Bintou Dembélé is embarking on an intimate, artistic and political writing project, conceived as an act of transmission. As she approaches her 50th birthday, the choreographer and dancer embraces writing as a new form of embodiment: a space in which the memory of the body, traces of the stage, inherited legacies and futures still in motion can take shape.

The book traces the emergence of a distinctive choreographic vision, shaped by hip-hop culture, Maroon practices, colonial memories and dialogues between dance, music and voice. It also looks back at the landmark experience of Les Indes Galantes, a major work developed with Clément Cogitore and Leonardo García Alarcón, which marked a turning point in the recognition of bodies rooted in urban cultures on major institutional stages.

Published with Zamân Books & Curating, a publishing house dedicated to exploring Arab, African and Asian modernities, the project is rooted in a transnational and postcolonial approach. Through this editorial collaboration, Bintou Dembélé affirms the coherence of a long-term artistic journey in which movement, speech and writing become different forms of the same enquiry: transmitting, connecting and shifting dominant narratives.

Conceived as a ritual book, The Book combines life writing, artistic manifesto, choreographic reflection and a sensitive archive. It offers an account of the past, present and future of an artist who has continually questioned the relationship between body, soul and spirit, transforming the stage into a space for healing, resistance and collective power.

Through its support, the Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund accompanies Bintou Dembélé in an essential act of transmission, at the intersection of writing, dance and memory. It contributes to bringing forth a powerful artistic voice, shaped by overlooked legacies, Maroon narratives and the transformative power of bodies in motion.