Pockemon Crew spreads a message of hope through dance

​

Riyad Fghani, Pockemon Crew Artistic Manager:

Through our dancing, we try to deliver a message of hope to aimless young people"

Yesterday’s Opening Session ended with a vibrant performance by the Pockemon Crew, a now world-renowned French hip-hop-inspired dance group who had their origins right here in Lyon. Let's discover the history and the philosophy behind the group, which is a living part of French dance culture.

The first members of the group met in the mid-1990s in front of Lyon's Opera House. Members used to gather there and have free dance training session and in 1999 decided to found the Pockemon Crew in order to participate in dance battles (breakdance competitions). They won almost all their battles, the most important to them being the 2003 World Battle of the Year. The Pockemon Crew became known to the general French public and contributed to make breakdance recognized as a real dance style. They were the first breakdance crew to dance in an Opera House. The company is now composed of 30 dancers; 8 of them made the show at the IFLA Congress.

The performance was inspired by the cinema of the 1930s with all dancers dressed in black and white. After an energetic Charleston, they offered us a time of “popping” - a style of dancing that incorporates the rhythmic contraction of the dancer's muscles. They were widely applauded!

Are you tempted to join the Pockemon Crew? Well, the good thing about it is that your dancing skills are not the main determinants. Each candidate talks about the reasons why he wants to join the crew, their own personal story; the training is then given by the company. The need to dance is primordial and most of the Pockemon Crew dancers have their own personal, and often difficult, story to tell.  That’s what motivates their movement and tremendous energy!