Nico Archambault
Encyclopedia
Nicolas "Nico" Archambault (born in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
on 18 October 1984 is a Canadian dancer
dancer and choreographer who in 2008 won the first season
of So You Think You Can Dance Canada
. After the win, he became well known for his lead role in the 2011 Canadian film Sur le rythme
.
, Quebec
, he registered for dance classes and was taunted, intimidated and ostracized by the male students for being "gay". In addition to growing up too fast for his age, he also suffered from Osgood–Schlatter disease. His childhood suffering prompted him in his successful years to remain very active in fighting bullying in schools.
BY age 14, he was already involved in public performances and at 19 studied dance at LADMMI, the Montreal school of contemporary dance affiliated with Cégep du Vieux Montréal
. While a student, he was offered a position as a freestyle dancer at the popular Quebec youth show La Fureur
where he worked for 5 years. During this period, he also took part in a number of musical shows including Elvis Story, in Night Fever, in Joe Dassin - La grande fête musicale and in a lyrical version of the rock opera Starmania. He was also an assistant to the choreographer Brian Friedman
.
in Toronto
where 3500 contestants applied. Archambault soon became the favorite of the public, the judges and the choreographers of the show. He was the sole contestant not to be nominated to the "bottom two" position and without being put to the risk of elimination. He won the first title of the show at the end of nine weeks of competition, receiving $100,000 as a cash prize as well as a car. After his win, he was also offered the position of resident choreographer of the show.
and he took part as a principal dancer in the music video for Jackson's video "Make Me
". The same year, he played the role of a young Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev
in the television film Nureyev on the Canadian Bravo! channel. The series obtained six nominations at the Gemini Award
s, including one for Nico Archambault for "Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series (Individual or Ensemble)".
Archambault works in the choreography company Street Parade, and is the artistic director in the electro-pop group The Pinup Saints, with his wife Wynn Holmes as lead vocalist. He also appeared in The Pinup Saints music videos for "Mister" and "Halo".
In 2010, he choreographed the musical comedy Le Blues d'la Métropole directed by Serge Denoncourt, honoring the band Beau Dommage
Théâtre Saint-Denis
in Montreal. He was also involved with Serge Denoncourt in a mission to Belgrade
, Serbia
to teach Romani adolescents modern dance. GRUBB The Musical emerged as an educational and artistic project for helping young gypsy artists through dance. The prepared work was presented at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Nico Archambault has landed with the lead role of Marc Painchaud in the 2011 Canadian film Sur le rythme
directed by Charles-Olivier Michaud.
simply because he was a male dancer.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on 18 October 1984 is a Canadian dancer
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
dancer and choreographer who in 2008 won the first season
So You Think You Can Dance Canada (season 1)
Season 1 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada is a dance reality show and competition that airs on CTV. It is hosted by MuchMusic VJ Leah Miller....
of So You Think You Can Dance Canada
So You Think You Can Dance Canada
So You Think You Can Dance Canada was a dance competition and reality show that aired on CTV.Based on the original American TV show So You Think You Can Dance, the Canadian series showcased the best in Canadian dancing talent. Each season, the show held auditions in major cities across the...
. After the win, he became well known for his lead role in the 2011 Canadian film Sur le rythme
Sur le rythme
Sur le rythme is a Canadian film by director Charles-Olivier Michaud, released on 10 August 2011. The lead actors are Nico Archambault in the role of Marc Painchaud and Mylène Saint-Sauveur in the role of Delphine Lamarre. Many of the supporting cast of dancers were friends of Archambault. Sixty...
.
Beginnings
Nicolas Archambault was the first of four children. He started dancing as a young 7 year old, with a dance teacher Louise Lapierre, where all his sisters also learned dancing. He was traumatized for being ridiculed as the only male student in the class. While in Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry Secondary School in Saint-Léonard, a suburb of MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, he registered for dance classes and was taunted, intimidated and ostracized by the male students for being "gay". In addition to growing up too fast for his age, he also suffered from Osgood–Schlatter disease. His childhood suffering prompted him in his successful years to remain very active in fighting bullying in schools.
BY age 14, he was already involved in public performances and at 19 studied dance at LADMMI, the Montreal school of contemporary dance affiliated with Cégep du Vieux Montréal
Cégep du Vieux Montréal
Cégep du Vieux Montréal is a CEGEP located at 255 rue Ontario Est, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada....
. While a student, he was offered a position as a freestyle dancer at the popular Quebec youth show La Fureur
La Fureur (Canada)
La Fureur was a French-language Canadian game show broadcast live on the Radio-Canada network from 1998 to 2007. It was based on the game show of the same name that was televised in France. As with the original version, the program featured two gender-segregated teams of celebrities answering...
where he worked for 5 years. During this period, he also took part in a number of musical shows including Elvis Story, in Night Fever, in Joe Dassin - La grande fête musicale and in a lyrical version of the rock opera Starmania. He was also an assistant to the choreographer Brian Friedman
Brian Friedman
Brian L. Friedman, is an American dancer and choreographer, and has created the choreography for many popular music artists - such as Britney Spears, Beyoncé Knowles and Mariah Carey - as well as for music videos, concert tours and television and film productions.-Early life:Friedman was born in...
.
So You Think You Can Dance Canada
In 2008, he took part in the first season of So You Think You Can Dance CanadaSo You Think You Can Dance Canada
So You Think You Can Dance Canada was a dance competition and reality show that aired on CTV.Based on the original American TV show So You Think You Can Dance, the Canadian series showcased the best in Canadian dancing talent. Each season, the show held auditions in major cities across the...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
where 3500 contestants applied. Archambault soon became the favorite of the public, the judges and the choreographers of the show. He was the sole contestant not to be nominated to the "bottom two" position and without being put to the risk of elimination. He won the first title of the show at the end of nine weeks of competition, receiving $100,000 as a cash prize as well as a car. After his win, he was also offered the position of resident choreographer of the show.
Career
Immediately after the show, he was offered the chance to dance with Janet Jackson during the 22 November 2009 American Music AwardsAmerican Music Awards of 2009
The 37th American Music Awards took place on November 22, 2009 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominees were announced on October 13, 2009. For the first time in history, there was no host for the year's ceremony. Instead, various celebrities introduced the performers similar...
and he took part as a principal dancer in the music video for Jackson's video "Make Me
Make Me
"Make Me" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It is the lead single and final track from her second greatest hits compilation Number Ones . The song was written by Jackson, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Thomas Lumpkins, and Michaela Shiloh...
". The same year, he played the role of a young Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
in the television film Nureyev on the Canadian Bravo! channel. The series obtained six nominations at the Gemini Award
Gemini Award
The Gemini Awards are annual television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.First awarded in 1986, the Geminis celebrate the achievements of TV members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Essentially, it presents awards for the best television productions in Canada. Awards are...
s, including one for Nico Archambault for "Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series (Individual or Ensemble)".
Archambault works in the choreography company Street Parade, and is the artistic director in the electro-pop group The Pinup Saints, with his wife Wynn Holmes as lead vocalist. He also appeared in The Pinup Saints music videos for "Mister" and "Halo".
In 2010, he choreographed the musical comedy Le Blues d'la Métropole directed by Serge Denoncourt, honoring the band Beau Dommage
Beau Dommage
Beau Dommage is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, who achieved popular success in Quebec and France in the 1970s. The group's style included rich vocal harmonies and elements borrowed from folk and country music.-History:...
Théâtre Saint-Denis
Théâtre Saint-Denis
The Théâtre Saint-Denis is a theatre venue located on Saint Denis Street in Montreal, Quebec.A movie theatre built in 1915, the Théâtre Saint-Denis' mission changed in the 1980s and has since focused exclusively on performing arts...
in Montreal. He was also involved with Serge Denoncourt in a mission to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
to teach Romani adolescents modern dance. GRUBB The Musical emerged as an educational and artistic project for helping young gypsy artists through dance. The prepared work was presented at the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
Nico Archambault has landed with the lead role of Marc Painchaud in the 2011 Canadian film Sur le rythme
Sur le rythme
Sur le rythme is a Canadian film by director Charles-Olivier Michaud, released on 10 August 2011. The lead actors are Nico Archambault in the role of Marc Painchaud and Mylène Saint-Sauveur in the role of Delphine Lamarre. Many of the supporting cast of dancers were friends of Archambault. Sixty...
directed by Charles-Olivier Michaud.
Charity
Nico Archambault is very much involved in charity, in particular with the Bullying Prevention Campaign because of him having suffered greatly in school. In agreement with TXT Carbon, he designed a T-shirt "Stand Up, Rise Up" for anti-bullying awareness with proceeds going to victims of bullying.. The campaign was featured on the Canadian Family Channel. Archambault said he was labelled "gay" and experienced homophobiaHomophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
simply because he was a male dancer.
Personal life
Nico Archambault married his longtime girlfriend and fellow dancer from Toronto Wynn Holmes on 10 July 2011. The couple had been dating for three years and got engaged shortly after Archambault won in So You Think You Can Dance Canada in December 2008.Dancer
- 2003-2008: La FureurLa Fureur (Canada)La Fureur was a French-language Canadian game show broadcast live on the Radio-Canada network from 1998 to 2007. It was based on the game show of the same name that was televised in France. As with the original version, the program featured two gender-segregated teams of celebrities answering...
, freestyle dancer - 2006-2007: Night fever, Capitole de Québec
- 2008: So You Think You Can Dance CanadaSo You Think You Can Dance Canada (season 1)Season 1 of So You Think You Can Dance Canada is a dance reality show and competition that airs on CTV. It is hosted by MuchMusic VJ Leah Miller....
, winner of the first Canadian series - 2009: American Music AwardsAmerican Music Awards of 2009The 37th American Music Awards took place on November 22, 2009 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominees were announced on October 13, 2009. For the first time in history, there was no host for the year's ceremony. Instead, various celebrities introduced the performers similar...
, dancer for Janet Jackson - 2009: Starmania, in a lyrical version
Choreographer
- 2009-2010: So You Think You Can Dance CanadaSo You Think You Can Dance CanadaSo You Think You Can Dance Canada was a dance competition and reality show that aired on CTV.Based on the original American TV show So You Think You Can Dance, the Canadian series showcased the best in Canadian dancing talent. Each season, the show held auditions in major cities across the...
, resident choreographer - 2010: Le Blues d'la métropole, choreographer of the musical comedy
- 2011: Montreal International Jazz Festival, choreographer for GRUBB The Musical
- 2011: Mixmania 2, choreographer for Tant que l'on s'aime (The part of Emmy Langlais and Tommy Tremblay)
Music videos
- 2008: "C'est chelou", a music video of ZahoZahoZehira known by her artistic name Zaho is an Algerian R&B singer living in Montréal, Canada.-Biography:...
- 2008: "La Roue Tourne," a music video of Zaho
- 2009: "Je te promets", a music video of Zaho
- 2009: "Make MeMake Me"Make Me" is a song by American recording artist Janet Jackson. It is the lead single and final track from her second greatest hits compilation Number Ones . The song was written by Jackson, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Thomas Lumpkins, and Michaela Shiloh...
", Main dancer in music video of Janet JacksonJanet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
Filmography
- 2009: Nureyev, a television series about Rudolf NureyevRudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
on the Bravo! channel - 2010: Vacation with DerekVacation with DerekVacation with Derek is a 2010 Canadian television movie based on the TV series Life with Derek. The TV movie follows the McDonald-Venturi family as the children are forced to spend part of their summer vacation with their grandmother at her lodge...
in role of Jesse - 2011: Sur le rythmeSur le rythmeSur le rythme is a Canadian film by director Charles-Olivier Michaud, released on 10 August 2011. The lead actors are Nico Archambault in the role of Marc Painchaud and Mylène Saint-Sauveur in the role of Delphine Lamarre. Many of the supporting cast of dancers were friends of Archambault. Sixty...
in leading role as Marc Painchaud