‘Meet & Greet: BINTOU DEMBÉLÉ’

On September 26, 2019, at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, the premiere of a rather unusual show directed by the French filmmaker Clément Cogitore took place: Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opera-ballet Les Indes Galantes, in a dance choreography by Bintou Dembélé that blended krump, voguing, popping and electro. To meet this challenge, Bintou took special care in choosing the 29 dancers she would work with. Her long career in hip hop dance and the philosophy she has built up over the years are essential to understand her artistic approach and her decolonial activism.

​​​​​​​Bintou looks back on her experience during the creation of this original opera-ballet and particularly on her collaboration with Clément Cogitore and the dancer Cal Hunt. She will talk about her projects and share her reflections with the audience.

Bintou Dembélé is a French dancer and choreographer, acknowledged as one of the pioneers of hip-hop dance in France. Her work focuses on the memory of the body through the prism of French colonial and post-colonial history.