In 2018, Nathan amazed the jury of “France has incredible talent” (watch the performance here). “This fight that you did not choose, you have won a thousand times over,” said Eric Antoine, seized by the poignant performance of this Montpellier resident, an amateur dancer in a wheelchair. Nathan had left the competition at the gates of the final, to the cheers of the spectators. This Tuesday evening, he is back on the M6 telecrochet scene. But he won’t be alone this time. He will be accompanied by the company Youcef Ouali. Because a lot of things have changed in the life of this 24-year-old from Montpellier since his much-noticed performance five years ago: Nathan has become a professional dancer.
Impressed by his appearance on the stage of “France has incredible talent” in 2018, several companies immediately asked him to dance with them. That of Magalie Lesieur, with whom the young artist collaborates, for shows to raise awareness among young people about addictions. But also that of Youcef Ouali, a breakdance figure, who himself participated in the famous Six competition in 2014.
“When I saw my brother dancing, I said to myself, ‘Why not me?’ »
It is with this renowned group that Nathan will dance this Tuesday. “When I was called upon, I was very proud,” confides the young man, “to 20 minutes. And today, it has become my job. I was able to dance almost everywhere in France. Becoming a professional dancer was my dream! So, even with a disability, anything is possible. »
It must be said that Nathan has been fighting, since he was 7 years old, to “break”, despite the handicap that has deprived him of his legs since birth. Encouraged by his brother, Gato Waye, also passionate about breakdancing, Nathan moved mountains. “It was him who taught me breakdancing when I was very little,” he says. When I saw him dancing with his friends, I said to myself “Why not me?”. I started lifting myself, doing movements… And it very quickly became a passion. I didn’t have my legs, but I had my arms. I learned to do all the movements, just with the strength of my arms. »
“I was always told, ‘Despite your difference, you can dance’”
Until you dance like the others. Or better than the others, even. “I remember once my brother told me, ‘I’ve been practicing this movement for I don’t know how long, and you come in and do it in two seconds!’ Nathan is fed up. When he was a teenager, on the cypher, the circle that the dancers form to encourage the performers, the Montpellier resident felt in his element, like nowhere else. Whenever he had a free moment, he danced. Until joining his first company, Mozaïk Danse, in Montpellier, and dreaming of a future as a professional dancer.
“At school, it was complicated,” confides the young man. I suffered mockery, insults, harassment. But I took my revenge. I got my certificate, then my baccalaureate, with a very good honor. And dancing, above all, allowed me to feel free. I had, finally, found an area where I was not judged, where I was not made fun of. Everyone, the dancers, my loved ones, always pushed me to move forward. People always told me, “Despite your difference, you can dance.”