Cie. Wanted Posse, France

Dance N'Speak Easy

""The best production I have seen at the Avignon Theatre Festival.
The dancers are all excellent.""

The Komisar Scoop

An impressive, inspiring, simply brilliant performance.
Choreographies that take your breath away. In their elegant costumes from the 1930s, these dance virtuosos, who have already danced for Madonna and Robbie Williams or designed choreographies and performed in equally famous shows, enter the stage. To jazz, soul, funk and cartoon music, they light up the stage for an hour with their perfectly executed figures.
We are captivated, fascinated, carried away ... And here we hold our first favourite of the OFF 2018 festival!

L’Info Tout Court

They are stars in France and fill enthusiastic halls and theatres: the Compagnie Wanted Posse from near Paris are the best-known representatives of "French hip hop". They won several world championship titles including the "Battle of the Year contest" in 2001.

In the production of the company "Dance N' Speak Easy", the ensemble shows their virtuoso skills in a breathtaking and witty production.
It is one of the creations that demonstrates the company's skills in combination with a good portion of humour and a radiant stage design.

Nothing is left to chance, right down to the choice of director Philippe Lafeuille, who goes one better after the insane success of the ballet parody "Tutu" (Avignon OFF 2015 Audience Award).

Choreographer Njagui Hagbé and director Philippe Lafeuille have come up with a surprising cocktail for this show, combining hip-hop dance, singing and burlesque. Several styles come together, but adapted and adapted to the swing dances of the 20s and 30s. In this way they create a unique atmosphere in which the aesthetics of house dance merge with the wild steps of the Charleston, the performance of break dance with the liveliness of Lindy Hop and the free style Hip Hop with the frenetic rhythm of the Jitterbug. "Dance N' Speakeasy" takes us back to the wild years of prohibition in the USA.

In a small run-down New York speakeasy, five drunken mobsters fight over a voluptuous pin-up girl in the stifling heat to music full of references to
the greats of past decades One hears the jazz of Miles Davis, a reference to the concerts played in the secret speakeasies, the soul funk of James Brown of the e

Speakeasies, as the illegal bars where you had to speak softly to buy alcohol were called, were also a place where many jazz dancers and musicians could freely express themselves. This production is a memorial to them to say how urgent it is not to give in to fear and to defend the freedom to dance.

Wow, the dancers are prodigies! ... even Madonna is supposed to have had a taste for it.

We knew it: forbidden things force the imagination to peak performance. The group Wanted Posse, Philippe Lafeuille and Njagui Hagbe have obviously pushed the boundaries and increased their imagination tenfold to make this prohibition a great and enjoyable moment.

It is hard to find negative points about Dance N'Speak Easy. We'll still find two, though: We would have loved the performance soundtrack and what a shame it stops!

Sant Qu´il Besoin

About Wanted Posse:

The most famous group in French hip-hop, Wanted Posse has won several world titles, including the "Battle Of The Year Contest" in 2001. Known for their scenic creativity and technique, the group reinvented the codes of hip-hop to highlight and emphasise the personality of each dancer in their choreographies. The members of Wanted Posse have collaborated for projects worldwide with choreographers such as Benjamin Millepied, Blanca Li and Kamel Ouali, as well as singers such as Madonna and Robbie Williams. They have performed in musicals such as The Lion King, The Ten Commandments, The Three Musketeers and in Folies Bergères revues. But it is in their own creations that the members of Wanted Posse come closest to their roots and excel the most. With their choreographies inspired by their cultural and artistic influences: Tap, Pantsula, African and Asian dances.... Each style is analysed and integrated into a unique Melt'hip-hop.

Njagui Hagbe, Choreography: Award-winning choreographer and icon of French break and house dance Njagui Hagbe has helped build Wanted Posse in his career and is considered the luminary in hip hop dance His creations have been acclaimed and celebrated in the most prestigious Parisian theatres: Théâtre National de Chaillot, Palais des Sports, Casino de Paris, La Cigale, Le Trianon, ... Njagui Hagbe has also performed with Wanted Posse at well-known festivals such as Juste Pour Rire, La Rochelle Francofolies, Biennale du Lyon, Rennes Transmusicales, Montpellier Dance Festival and many others. Njagui Hagbe's entire artistic output is informed by his sense of rhythm and movement. He has been creative director and consultant for prestigious shows such as "The Ten Commandments", Festival Juste Debout and the last Red Bull BC One Contest final, and he has also participated in the choreography of some shows of the Folies Bergères.

Philippe Lafeuille, director: Philippe Lafeuille is a dancer, choreographer and theatre director. Each creation of this multidisciplinary and polymorphous artist is a playground where he likes to mix all genres: dance, drama, humour, visual arts, ... Philippe Lafeuille began his career as a choreographer with the creation of the group Chicos Mambo. Then he started doing what he loves most: turning dance into comedy! After many shows, he created the legendary production "Tutu" in 2014. Whether in his own creations or through collaborations or cultural actions, Philippe Lafeuille sees "the dancing body" as the ultimate way to become a true art form.