Soleïla Chaou "dances with her darkness" for France at Eurovision

• The dancer Soleïla Chaou will accompany the French Alvan and Ahez on the Eurovision 2022 stage during the final which will take place this Saturday May 14 in Turin (Italy).

• Soleïla Chaou, a professional dancer for twelve years, is “very influenced” by flamenco dance and voguing which she mixes with her “hip-hop bases”.

• "I immersed myself in this legend [which inspired

  Fulenn

  ] and I appropriated it to interpret it in my own way, explains Soleïla Chaou to

  20 Minutes

  .

  For me, the darkness, the devil, is inside of each one of us.

  When I dance this way, I dance with my darkness, to digest it, turn it into light and be the best performer I can be.

  »

From our special correspondent in Turin (Italy),

This Saturday evening, on the Eurovision stage, five people will represent France.

The Alvan quartet and Ahez and Soleïla Chaou.

If, behind the scenes in Turin, the latter is discreet, it is nonetheless essential to the French performance.

A professional dancer for twelve years, she has teamed up with Breton artists since the

, broadcast in early March on France 2. She gives substance to the subject of the song

.

Inspired by the legend of Katel Golett, the text is a story of female emancipation through a figure who "dances with the devil" without worrying about the gaze of others.

In Breton, the title means both “young girl” and “spark”.

“I immersed myself in this legend and I appropriated it to interpret it in my own way, explains Soleïla Chaou to

.

For me, the darkness, the devil, is inside of each one of us.

When I dance this way, I dance with my darkness, to digest it, turn it into light and be the best performer I can be.

Everything that is in me, makes me bubble or makes me sad, I try to use it, to express who I am.

»

“I myself am a mixture of cultures”

The one who says she is “very influenced” by flamenco dance and voguing – she is a member of the house Miyake Mugler – adds her “hip-hop bases”.

A coherent approach with the musical identity of the Eurovision song, at the crossroads of different genres.

“It's a mixture of sounds that have nothing to do with the base, but I myself am a mixture of cultures, so it inspires me right away.

The electro side appeals to me a lot, from the outset, and these Breton voices remind me of Bulgarian voices, ”says Soleïla Chaou.

Since her arrival in Turin with the French delegation on May 4, the dancer has discovered behind the scenes of Eurovision.

“I think it's huge, I didn't expect something so big, with so many people, so well prepared.

It's a pleasure to be there, we have a lot of fun, there is a great atmosphere, ”she says.

When she returns to France this Sunday, she will keep the memory of a "brilliant experience" which will have brought her "a lot humanly".

Her flame will continue to express itself in choreographic movements on international stages.

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