“What I like is the challenge”, confides Kamel Ouali

He said half an hour before returning to rehearsal: it's ultimately more than an hour that we will spend with Kamel Ouali, at Paradis Latin. Entering the cabaret at 5^e Parisian district is bustling. The public is seated to attend the now famous review The Bird of Paradise, directed by the choreographer.

Installed in his dressing room, Kamel Ouali finishes his meal, while greeting, between two bites, the artists who wave to him before the curtain rises. Generous, the country's best-known choreographer agrees to look in detail at his career, his successes, and what drives him. And the schedule is very busy since outside of Paradis Latin, Kamel Ouali has taken on quite a challenge: reviving his musical The Sun King, twenty years after its first performance.

Rediscover the magic of the Sun King

He thus revealed, at the beginning of December, that he was re-teaming with Emmanuel Moire for the main role. In 2018, the producer of the show Dove Attia discussed with the choreographer the return of the musical. But at that time, Emmanuel Moire did not feel capable of it. “He was afraid of not finding the magic that had worked fifteen years earlier, so he declined”says Kamel Ouali.

The project is not abandoned however and through requests, “we said to ourselves that it was a bit stupid, that we had to leave again”. This time, Emmanuel Moire is up for it, feeling “armed for the adventure to continue”. The rest of the cast should be new. The auditions are coming to an end, we now have to see what “match” the best, Kamel Ouali tells us.

“I will keep the codes of the past, but modernize them”, he adds, almost mysteriously. “The aesthetic will be the same, with period costumes. There will be a new look, but we remain with the same identity. » He already promises that The ballet of the planetsa flagship painting, will be back with its giant spheres.

And if he apologizes at regular intervals for his current fatigue, there is reason: the promotion is in full swing, tells us the man who has already been supervising the dancers at Paradis Latin for five years.

A universe he had never touched before. “What I liked was the challenge, I'always tries to put myself in danger a little, not to stick to what I have acquired', he said, his eyes sparkling. So, when we contacted him to tell him that the businessman Walter Butler, who had just bought the cabaret, wanted “make things change”he managed to put together a file in just three days.

The cabaret managers are seduced but give an ultimatum: the show must be ready three months later. “I say OK, but carte blanche. And as a result, the file I gave them is 98% the show you see. »

Sure of his desires, Kamel Ouali has indeed been able to impose his choices over the years. He particularly remembers the way he incorporated hip-hop into French shows, at a time when this was not done at all. For The Ten Commandmentsdirector Élie Chouraqui was quickly won over by his proposals. Pascal Obispo, on music, much less. The singer has trouble imagining hip-hop dancers on his songs. Yet the result is there: the musical is a hit.

Challenger to the end, Kamel Ouali also provided the choreography for the series That's Paris. “I meet Marc Fitoussi (a director)who explains to me a little his point of view on the series and, very quickly, I realize that it is exactly the opposite of what I am offering at Le Paradis latin”he laughs.

Working on the series was still “a nice gift”, believes the one who notably spent time alongside Monica Bellucci. “What a woman!” She's not a dancer but she knows her body so well. Even his eyes dance. I loved this experience”he exclaims, enthusiastically.

True to his instinct

Because everything involves emotion for Kamel Ouali, when it comes to working with dancers. “When I audition, when I walk into the room, I already know who I’m going to take. » And he says it loud and clear: his instinct has never betrayed him. “There is something that cannot be explained, beyond technique, beyond performance. What will move me is what people will come up with, if they want to tell me something. »

At Paradis Latin, the choreographer feels extremely close to his troupe. “What I like above all is this family spirit, whether it’s the waiters, the salespeople, the artists. Everyone communicates together. » Even if the beginnings were turbulent. “We ate while we worked, we rehearsed with the sounds of the chainsaws. But there was a crazy energy. And since then, it has been a great success. » To the point of continuing the adventure in Dubai, since the Latin Paradis plans to export there with a new French dinner show.

This closeness with the people around him is felt in the corridors of the cabaret. It is reflected in all his projects. Starting with the Star Academywho animated eight years of his life. The iconic choreographer from the Château de Dammarie-les-Lys (Seine-et-Marne) returns there regularly. There Star Ac, “when I go there, I feel like I’m going to my second home,” he said.

He clearly states that the show changed his life. Known to professionals, he was not at all known to the general public. “Overnight, I was able to set up my own projects and have my name huge on a poster”he admits. “It opened doors for me and made things easier. »

Today, he fully embraces what makes up his artistic identity, shaped among others by artists like Redha, Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausch… “Everything inspires me. A beautiful film can inspire me. When we see the Joker (with Joaquin Phoenix), the way he moves, it's just crazy and it's very inspiring. »

Break the codes

At Paradis Latin, he broke the traditional codes of cabaret by choosing pop, rock and hip-hop pieces. But also with artists “totally different from what we are used to seeing”. Starting with the women who appear there. “I wanted all women to be represented. So there are small ones, tall ones, girls who are a little more curvy, less curvy. But also whites, blacks, Asians…”

A choice that contrasts with other cabarets with much more uniform scenes. “It’s not the story I wanted to tell. » As for its dancers, they come from varied backgrounds, “from the hip-hop world as well as from classical or contemporary. And it’s this slightly cosmopolitan side that I love and that fuels me. »

Father of two children, Kamel Ouali will never force them to dance. But when he sees his little Rock taking up the guitar or France, fifteen months old, dancing non-stop, he sees clearly that his offspring is already immersed in an artistic world.

Coming from a family of twelve brothers and sisters, he had no “not intended to make a career out of it”. It was in La Courneuve, where he lived as a child, that he took part in an end-of-year show. “I had a wonderful time, it was a revelation. I left the class saying to my sister: When I grow up, I want to invent dance. » He was only 10 years old.