Acting

Irène Tassembédo

Born 1956-08-19 · Burkina Faso

Ancienne élève de l’École Mudra-Afrique de Maurice Béjart à Dakar, Irène Tassembédo fait partie des plus grandes figures de la chorégraphie moderne de l’Afrique contemporaine. Installée en Europe depuis le début des années 1980, elle développe un travail chorégraphique original, alliant danse contemporaine et danse africaine, qui s’inscrit résolument dans le temps présent, tout en réinventant le langage de la danse. Son ouverture vers l’ensemble des techniques de la danse et vers les autres disciplines des arts vivants lui ont ouvert une carrière multidisciplinaire de chorégraphe et d’enseignante réputée de danse en Europe et à travers le monde, mais aussi en tant que comédienne de talent au théâtre, au cinéma et à la télévision. Elle a créé en 1988 la Compagnie Ébène, avec laquelle elle a tourné dans de nombreux pays pour y présenter son travail original et novateur de chorégraphe. En 2000, elle reçoit le prix SACD de la chorégraphie en France. Après 30 ans d’une carrière internationale, Irène Tassembédo est revenue s’installer en 2007 au Burkina Faso, son pays d’origine, riche d’une expérience professionnelle qu’elle souhaite transmettre aux danseurs, chorégraphes et autres artistes du continent africain. Tout en continuant un travail de création chorégraphique puissant et inspiré avec sa compagnie, rebaptisée Compagnie Irène Tassembédo, elle travaille aujourd’hui au développement de projets culturels novateurs et structurants dans son pays et à travers le continent, tel que l’École de Danse internationale Irène Tassembédo (EDIT), créée en octobre 2009 à Ouagadougou, pour développer une formation professionnelle permanente de haut niveau en danse sur le continent africain et la création d’un diplôme de danse africain de niveau international.

Acting credits

The Best Job in the World poster
5.6

To be closer to his children following his divorce, Laurent Monier, a history and geography teacher in a peaceful provincial high school, accepts a position in a sensitive college in the Paris suburbs. He is assigned the hardest class, the fourth techno, and he finds an apartment in the Cité des Muriers, a particularly difficult district.

The Best Job in the World

1996

Unleaded poster
7.3

Passionate about the singer Elvis Costello, Ulysses works every Saturday at a gas station in the middle of nowhere to pay for his meteorology studies. Shy and suffering from stagnation when confronted with a conflict situation, he does not respond to the insistent advances of Marie, who lives across the street. At the same time, Anton and Mirek, two English gangsters, are combing all the gas stations in the area in search of a loot hidden in the toilets.

Unleaded

2000

No artwork available
NR

Mudra Afrique, founded in 1977 in Dakar by Léopold Sédar Senghor and Maurice Béjart, was an important dance school that mixed traditional African dance with modern styles. Germaine Acogny, a skilled teacher, along with dancer, actress Irène Tassembédo and musician Doudou Rose Ndiaye, were key figures in the school. Their work helped Mudra Afrique leave a strong mark on African contemporary dance and music.

Mudra-Afrique

One, Two, Three, Sun poster
6.3

A provocative, seemingly absurd patchwork movie which sends a worthwhile message about hope against all odds, love, children and human understanding. Schoolgirl Victorine has an insane mother and an alcoholic father who can never find his way home in their maze of slum apartment blocks. Aggressive, sexually threatening boys of all ages are everywhere, and while the teacher eventually relents to a gang of adolescent rapists, Victorine gives herself to a rowdy gang of older layabouts, eventually winning the heart of burglar Paul.

One, Two, Three, Sun

1993

Anna Oz poster
4.0

This taut psychological chiller tells the twisted story of Anna, a woman living in Paris, whose dreams of her Venetian counterpart, a secretive young woman who lives in a fine palace with her brother and an enigmatic older man, become frighteningly real. Anna's world begins coming apart after she is picked up by the police for witnessing an awful crime she cannot remember seeing. When she realizes that her dream alter-ego is trying to kill her, only her lover Marc's calming and supportive influence can save her from madness.

Anna Oz

1996

La danseuse d'ébène poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

La danseuse d'ébène

2002

Samba Traoré poster
6.4

The only surviving accomplice of a gas station robbery gone bad, Samba Traoré flees the scene with a suitcase full of cash. However, his newfound happiness is put to the test as he struggles to cope with the moral crisis of his crimes.

Samba Traoré

1993

No artwork available
7.0

A Film by Jean Rouch and Tam-Sir Doueb.

Boulevards d'Afrique

1989

Behind the camera