Salah Benlemqawanssa (born June 28, 1979), also known as Salah the Entertainer and Spider Salah, is a competitive

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in ...

r from France who won the inaugural season of ''

La France a un incroyable talent ''La France a un incroyable talent'' ( en, France's Got Incredible Talent), previously known as ''Incroyable Talent'', is a French TV show, based on the ''Got Talent'' series. It debuted on M6 on 2 November 2006, presented by Alessandra Sublet ...

'' (''France has Incredible Talent''), the fourth season of ''

Arabs Got Talent ''Arabs Got Talent'' ( ar, أرابز غوت تالنت) is an Arab reality television talent show broadcast by MBC 1 in the Arab world; it is produced by the MBC and was first broadcast on 14 January 2011. The show features contestants with a va ...

'' and the fourth season of '' Tú Sí Que Vales (Italy)''. He was born in the Paris suburb Saint-Denis and is of Moroccan (Father) and Algerian (Mother) ancestry. He calls his personal dance style P.A.B.E. which stands for

Popping Popping is a street dance adapted out of the earlier Boogaloo (funk dance) cultural movement in Oakland, California. As Boogaloo spread, it would be referred to as Robottin in Richmond, California, Strutting movements in San Francisco and San ...

Animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

Boogaloo Boogaloo or bugalú (also: shing-a-ling, Latin boogaloo, Latin R&B) is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage African Americans and Latinos ...

, and Effects. Although Salah is best known for popping, he is also skilled in

b-boying Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in t ...

Career

Salah started dancing in 1996 after he saw the

dance crew The history of hip-hop dances encompasses the people and events since the late 1960s that have contributed to the development of early hip-hop dance styles, such as uprock, breaking, locking, roboting, boogaloo, and popping. African America ...

O Posse practicing their moves in front of the mirrors of the

Théâtre national de Chaillot The Théâtre National de Chaillot (English: Chaillot National Theatre) is a theatre located in the Palais de Chaillot at 1, place du Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Close by the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro Gardens—the Th ...

. Two years later, he and his crew The Family won second place at the international b-boying competition

Battle of the Year Battle of the Year, commonly referred to as BOTY, is an annual international breakdancing competition that began in 1990. It has been regarded as the premier b-boying competition in the world and has been referred to as the "World Cup of B-Boying" ...

(BOTY) in 1998. In 1999, he joined the

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

company Montalvo-Hervieu. In 2006, Salah won the first season of ''Incroyable Talent''. In 2007, he performed a one-man stage show at London-based

Breakin' Convention Breakin’ Convention is an international hip-hop theatre festival based in London, England that was founded in 2004 and is produced annually by Sadler's Wells theatre. It has been under the artistic direction of playwright and dancer Jonzi D ...

called "The Dream of Gluby". In 2008, he starred as himself in ''Beats Per Minute'', an independent film about a French popper who discovers he can rewind time with his dance moves. In 2009, Salah served as a judge at BOTY's international one-on-one

b-boy Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

battle in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. BOTY is a b-boy competition exclusively for b-boy crews; however, to celebrate their 20th anniversary they had a competition for b-boy solo dancers. In 2011, Salah led a digital project called Breathe the Beat. Through Breathe the Beat, he released a series of five video tutorials explaining how he takes inspiration from the world around him to create his P.A.B.E. dance style. He also judged an online competition based on the principles of his tutorials to see which dancer could create the best one-minute performance. The winner, chosen by Salah, that created the best routine was James "AnimatedJ" Jimenez from the USA. The project also featured a series of roadshows around the UK taught by Brooke and Roxy from Funkstylerz and Plague dance crews. After Breath the Beat, Salah toured North America from October 2011 to October 2012 as a featured dancer in

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

's production '' Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour''. In 2013, Salah became a brand ambassador for

Puma Puma or PUMA may refer to: Animals * ''Puma'' (genus), a genus in the family Felidae ** Puma (species) or cougar, a large cat Businesses and organisations * Puma (brand), a multinational shoe and sportswear company * Puma Energy, a mid- and d ...

. Through this partnership, Puma launched a dance project called "Puma the Quest" that gave five dancers the opportunity to travel the world and be personally mentored by Salah. The street dancers were chosen from hundreds of video submissions which were narrowed down to a core group of 20. The core group had to perform live in front of a panel of judges including singer Nawell Madani, rapper

Youssoupha Youssoupha Mabiki (born August 29, 1979), better known by his nickname Youssoupha () is a French rapper of Congolese descent. Early life and career He was born to a Congolese father, the musician and Congo-Kinshasa political figure Tabu Ley Ro ...

, and Salah himself. The five winners—Lara Laquiz, Tiet Sofian, Steph 2SL, Anto, and b-boy Ska—were announced the following day at the

Juste Debout Juste or Giusti is the name conventionally applied to a family of Italian sculptors. Their real name was Betti, originally from the area of San Martino a Mensola, a church in Florence. Giusto Betti, whose name was afterwards given to the whol ...

2013 finals. They traveled with Salah to New York City, Berlin, Tokyo, Paris, London, and Los Angeles to learn about the street culture within each city. When they returned to Paris they created a show about their experience around the world. In December 2013, Salah appeared on ''La France a un incroyable talent'' again in a one-time special called ''La Finale des Champions'' (''The Finale of Champions''). Three months later in March 2014, Salah served as a judge on the

Canal J Canal J (stylised as canal J) is a French pay public television channel dedicated to children's programming. It is aimed at children aged seven to fourteen. On 1 February 2019, M6 Group entered negotiations to acquire the television unit of ...

kids television show ''Battle Dance'' with singer Sherefa Luna and b-boy Ali "

Lilou Lilou is a French female given name. It is rising in popularity in France, where it is ranked in the top 50 names given to baby girls. It is sometimes considered a diminutive of the name Lily or a combination of the names Lily and Louise. It may a ...

" Ramdani. In 2015, Salah won the fourth season of ''Arabs Got Talent''.

Titles

* Tú Sí Que Vales (Italy) **2017: Winner *Arabs Got Talent **2015: Winner *Last One Stands **2014: 1-on-1 Popping champion *DANCE@LIVE WORLDCUP **2014: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion **2018: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion *Red Bull Beat It **2012: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion *

UK B-Boy Championships The UK B-Boy Championships is a hip-hop dance competition held annually in the United Kingdom. UK B-Boy Championships, alongside Battle of the Year and R-16 Korea, is regarded to be one of the main International B-Boy Championships held every year ...

**2016: 1-on-1 Popping champion **2010:

B-boy Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...

crew championsHe won the world b-boy crew battle with Vagabonds. **2007: 1-on-1 Popping champion *Funkin' Styles **2010: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion **2009: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion **2006: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion *Popping Professional battle Japan **2007: 1-on-1 Popping champion *EuroBattle **2008: 1-on-1 Popping champion **2006: 1-on-1 Popping champion *

**2006: 2-on-2 Popping champions - Salah & Iron Mike **2004: 2-on-2 Popping champions - Salah & Damon Frost *Incroyable Talent **2006: Winner *

The Notorious IBE The Notorious IBE is an international hip hop dance festival festival in Heerlen, The Netherlands. Between 1998 and 2005 the festival took place at Nighttown in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In 2008 the festival moved to the city of Heerlen in the ...

**2005: Stand Up Dance Battle champion **2003: Stand Up Dance Battle champion **2002: Seven 2 Smoke champion *Urban Momentum **2004: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion *B-Boy Showdown **1998: 1-on-1 Popping champion *FreeStylez Seesion Korea **2004: 1-on-1 Freestyle champion

Appearances

*Television **2017: ''Tú Sí Que Vales'' **2016: ''Das Supertalent'' **2015: ''

'' **2014: ''Battle Dance'' **2013: ''La France a un Incroyable Talent'' **2009: ''Star King'' **2006: ''Incroyable Talent''The official name of ''La France a un incroyable talent'' in the first season was ''Incroyable Talent''. *Judging **2013: All India Dance Competition **2013: The Notorious IBE **2013: R16 **2009: BOTY **2009:

Red Bull BC One Red Bull BC One is an annual international B-Boy competition organized by the beverage company Red Bull. It is an individual B-Boy competition, notable for being the only one of the major international breaking championships to not include a crew ...

**2008: UK B-Boy ChampionshipsHe judged the locking and popping competitions only. **2008: Warsaw Challenge **2007: Warsaw Challenge **2006: Circle Sensation *Film **2014: ''

Mad About Dance ''Mad About Dance'' is an 2014 Indian dance film. The film is directed by Saahil Prem. The film stars Saahil Prem and Amrit Maghera in the lead roles. Saahil Prem debuted as an actor alongside Sunny Leone in the 2014 film Ragini MMS 2. Essenti ...

'' **2012: ''Sur la piste du Marsupilami'' **2008: ''Beats Per Minute'' **2002: ''Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre'' *Music Video **1996: "Super Discount" - Etienne de Crecy **2006: "

Rudebox ''Rudebox'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams, released on 23 October 2006 in the United Kingdom. It features two guest appearances from the Pet Shop Boys. The album was produced by a variety of producers ...

" -

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

**2005: "Feel The Vibe" -

Axwell Axel Christofer Hedfors (; born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angell ...

**2005: "Doo Wap" - Paul Johnson Feat. Chynna *Stage **2011: Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour **2009:

**2008:

Freestyle Session ''Freestyle Session'' is a b-boy competition held every year which crowns the best crew in the world. It is sanctioned by the Urban Dance & Educational Foundation and part of the Pro Breaking Tour and Undisputed's World BBoy Series. Originally held ...

**2008: Urban Dance Showcase **2007: Rencontres de la Villette **2007: Breakin' Convention **2007: Red Bull BC One **2001: France Moves *Teaching **DanceKool **Street Dance Kemp Europe **Urban Dance Camp **Broadway Dance Center **Ones to Watch **International Dance Festival Birmingham **Giant Studio **The Hip Drop Dance Complex **Urban Dance Studio **Fair Play Academy

Training

Salah specializes in hip-hop, but he has also studied other forms of dance including

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

, tap,

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

, and

belly dancing Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

. Salah is a member of Vagabonds and

Massive Monkees Massive Monkees is a 28 member b-boy crew from Seattle, Washington that won the 2004 World B-Boy Championships in London and appeared on season four of MTV's ''America's Best Dance Crew''. In 2012 they won the international b-boy competition R-1 ...

b-boy crews and Montalvo-Hervieu contemporary dance company. To stay in shape, he works out five times a week with two trainers.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salah 1979 births Got Talent winners Living people Popping dancers Breakdancers French male dancers French people of Algerian descent French people of Moroccan descent Hip hop dancers