For the return of star Academy this year after long years of absence from the airwaves, the production did not do things by halves. If the students’ castle is still the same, everything else has changed, starting with the teachers. Indeed, the program has a new look with Brauer’s Stonetheater teacher, Adeline Toniuttisinging teacher, Laura Balon teaches stage expression and Yanis Marshalldance.
The latter has already made a lot of talk about him in just a few weeks. And for good reason, his energy and his requirement do not go unnoticed, nor his pronounced taste for choreography in heels. The 33-year-old professional has distinguished himself in the profession in the same way, he who has always danced. It was at the age of 15 that he got his first job, thanks to Kamel Ouali who recruited him for The sun King. Yanis Marshall also joined the troupe of Ten Commandments just after. And then, it’s the crossing of the desert. “Too young, too thin, too feminine“, he was reproached as he remembers it for The Parisian. So the dancer is forced to find work elsewhere, without any qualifications. “I made fake CVs: one day a salesman at Zara, another waiter in a pizzeria or in a bar… It was a little nightmare. But I had such a pat and a good face, so I was taken everywhere, even if I stayed only one day as I was so bad.”
This big star who invited him to dinner
Finally, Yanis Marshall leaves to try his luck in New York where he followed his ex-companion. And there, he made unforgettable encounters, including those with Sheryl Murakami and Brian Friedman, respectively choreographers of Beyoncé and Britney Spears. Inspired by their career, he started giving dance lessons and shared videos of his rehearsals on YouTube. One of them is a hit and has millions of views. The biggest stars even go so far as to share it: Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Céline Dion or Ellen Pompeo. The star of Grey’s Anatomy then tries to meet him. “She invited me to dinner and offered to start my own reality show“, he confided. Unfortunately, this project will not be completed. Yanis Marshall, however, obtains a participation in the American version of drag race.
Back in France, he was spotted by TF1, which offered him to join the jury of Dance with the starsThen star Academy. “I’m very happy today. I don’t believe in nothing but Madonna, but the timing made it right“, he rejoices.