Samy Messelier, 11 years old and French modern jazz champion in his junior category, tells about his passion, his management of social networks and the future he hopes for in dance.
11-year-old Samy, from Saint-Rémy-Sur-Avre, in Eure-et-Loir, smiling from ear to ear does not hide his pride and his immense joy at having won the French Junior Modern Jazz Championships. With his parents, he received France 3 Centre-Val de Loire to talk about his passion and discuss his future, which he hopes for in dance.
Since April 17, 2023, Samy Messelier has been French modern jazz champion in the junior category. To the surprise of his parents who imagined him “in the top ten” out of 38 competitors, the only boy present in this category therefore won this gold medal.
The jury of the French championship has also given him some praise that he does not seem ready to forget, his father explains: “the jury told him that he was very beautiful to look at, that they would have liked to be like him at his age and that it was very rare to see 11-year-old children with this level”.
I was crazy, too proud and super happy! He deserves it and lived it super humbly.
Élise Simon, coach of Samy Messelier.
His coach, Élise Simon, who has been training Samy for two years, does not hide his pride in seeing his little protege succeed. “He’s a boy who wants it and who works a lot. In dance, he has a gift, it can’t be explained”she assures.
Before that, Samy had first distinguished himself in the regional competition in Vernon in the Eure by also winning the medal but being very disappointed with his performance. “I was pissed at myself, I had made a lot of mistakes”he assures.
His passion for dance, Samy has had it since the age of two and a half, it was passed on to him by his mother, an amateur dancer. “I was already dancing in my mother’s womb”quips the young boy.
A child bursting with energy, Samy was quickly enrolled in dance lessons by his parents despite his very young age. He discovered several types of dance there: classical, contemporary, hip-hop, tap dancing, street-jazz and modern jazz.
Essential practices for modern jazz, a discipline that he prefers and that he would like to practice until one day making it his profession. “We are much more with the ground and we can let go, I am more free”says the young dancer.
From now on, in parallel with his solo competitions, Samy sets out to discover the stage, the spotlights and the cameras to which his parents want him to get used. “We try to give him all the keys so that he can get there. He has the advantage of being a boy so it’s not as tight as for young girls”they launch.
At 11, Samy trains very often with adults for his modern jazz lessons: “It changes level. It’s already something good to have this level at my age”evokes Samy Messelier who is not frustrated not to be able to dance with his little comrades.
Another aspect to master or at least to understand is the management of social networks and its digital image. The 11-year-old boy is registered on Tiktok and Instagram on the advice of some of his speakers, but his father keeps an eye on the grain and very regularly checks the messages that his son may receive.
Regarding the negative messages, Samy is very clear: “I don’t care, it’s their opinion. I’m thinking about kind messages.“Social networks that also allow him to learn with sometimes disconcerting ease the choreographies he must master during these competitions.
For this fan of Denitsa Ikhonomova, Chris Marques or François Allu, dancers of the TF1 program “Dance with the stars”the next meeting is July 2 in Issy-les-Moulineaux for an international modern jazz competition.
