She was born in Haiti and immigrated to New York with her family when she was four years old.

Sherley developed a love of Traditional Haitian dance at the age of 11 but soon learned that many people in her community had turned away from their heritage, due to negative stereotypes of Haiti in the larger mainstream culture. Determined to re-educate her peers and honor her heritage, she took up the formal study of the dance with Haitian teachers while still in high school.

Mrs. Davilmar (St. Fort) has studied and danced under Haitian dance giants such as Pierre Desrameaux., a widely acknowledged master of the discipline whose background is steeped in the rich Haitian Traditions.

Mikerline Pierre & Mikerline Dance Company, and Lionel St. Surin, all greats who have studied under Vivian Gauthier. Mrs.Davilmar also studies and dances with Julio Jean, a renowned master Haitian dance teacher and choreographer with 20 years of experience, who studied under Lavinia Williams, a company member of Katherine Dunham, at the National School of Arts in Haiti.



About La Troupe Zewal:

La Troupe Zetwal is an ensemble representing Haiti’s cultural heritage in sounds, movements, and storytelling. The company was initiated in 2001 and produces works that share the living traditions of Haiti venerated from enslaved Africans who hails from the Kingdom of Dahomey.

La Troupe Zetwal has become a local model whose engagements enlighten and empower local Haitian-American residents of Brooklyn, New York. Over the past five years, the company has brought a number of percussionists, dancers, folk singers, storytellers, artisans, and homecooks together and demonstrated the power of cultural heritage - symbolism and relevance. Most of the performances are mounted on Haiti’s Vodou traditions, a way of energizing and encouraging the preservation of this intangible cultural practice in its various forms.