Yvonne Sembene

Yvonne Sembene Director

Biography

Franco-German-Senegalese director Yvonne Sembene began her artistic training at the Berlin Dance Institute in contemporary dance, before gradually turning to choreography and directing.

Since 2021, she has been developing her work at a number of institutions in Germany, including research residencies at the Kampnagel Theater (Hamburg), the Sophiensaele Theater (Berlin), the Tanzfabrik dance school (Berlin) and the Ballhaus Ost performance hall (Berlin), where she presented the pieces OutBurningIn, CA$HBABY and She Shanty.

Alongside her stage work, Yvonne regularly acts as a critical observer, notably for the Tanztage and Berliner Festspiele festivals, as well as for Aktion Tanz. She has also been a jury member for the ID Tanzhaus residency program in Frankfurt, and for the Kunst im Untergrund competition in Berlin.

In 2025, she created a choreographic piece for the SOLD company at the Theater Freiburg, as well as a performance for the Nearly Close Enough to Kiss festival at Theater Neben dem Turm (Marburg). She also joins the team at Wiesbaden's Hessian Theater as assistant director on Tosca.

Yvonne Sembene joins the Académie de l'Opéra national de Paris in September 2025 as director in residence.

Immerse in the Paris Opera universe

Corporate Partnerships