Sandrine Loncke

Sandrine Loncke (Ph.D., African Anthropology, Paris, 2002) is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Paris 8 and Researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (https://lesccnrs.fr/fr/cb-profile/147/userprofile). Since 1994, she has focused her work on the study of the musical practices of the Fulbe societies of Western Africa (Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chad).

In 1997, her more specific interest in minority and marginalized cultures led her to go to live with the Fulbe Wodaabe nomads in Niger, a people whose spectacular ritual ceremonies had yet to be the subject of in-depth study. She learned their language, followed their pastoral migrations, recorded their music (http://https://archives.crem-cnrs.fr/search/?q=loncke) and worked alongside them on their development micro-projects.

As a witness to the growing difficulties of the Wodaabe in sustaining their culture and lifestyle based on nomadic herding, she decided to document their efforts in a film. The award-wiining result is Dance With the Wodaabes. Professor Loncke has also written extensively on Wodaabe culture and music.