#Hashtag is about a social phenomenon: the mobile phone as a prosthesis becoming irremovable, and social networks. Exploring the actual behaviors of the owners, where one walks with his eyes glued to the screen rather than looking around, Riyad Fghani wants to transcribe in dance this new world which opens an unusual emotional space, conducive  to the dance-dynamite Pockemon.

Source : Maison de la Danse

Born June 19th, 1979, near Chalon-Sur-Saône, he began hip-hop at the age of 15 by watching his older brother and his friends dance the Smurf. In 1995, he moved to Lyon and perfected his movements and technique through intensive training. He took part in the Biennale de la Danse in 1998 with the Espace Jeune in Lyon’s 6th district. Present from the early stages of Pockemon Crew, he acted as a unifying force.
Self-taught and well-rounded in hip-hop dance, Riyad is opening up to different horizons. He is thus working with the company HYPNOSE for the creation "Clandestin de Mes Rêves" (1999). In November 2000, he joined the Opéra National in Paris (Opéra Bastille), dancing in the choreographic play "La chauve-souris" (The Bat) under the direction of Coline SERREAU and Laura SCOZZI. These encounters with various professionals - contemporary, classical and hip-hop dancers, circus artists, mimes, actors and tenors, opened him up to other ways of working.
This artistic enrichment encouraged him to develop artistic writing for the company Pockemon Crew, with whom he participated in numerous competitions in France and around the world. In 2004, he directed the first creation for the company, "Sii…si!" in which he displayed all of the energy and movement technique that makes hip-hop dance so beautiful. "C'est ça la vie?!", the second play for which he was artistic director, opened La Biennale de la Danse in Lyon in 2006. An immensely talented dancer, since 2000 he has made it a point of honour to transmit his passion and love of hip-hop to as many people in France and abroad as possible. At the same time as his role as artistic director in the company, since 2005 he has been supervising the Smockemons, a new generation of break-dancers who are an integral part of the company.

Source : Pockemon Crew

More information : pockemon-crew.net

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc).
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr

Artistic direction: Riyad Fghani

Creation: 1996-1997

The company's story begins in 1996-1997: a group of hip-hop dancers practised in the streets of Lyon and its suburbs, then under the arches at the entrance of the Opera House. In the course of encounters, exchanges and reflections, a team of eight dancers was formed and decided to export their skills beyond the boundaries of the city.

In 1999 they won their first battle in Grenoble during the Total Session. From then on, they adopted the name Pockemon Crew. Some years later, a series of victories thrust them to the pinnacle of their art: French hip-hop dance champions (Montpellier) in August 2003, world champions (Hannover, Germany) in October the same year, and finally European champions (London, United Kingdom) in July 2004. After such acclaim, the “group” became the Pockemon Crew “company” with an identity rooted in the energy which the dancers are constantly developing, along with a real desire to share. Today, Pockemon Crew consists of twenty dancers, aged between 17 and 26. Based on creation as much as teaching (going beyond all divisions, whether generational, social, artistic…), the company's approach is now well established. This has in turn given birth to Smockemon, a new generation of breakdancers, and Pockepop, dancers – who stay upright – specialising in smurf and popping. A permanent laboratory, the group's work can be characterised by its association of technique with aesthetics. In 2003, following months of consultation between the dancers and those who support the administrative and artistic side of their work, the “Qui fait ça? Kiffer ça!”* Association was born, which provides a structure for the collaboration between Pockemon Crew and the Opéra de Lyon. The sharing of skills and the energy which it generates are focused on developing the company's choreographic and stage work. The dynamic impetus which drives this hard core forward is the unity and mutual understanding of the dancers. Together they create a dance language, even new movements, out of an open environment oriented towards the future, without ever betraying the “underground” roots of hip-hop dance – that is, the street – from which they continue to draw their inspiration.

* A play on: “Who's doing that?” and “Get a kick out of that!” (Two expressions that sound the same in French.)

Source : Pockemon Crew

More information : pockemon-crew.net