Riva Nyri Précil

Riva Nyri Précil was born in Brooklyn. Her mother, Michelle Karshan, is an American of Lithuanian Jewish and Irish descent[1] and produced and hosted the radio show “Sak Pase” (1991-1995) while her father, Privat Précil was a Haitian who worked in the US as a journalist and lawyer. Riva and her family moved to Haiti when she was five years old as her mother got a job in Haiti. Her mother worked for the Haitian government specifically on foreign press liaising, using her foreign heritage as an advantage to manage the foreign press who visited Haiti.

While growing up in Haiti, Riva was exposed to and studied under many of the great masters of Haiti's cultural and artistic scene. She was in a theatre troupe, Ateliee Edoision, and took various dancing with Viviane Gauthier and Artcho Danse— sculpting, painting, and singing classes, which will later develop her as a wholesome artist skilled in several aspects of art. Riva learned her sculpting and painting skills from renowned Haitian artist, Jean-Claude "Tiga" Garoute. In her early teens, Riva already started to teach art classes to young children who were in her neighborhood.

She was already musically influenced by her mother as she listened to exotic and various genres of music from all over the world starting from jazz and soul, to Indian and Arabic music. As her family was open-minded to experience, she attended many Haitian Vodou ceremonies, learning both the beautiful and eerie parts of Vodou culture. When Riva was fifteen she had to leave Haiti and return to New York because of the dangerous condition of Haiti due to the 2004 Haitian coup d'état.

While back in New York, she attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts as a sophomore where she majored in vocal performance. She graduated in 2007 and continued her education at Loyola University of New Orleans. She received her BA in Music Therapy in 2011 and completed her one-year residency in New York at Beth Israel Hospital.

During her time in Loyola University, she became skillful in playing guitar and piano and continued singing. When the 2010 Haiti earthquake happened, Riva and few other Haitian students, who were less than ten people, organized a giant fundraiser to support people back in Haiti.

After Riva graduated from Loyola University, she introduced "Love, Nyri", a modern handmade jewelry line, in 2012.[5] The design of the jewelry is very much inspired by a traditional Haitian jewelry style. Nowadays, most of her products are custom order. The materials used range from brass, gold, silver, crystals, to various gems.

As Riva has been taking dance classes since she was young and has taught several dance classes for the 2010 Haiti earthquake fundraiser, she continues to teach traditional Haitian dance in New York City.[6]

Her current dance class “tout se pa” which means “no wrong steps” covers traditional Haitian dances such as Yanvalou, Congo, Nago, Ibo, Mayi, Rabonday, and Banda. Her dance class is targeted towards Haitians in New York City who never had a chance to experience their own culture.

She is a prominent performer and has performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Carifesta XII hosted in Haiti, and the Haitian Flag Day Celebration at Brooklyn's Borough Hall. She was a panelist and performer at the Women's Empowerment Luncheon hosted by the Haitian American Student Association at Syracuse University in February 2016. Riva performs in New York City alongside her band Bohio Music.