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Rick DesRochers and Michael Manswell launch Global Carnival Conference in Rotterdam
Michael Manswell and Rick DesRochers, center front, with conference participants in Rotterdam
August 27, 2026
Adjunct Professor of Dance Michael Manswell and Professor of Theatre Rick DesRochers launched the first-ever Global Carnival Conference in Rotterdam, bringing artists, scholars, and organizations from across the Carnival world together on July 23, just ahead of the city’s 42nd annual Summer Carnival (Zomercarnaval).With both practitioners and scholars participating, it was the first conference of its kind to focus on the historical, civic, artistic, and cultural significance of Global Carnival.
Talks and performance demonstrations looked at the legacies and contemporary practices of Global Carnival traditions from the middle ages through the 21st century. DesRochers’ presentations, “Mardi Gras Second Lines Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs,” and “Black Masking Indians of New Orleans” focused on Carnival traditions in the U.S., while Manswell illuminated Carnival’s historical connections to the rum industry, enslavement, and resistance in Trinidad and Tobago.
Produced in collaboration with Erasmus University Rotterdam, Zomercarnaval Rotterdam, Cultuur & Campus Putselaan, Trinidad Connection Carnival Band, and Something Positive, Inc. Brooklyn, the conference’s success has paved the way for an Annual Global Carnival Conference, with the next gathering slated for July 2027.