Les Twins

Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois (born 6 December 1988), professionally known as Les Twins, are French dancers, choreographers, producers, models, designers, and creative directors of their brand "Eleven Paris". Often referred to by their respective nicknames, "Lil Beast" and "Ca Blaze", they are recognized internationally for their talents in new style hip-hop dancing, and various dancing styles.

Born and raised in Sarcelles, France, the self-taught dance duo became the favorites of the French audience in 2008 as finalists on the popular television show Incroyable Talent. They quickly rose to prominence in the United States after a video of their performance on the San Diego leg of the 2010 World of Dance tour went viral on YouTube, with over 46 million views as of 1 December 2019^[update]. In 2011, they won the hip-hop new style division of the prestigious international street dance competition Juste Debout. In 2017, they won the American reality competition series World of Dance, executively produced by Jennifer Lopez. The series featured solo acts and larger groups, competing for a grand prize of US$1 million.

Les Twins have been featured dancers for various music artists, including, Jason Derulo, Big Sean, Beyoncé, Meghan Trainor, and Missy Elliott. Standing at a towering height of 6'4" (193 cm) tall, the brothers have modeled for French haute couture fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier and appeared in many high-profile, commercial advertising campaigns, such as YSL, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Versace, Jay-Z's Rocawear, Givenchy, Vouge, Emporio Armani, Jordan and Beats by Dre. They have also walked for many shows before becoming celebrities. In 2019 Les Twins also signed with The Jordan Family, where they collaborated on the Air Jordan 1 Retro High Les Twin – Fearless.

In addition to teaching their original choreography in workshops around the globe, they are also the founding members of the successful dance team Criminalz Crew and founding members of "Eleven Paris".

The twins were born on 6 December 1988, in Sarcelles, a commune in the northern projects of Paris, France. They are the youngest in a large, Guadeloupean extended family of 9 children.

Neither Larry nor Laurent received any formal dance training. Instead, they learned by observing other breakers, lockers, and poppers and by teaching themselves classical ballet techniques. At the age of 12, they began performing in concerts and musicals. According to WAD Magazine, "They were born dancers. They walked at 5 months, seriously moved their bodies at 18 months old, and at 9 they showed off steps they had invented to youngsters twice their age in their neighborhood."

In 2005, the brothers recruited five members to form their own dance team called Criminalz Crew, spending the next few years competing in hip-hop tournaments and entertaining crowds as street performers and in clubs. In 2007, they danced to sold-out audiences in the musical Pas de Quartier at France's esteemed Avignon Festival.

In March 2008, Les Twins gained the attention of the dance community by defeating French street dancers Joseph Go and Meech Onomo at the semi-finals of the prestigious international dance competition Juste Debout. Following that success, they were finalists and audience favorites on Season 3 of Incroyable Talent (the French equivalent of Britain's Got Talent) aired on M6. On 13 November 2008, the twins were among the top twelve finalists competing on the Incroyable Talent finale show attended by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco and watched by over 4 million viewers. In 2009, they were contracted to perform the two-man hip-hop comedy stage revue Twins choreographed by their long-time coach Abibou "Playmo" Kébe at the Théâtre Trévise in Paris.