POCKEMON CREW

Biography

At the time, breakdance was becoming increasingly popular and was gradually establishing itself as a central phenomenon of urban culture in France. On the peristyle of the Opéra de Lyon, a group of passionate young dancers came together to form the Pockemon Crew.
Very quickly, they set themselves an ambitious challenge: to win the “Grand Slam” of the world’s most important international breakdance competitions, in order to establish their style and artistic vision and gain recognition for their discipline.
Driven by high artistic standards, strong team spirit, and total dedication, they achieved that goal, becoming the most awarded breakdance company in the world — a status they still hold today.
Positioned between sport and the performing arts, breakdance in the early 2000s still struggled to find a place within theatres and cultural institutions.
In 2004, Riyad Fghani, founding figure and driving force behind the collective, initiated a decisive turning point by moving beyond the spontaneity of battle culture. Pockemon Crew evolved into a full-fledged company, and breakdance within the collective became part of a broader process of artistic writing and choreographic creation.
With Sii…si!, the company’s first repertory production, Riyad Fghani revealed the full expressive power, technical sophistication, and narrative force of hip hop dance. Thus emerged the distinctive Pockemon style: precise, committed, rooted in the energy of battles, and grounded in the core values of hip hop culture — respect, perseverance, self-improvement, and open-mindedness.
As pioneers, the Pockemon Crew became among the very first hip hop artists to enter major cultural institutions.
In 2003, they began a ten-year residency at the Opéra de Lyon. Alongside their choreographic work, they developed tailor-made projects — performances, demonstrations, battles — and a true culture of transmission, helping democratize hip hop and bringing wider public recognition to the company.
Faithful to the spirit of transmission at the heart of hip hop culture, members of the company have trained more than 6,000 people through workshops and educational programs in France and abroad. Today, the sixth generation of professional dancers — most of whom were trained through the Pockemon Crew’s own educational program — continues to carry the company’s legacy forward.
With a repertory of thirteen choreographic creations combining artistic excellence and cultural engagement, ambitious projects connecting stage creation, education, and performance, and more than one million spectators across over fifty countries, Pockemon Crew stands today as one of the most emblematic, pioneering, and contemporary collectives on the international hip hop scene, deeply connected to the spirit of its time.