Maybe you’ve heard of him, maybe you haven’t. He’s one of the world’s most exciting and dynamic dance phenomenons and he’s busy tearing up the dance world as you read this. His real name is Ange Michael, but he works under the moniker of Shaadow Sefiroth. He’s only 22 years of age, but has already made a huge impact in the street dancing world. Based in London, Shaadow (let’s call him that) was born in Paris, France but moved to England to study and help further his career. He got into dance six years ago, but has only been dancing hip-hop for four years. But to watch him, you’d have thought he’d been doing it from birth…
We spoke to Shaadow about his art and he told us that while he arrived a little late to dancing, he instantly felt that, once he’d started, he’s found his calling in life and really treasures his opportunity to create art and to inspire and even change people lives with what he does. And he’s got seriously big plans for the future too. He’s currently expanding what he does by directing videos, writing scripts, acting and chereographing. The man’s a graduate in visual arts and metaphysics, so he’s able to tap into plenty of knowledge and know-how about his craft and the arts in general.
Music and dance go hand in hand. So while Shaadow has plenty of dance heroes like the legendary star Fred Astaire and the ground-breaking ‘flash dancers’ The Nicholas Brothers, a lot of the people he looks up to are, naturally, musicians. He cites Michael Jackson, James Brown and Erykah Badu amongst his influences. As well as cultural icons like Martin Luther King, Will Smith, Leonardo DaVinci, Michael Jordan and Bruce Lee. And, of course, his biggest influences in life are – and have always been – his parents. And when you watch the man in action, you can really see the spirit of some of those people shine through in his work.
“My ultimate goal is to become a legend.” He told us. And we’ve no reason to think that he can’t make it!
So we’re guessing you want to see the man in action for yourself now, huh? Of course you do… Well, there’s no better place to go that his latest video from a judge’s showcase over in Odessa, Ukraine. Enjoy!
If you want to see more of Shaadow or follow him and his work on social media, you can do so on his YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter feed or over on Vine. Go say hello!
