TALMAG SEPTEMBER | Page 11

sion of her Run the World (Girls) video. Their collaboration with Knowles would continue in May 2012 at the Revel Presents: Beyoncé Live concert series in Atlantic City. Larry and Laurent were star dancers on the Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour by Cirque du Soleil until December 2011.[21][22] On March 6, 2012 the pair joined rapper Big Sean on-stage at the after-party for Kanye West’s Fall 2012 fashion show at La Halle Freyssinet in Paris. One month later they performed with Missy Elliott and Timbaland at Hennessy’s “Wild Rabbit” campaign launch event in New York. Les Twins debuted on Japan’s largest television network Nippon TV on July 24, 2012. During November 2012 they guest starred on the television dance competition Everybody Dance! in Ukraine and teamed up again with Missy Elliott at the Beats on the Beach event in Abu Dhabi and the Back2Black Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In December 2012 the twins began working on multiple projects with Sony Japan. In 2013, they toured with Beyoncé as the only male dancers on The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. Les Twins are signed with NEXT Model Management in Paris. In 2010 they walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week for the Jean Paul Gaultier Fall 2010 Men’s Collection. They have since been featured in numerous web, television, and print advertising campaigns, including for Jay-Z’s viral video campaign “That’s Rocawear”, New Era, Benetton, Givenchy, H&M, Adidas, Pioneer Steez, EMOBILE, 25 Magazine, and Beats By Dre. Larry and Laurent have traveled the globe teaching their original choreography in countries including the U.S., France, Japan, Canada, Russia, Germany, Italy, Finland, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Kyrgyzstan. Crowds of up to 5000 people have been in attendance at some of their international dance workshops. In 2010 they cho- h inted wit isjo totally d alhey look ky movements, T yr ir ver y je same time displa the du gh at the fluidity. They un thou to ing an amaz twist, impossible ing d ity bend an ir center of grav late, e . where th enal and unreal assess om oth phen lies: b reographed the dance sequence to the song Jump by Kris Kross in the Wii video game Just Dance 2. In June 2011 Fox broadcasted a portion of the audition piece of contestants D*Day (Damon Bellmon and Deon Lewis) on Season 8 of the dance competition So You Think You Can Dance. Although they were accused by many of plagiarizing their choreography from Les Twins’ World of Dance San Diego performance on YouTube, D*Day was allowed to proceed to the next stage of the competition. In 2012 Bellman and Lewis returned on the SYTYCD Season 9 Atlanta auditions show claiming their prior year’s routine was an homage to Les Twins’ work. Les Twins’ dance style is often categorized as hiphop new style, a commercial form of hip hop with a strong emphasis on isolations and musicality. However, the twins are known for having created a unique style from this dance which they refer to as “Twins-Style”. Due to their ability to anticipate and finish each other’s moves, the brothers quickly gained a reputation for their timing and skill at making freestyle dance look like choreography.Charlotte Guillemin of WAD Magazine wrote. They have really created a form of hip-hop that is truly individual to them...They are in perfect symbiosis. They look totally disjointed with their very jerky movements, although at the same time displaying an amazing fluidity. They undulate, bend and twist, impossible to assess where their center of gravity lies: both phenomenal and unreal. Larry and Laurent credit their major inspirations as Michael Jackson, their coach Abibou “Playmo” Kébe, cartoons, and their own siblings, nine of whom are also dancers. Les Twins are immediately recognizable for their large afros and trademark style of dress—backwards pants, neck warmers, and kneepads worn around the ankles. Regarding their tendency to adopt other unique accessories, such as beaded bracelets and necklaces, wristbands, watch chains, scarves, and ladies’ wear, Laurent stated: “We have changed consciousness about fashion.” 9