Madonna completes her world tour in Paris. She begins this Saturday at the Grand Rex a series of twelve concerts until March 11. Paris is the eleventh and last city to host the “Madame X Tour”, an exceptional tour that only stops in theaters, while the “queen of pop” usually fills large halls and stadiums. A finale eagerly awaited by his French fans but also by four of his twelve dancers, from the Paris region.
"Finishing at home, in front of our families and friends, we are impatiently waiting for it," admit the French artists, whom we met on January 18 in Lisbon (Portugal). Behind the scenes as during the show, you leave your smartphone at the entrance. Three hours before the concert, we spend 30 minutes very relaxed with Marvin Gofin, 30, from Gentilly (Val-de-Marne), Loïc Mabanza, 29, from Persian (Val-d'Oise), Nicolas Huchard, 31 years old, from Orsay (Essonne) and Aloné Ilebo, 29 years old, child of Anthony (Hauts-de-Seine).
"In the soul and the heart, she is a dancer"
The first two are pillars of the Madonna team. Marvin Gofin, member of the RAF and Enfants Prodiges troops who also danced for Matt Pokora and Shy'm, and Loïc Mabanza, who has lived in the United States for eight years and worked for Mariah Carey, Usher and Jay-Z, are the alone with an American dancer to accompany him for three tours. On this one, she asked them to choreograph several titles and to supervise the selections of dancers in Paris.
"Dance is essential for Madonna," recalls Nicolas Huchard, who is accompanying her for the first time. Dancer, it was her first dream. Faced with the difficulty of breaking through at the time, she turned to music. But in the soul and the heart, she is a dancer. It's the Holy Grail of dancing with her. It is the elite, a requirement rate above all. It's difficult but in one year, I took ten years of experience. "
They don't want to talk about the injuries of Madonna, who had to cancel several concerts due to knee pain, but all are impressed by her courage. “With what she endures, most of the artists would have canceled their tour. But she wants and will go to the end! "She never does anything by halves," says Nicolas Huchard. At that age, (Editor's note: she is 61 years old) at this level, it's a bit of a phew. "After 35 years of career, she still works as hard," adds Marvin Gofin. During a rehearsal in front of zero spectators, she gave herself with a smile as if the room was full. I gaped at her. "
“Madonna respects us enormously. I have not felt that with any other artist, comments Loïc Mabanza. “We are very united, we are all moving together, adds Aloné Ilebo, who is making his first tour with Madonna. There is a family spirit ”. "We meet every day, almost 24 hours a day," admits Nicolas Huchard. She created a second artistic family with us. We travel like a circus troupe. "
"She likes France, our culture, our taste"
When we interview them, Madonna has just made a global ad for Aya Nakamura by showing on Instagram her children singing "Djadja". Was it one of the French dancers who made him discover? "She really doesn't need us," says Marvin Gofin. She is super connected and aware of everything ”. "She listens to everything and she likes French music, Gainsbourg, Brel, Piaf, Christine and the Queens", explains Nicolas Huchard.
“Madonna likes France, our culture, our way of thinking, working and our taste, rejoices Loïc Mabanza. All her children speak fluent French, they have special teachers. "She likes the personality of the French, our revolutionary soul, she has this rebellious side too," agrees Nicolas Huchard. She finds that in France, the dancers are unique. On each tour, it organizes a recruitment session in Paris. "
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For them too, the “Madame X Tour” is “an experience completely different from the others”. "It's much more intimate, personal, Madonna talks a lot, is close to people and her messages get better," says Marvin Gofin. "The fact that phones are banned in the room is really better for everyone," says Aloné Ilebo. People see all the details of the show and we see their looks, their smiles. We share a lot more. "