Renowned Paris-based choreographers Bintou Dembélé and Leïla Ka will lead a three-week residency and create new works with Kaufman and French conservatory students.

This fall, the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance embarks on its most ambitious international collaboration to date: City of Angels / City of Lights: A Transatlantic Dance Exchange, a cross-cultural project bringing together world-renowned artists and institutions from Los Angeles and Paris. Presented in partnership with USC Visions and Voices and the renowned Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), the residency marks a major milestone during Kaufman’s 10th anniversary year.

At the heart of this cultural exchange are two Paris-based choreographers — Bintou Dembélé and Leïla Ka — each known for their bold artistic voices and transformative works.  Dembélé is a pioneering figure in French hip-hop and contemporary dance, and the founder of Rualité, an artistic platform that has produced many of her choreographic works for film, stage, and opera. Ka began her career in urban dance before creating a choreographic language that is noted for its theatricality and physical intensity.
Over the course of their residency at USC in Fall 2025, Dembélé and Ka will lead the re-staging of an existing work and the creation of a world premiere. Noteworthy is the re-staging of Ka’s piece, C’est toi qu’on adore (It’s you we adore), a duet that debuted in 2020 exploring the challenges of community and individual existence. Ka will re-stage the work for a larger cast, allowing students from USC Kaufman and CNSM to perform together as an ensemble.

Over the course of their residency at USC in Fall 2025, Ka and Dembélé will lead the re-staging of an existing work and the creation of a world premiere. Noteworthy is the re-staging of Ka’s piece, C’est toi qu’on adore (It’s you we adore), a duet that debuted in 2020 exploring the challenges of community and individual existence. Ka will re-stage the work for a larger cast, allowing students from USC Kaufman and CNSM to perform together as an ensemble.

“Thanks to the wonderful work and cultivation of so many, primarily our Assistant Dean of Programming and Special Projects Jackie Kopcsak, we have an incredibly rare opportunity to partner with one of Paris’s outstanding cultural institutions and two artists of international notoriety to work closely with our students,” said USC Kaufman Dean Julia M. Ritter. “This is yet another step forward in our commitment to giving students unique performative experiences and our continued pursuit of artistic excellence.”

Fall 2025 – Sneak Peek in Los Angeles

As part of the October 2025 artistic residency, audiences will be invited to catch a glimpse of the creative processes of both choreographers with an exclusive work-in-progress presentation at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center in Los Angeles:

• Bintou Dembélé will debut a new hybrid work that fuses hip-hop and contemporary dance, created specifically for USC Kaufman students, which will debut during USC Kaufman’s Fall 2025 BFA Showcase.
• Leïla Ka will expand her critically acclaimed duet C’est toi qu’on adore into a powerful ensemble work featuring a cast of USC Kaufman and CNSM dancers.

Each evening will include a post-rehearsal panel discussion with artists and scholars, moderated by Muriel Maffre (Director of Dance at the Paris Conservatory). The exchange is supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, and a special reception hosted by Villa Albertine will honor the visiting artists and VIP guests.

Additionally, a special related event, Choreographies of Border: Panel Discussion and Reception, will take place on Saturday, October 18 at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center. In a thought-provoking panel facilitated by USC professor Edwin Hill and Ohio State University professor Lucille Toth, an intersection of French choreographers, dancers, and dance scholars will discuss ways in which international and transnational travel affects and is affected by dancers and dance practices. The panel will be livestreamed for an international audience.

City of Angels / City of Lights is presented by USC Visions and Voices and the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels and the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. Organizers include Jackie Kopcsak (USC Kaufman), Dane Martens (USC Kaufman), Edwin Hill (USC Dornsife), Muriel Maffre (CNSMDP), and Marion Ballester (CNSMDP).

Spring 2026 – Full Performances in Paris

The second leg of the City of Angels / City of Lights exchange will see USC Kaufman students travel to Paris in May of 2026 in conjunction with the school’s bi-annual Maymester study-abroad program.

The fully realized works will premiere in Spring 2026 in Paris (location TBA) in May/June 2026, where they will be featured as part of a triple bill performance:

• A work for CNSM by South African choreographer Robyn Orlin
• An original USC Kaufman work by Bintou Dembélé
• The debut of the collaborative ensemble piece by Leïla Ka featuring CNSM and Kaufman dancers

About the Choreographers

Leïla Ka began her career in urban dance before evolving a distinctive choreographic language blending theatricality, emotion, and physical intensity. Her solo works Pode Ser and To cut loose have earned international acclaim. Ka is an associate artist at several prestigious French institutions and winner of the 2022 Choreographic Revelation Award. Her ensemble work Bouffées won first prize at the Danse Élargie competition at Théâtre de la Ville.

Bintou Dembélé is a pioneering figure in French hip-hop and contemporary dance. Founder of Rualité, she has choreographed for film, stage, and opera—including the viral digital short and full-scale production of Les Indes Galantes at the Paris Opéra. Her work explores ritual, memory, identity, and resistance, drawing from street dance, visual art, and performance theory.

About the schools

USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

Founded in 2012 by a transformational gift by Glorya Kaufman, the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance combines artistic preeminence with industry access at one of the nation’s leading private universities. Since welcoming its inaugural class in fall 2015, USC Kaufman has hosted some of the leading artistic voices in dance. From world-renowned faculty members to exclusive partnerships with cutting-edge dance companies, the USC Kaufman School of Dance is a premier hub for dance in Southern California.

CNSMDP (Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris)

Founded in 1795, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), is a prestigious institution ranked 3rd in the world for performing arts in the QS World University Rankings 2024. With a rich history spanning centuries, it offers a unique combination of classical and contemporary dance, fostering an exceptional dialogue between tradition and innovation. Within a supportive collective environment—guided by the rigor and passion of renowned teachers, choreographers, and international artists—students are encouraged to unite technical mastery with interpretive freedom, experiencing truly unique artistic and personal journeys.

Dates and Timeline

• October 2025 – Sneak Peek Performances + Panel Discussions, Los Angeles
• December 2025 – New work by Bintou Dembélé’s debuts at USC Kaufman’s Fall 2025 BFA Showcase
• Spring 2026 – Paris Performances (Triple Bill with USC Kaufman and CNSM)