01 - Intro

Arthur Cadre is a French dancer, MODEL, CHOREOGRAPHER & SHOW DIRECTOR. He’s also a former Architect.

02 - Early days

Born in Perros-Guirec a small town on the west of France, Arthur discovers dance aged 9 watching a music video on television. Shy kid by nature, he sees in dance an opportunity of expression. In 2001, he started practicing after school to create innovative breakdance moves. Autodidact, ‘‘lilcrabe’’ (his stage name) used his unusual body shape for this dance style to develop a singular gesture. Mixing contortion, acrobatics and contemporary dance became his trademark. At the age of 13, he starts to compete around Europe in international solo breakdance battles against older dancers. Regarded by some as a child prodigy, he’s often criticised by old-school breakdancers for his difference. In 2007, He made his first TV appearance at 14 years old in ‘‘la France a un incroyable talent’ . In 2011 he posted a video of ‘‘yoga breakdance’’ on YouTube that was among the first dance viral videos (viewed 10 million times). The worldwide impact of that video launched his international dance journey.

Architecture

Arthur studied architecture in France and Canada. During 6 years he managed simultaneously dance and study, affording the cost of studying with dance gigs income. He graduated in 2015 from University Of Montreal. Arthur describes architecture as a ‘‘tremendous influence on his dance in terms of lines, proportions, rhythm and story telling.’’

Dance Style

Arthur is known for his innovative dance style. His work is blending a variety techniques including contemporary dance, hip-hop, contorsion, acrobatics or magic to create his own signature movement vocabulary. Some of his popular work include Mixing breakdance and yoga, clowning and acrobatics and contemporary dance and levitation.

03 - An Artist’s journey

Bringing his dance style to the world stage

From the Arena di Verona to the Atlanta stadium passing by the Pasadena theatre in Los angeles, Arthur has performed worldwide on some of the most prestigious stages in over 42 cities across the 6 continents. He was a guest performer in over 14 Television shows globally. The unique dance style he crafted along the years allows him to collaborate with brands like Mclaren, Google, Audemart Piguet, D&G, Cartier or bmw. He danced in front of celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Sofia Copolla, Zinedine Zidane, Monica Belluci, Dodja cat, Kris Jenner or Mariah Carey to name a few.

Milestone performances

Arthur performed on different stages : theatre, dance, circus, cabaret, concert etc. After having declined several offers from cirque du soleil while being a student, he perform a solo act with them during the one night only event ‘‘bal en blanc‘‘ in Montreal’s convention center. In 2016, he’s invited by Gilbert Rozon to perform two solo piece at Just for laughs (comedy festival) on an original musical score by Scott Price (Celine Dion’s musical director). A few months later, he danced at the NFL half time show game of the 49ers vs. Falcons at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome stadium in front of 70 000 people. Arthur also performed at the Universal Expo show named ’’why? The musical’’. The show is directed by legendary Bollywood film director Shekar Kapur. He crafted a solo on an original musical scored by A.R Rahman (Oscar winning composer). In a few years, Arthur crafted over 12 lead roles and characters in different big budget show productions including La Perle by Dragone, the first global challenge opening ceremony, Formula 1 grandprix, Vogue x MasterCard launch to name a few. Arthur take part of the Unesco International Dance Council. He’s also a certified 200hr yoga teacher from the Avalon yoga center in San Francisco and taught a masterclass at Stanford university. In 2022, Arthur went on world tour performing and giving master classes focusing on bringing dance culture in unusual places such as Zanzibar island, Uzbekistan or Sri Lanka. During this world tour, Arthur also danced with Italian singer Claudio Baglioni on his national tour directed by Giuliano Peparini and received a Cirque du soleil award for his latest dance piece. He also took part in the Forbes 30under30 list rewarding young entrepreneurs.

Relation to Franco Dragone

In 2015, Arthur is performing at the festival Mondial du cirque de Demain (biggest circus festival in the world) representing France. Legendary theatre director Franco Dragone is part of the jury. Franco took Arthur under his wings and proposed him to work with him on the recreation of one of his shows in Macao. They developed a special relationship together. Franco invited him on several projects, including the creation of his latest extravagance multimillion dollar show production named ‘‘La perle’’ in Dubai. Performing over 1000 shows as a lead role, it is estimated that he danced in front of 1.2 million spectators. In 2023, A few weeks after Franco passed away, Arthur came back to the festival Mondial performing a specially crafted performance dedicated to Franco. He received the ‘‘Dragone award’’ handled by Franco’s son Lucas Dragone.

Modeling, Fashion and luxury

Arthur took part in runway shows such as Dolce&Gabbana Alta moda in Venice (2021) and Siracusa (2022); Cartier’s ‘‘into the wild’’ in Dubai (2023) and ‘‘nature sauvage’’ in Vienna (2024). He took part in social media campaigns with ’’haute couture’’ brands Jean Paul Gaultier and luxury car maker Mclaren. lately, He was featured in Fashion editorials like Flaunt magazine (US) and NRC mag (NL) and appeared in ‘‘Una favola Siciliana’ the documentary on Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana aired on sky arte. Arthur was show director for the 50 years anniversary event of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. — See Arthur Cadre on Models.com -

Show direction

Arthur Directed ‘‘Asayel’’ an extravaganza horse show featuring 25 horses and 40 dancers in Riyadh (KSA). He also choreograph private events for the KSA royal family. He made his film directorial debut in 2022 with ‘‘Inner thoughts’’ a dance short film interpreting Nina Simone’s emotional struggle. The film was premiered on LVMH media Nowness. Arthur co-directed ‘‘en Fuego’’ a dinner show spectacle taking place at the Atlantis hotel on the palm of Dubai.

Art world & Photography

Arthur presented an interdisciplinary art piece at the Art Basel art fair in 2023. He also has a passion for photography and drawing. He describes photography as ‘‘an important tool in his creative process of dance and spectacle’’. He produced a series of self-portaits named ‘‘Wonderland Creatures’’ that went viral on internet. Described as ‘‘fascinating work’’ by radio nova and a ‘‘must see photography series’’ by lenouvelobs, these photographs has been related in over 47 art medias including Arte, Vice and Vogue. His photographic work has been exhibited at London art biennale and Dubai art fair.

04 - Artistic style and Vision

Creative expression

‘‘ I am dedicated on creating the future of entertainment. I believe in the power of ideas. I refuse to be confined into labels, Dancer, architect, director, acrobat or photographer. I have immersed myself in these disciplines (sometimes for decades) to deliver messages, tell stories, share emotions, and bring to life the visions in my head. I’m more of an artist who try to reinvent. Transforming dance, reimagining spectacles, reinventing myself, reshaping the world we live in one show at a time. As utopian as it sounds, I believe that storytelling with human performances can make the world a better place. In an age where society desperately needs more humanity, we must embrace less virtual and more genuine and visceral connections. Theatre, dance, circus, concerts and live performance are the purest expressions of this humanity. I find beauty in each person I meet, which is why I am committed to creating art for everyone. Art that resonates with both the elites and the working class from which I come. I do not forget. This is my contribution: telling stories the society needs to hear, hopefully without being too boring. ’’

Environmental commitment

Environment is a cause that Arthur tend to defend as often as possible. Recently, he performed at the European Commission's "Water Wise" EU Green Week, participated in the first Global Challenge focused on "Preserving the World Ocean," and danced at the "Love Tomorrow" conference on sustainability, community, and innovation. He was also featured in the educational documentary "Ecolanta" which explores the impact of plastic, and contributed to a research project at the French Circus National Center aimed at making circuses more environmentally friendly. He believes that "We, as humans, have ignored this issue for decades. The environment is one of the most critical challenges of our time. As an artist, I have no choice but to incorporate it into everything I create." He’s actively developing eco-friendly performances to reduce the entertainment industry's carbon footprint.

Written by Audrey Cadre