Palazzo Grassi presents “En mode marron”, the new performance by choreographer and artist Bintou Dembélé who, after a long period in which she devoted herself exclusively to choreography and curating, will be performing exceptionally on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 September in the Atrium of Palazzo Grassi.
The double event opens the autumn cultural season at Palazzo Grassi and marks Bintou Dembélé’s return to dancing with an original in-situ performance, specifically conceived for the museum’s space, in dialogue with “Ensemble” exhibition of the Ethiopian American artist Julie Mehretu.
Since her debut in 1985 in the context of the Parisian underground scene, Bintou Dembélé, one of the most significant figures of the French hip hop scene, celebrates the wisdom of popular cultures and experiences born on the margins of society. In his subsequent creations, such as “Z.H.”, “S/T/R/A/T/E/S – Quartet”, “-s/t/r/a/t/e/s- Le film”, “Rite de passage || Solo 1 and 2”, “G.R.O.V.E.” and the ballet-opera “Les Indes Galantes”, the artist explores rituals and body memories with an interdisciplinary approach, characterised by constantly evolving gestures and a multiplicity of styles and influences.
Since 2010, Bintou Dembélé has developed her artistic research around the philosophy and the dance of Maroons, after having received the blessing of the Bushnengue community in French Guiana.
Through dance, music and her voice, which she brings together in a circular and helical sequence, Bintou Dembélé celebrates the heroic figure of the migrant and the enslaved, escape as a means of survival and refuge as a space for the creation and reinvention of new societies.
The original performance “En mode marron” unfolds as a ritual with a cyclic rhythm, accompanied by repetitive, percussive music and circular movements.
Echoing the performance at Palazzo Grassi, on Wednesday 25 September, Bintou Dembélé will stage a brand new version of “Rite de passage – solo II”, conceived by her and performed by the dancer Michel “Meech” Onomo as part of the Holy See Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2024, entitled “With My Eyes” and hosted at the Casa di Reclusione Femminile della Giudecca. The event curated by Bintou Dembelé is part of the programme of artistic interventions reserved for and realised together with the guests of the Casa di Reclusione Femminile.

The Holy See Pavilion at the Biennale Arte 2024 and its programme are curated by Bruno Racine, Director and Chief Executive Officer of Palazzo Grassi – Pinault Collection, and Chiara Parisi, Director of the Centre Pompidou-Metz.