gonaïves, where he began learning Afro-

Caribbean and folkloric dance at 11. After emigrating to the U.S., he trained with Ballet Etudes of

South Florida, Francois Perron at Manhattan Youth Ballet, the French Academie of Ballet in NYC,

and privately with Nadege Hottier. He also attended summer intensives at American Ballet Theatre,

Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Austin, Ballet Hispanico, and LINES Ballet.

Placide’s professional career spans six seasons with Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH), following

engagements with Alberta Ballet, Ballet West 2, and North Carolina Dance Theatre 2 (now

Charlotte Ballet). He has performed as a guest artist with companies including Ballet Etudes of

South Florida, Voorhees Ballet, Collage Dance Collective, Black Iris Dance Project, Boca Ballet

Theater, Ballet Northwest, Ballet des Amériques, Traverse City Dance Project, Accent Dance,

Ballet Theater of Scranton, Tabula Rasa Dance, and FJK Dance.

His repertoire includes works by George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Stanton

Welch, Glenn Tetley, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Wen Wei Wang, Robert Garland, Mark Diamond,

Desmond Richardson, Yukicchi Hattori, Aszure Barton. Tiffany Rae Fischer, and Claudia Schreier.

Off stage, Placide has appeared in short films, fashion magazines, and media interviews. He

performed at Aretha Franklin’s Holiday Party in Detroit and was featured in a Times Square digital

billboard campaign by artist Terry Rosenberg. Internationally, he performed in Isadora at Moscow’s

Stanislavski Theater, produced by Ardani Artists featuring Natalia Osipova.

As Founder & Creative Director of UNI, an art collective launched in 2018 in commemoration of

Haitian Flag Day, he collaborated with the Consulate General of Haiti in New York to produce the

series, receiving honors for his work in preserving Haitian culture. The series continued in 2019 and

was hosted virtually in 2020.

With his dynamic artistry and technical precision, Placide continues to captivate audiences

worldwide, contributing to the evolution and enrichment of the dance world.