Leipzig: dancing with 245 strangers

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As one can imagine, asking random people in the street, “Hey, would you like to dance with me?” makes for some pretty cool experiences, rejections included. It is funny that I sometimes run into “strangers” in the street from this video I made.

I just walk down the street and hear, “Hey! Edouard! Remember me? We danced together in your video.” They are now friends.

Leipzig feels even more like home since I made the video.

I fell in love with this city when I travelled to Leipzig in June 2016. It was the first city of my “21 days without money” trip, where I travelled for 21 days in 5 different countries (Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary) with absolutely no money.

In fact, I loved Leipzig so much I decided to move here. I moved in June 2017, into Südvorstadt and a WG with 4 lovely flatmates. I love it here. It is beautiful, people are open minded, and culture plays a big role (whether it is books, music, or architecture).

It has been 6 months since I moved to Leipzig, and so far I have been making new music and new videos. Just like I was doing in Brussels!

Why dance with 245 strangers?

I wanted this video to show that no matter who you are and no matter where you come from, we are all related, all connected. It shows 245 people who didn’t know each other, hailing from different countries, with different backgrounds – and in the end, they all danced in the same video.

I wanted a fun video. The kind of video that puts a smile on your face. I also wanted to live something unique, meet a lot of new people and share this experience with many people.

I also love experimenting with rejection. I think we should never be afraid of rejection.

Rejection is not about you personally. It’s about the idea of you.

 

For example, when you are hitchhiking, they aren’t rejecting you; they have a preconceived notion of hitchhiking. On my trip with no money, I’d ask people if I could stay with them. Obviously, I got a lot of “no” answers.

I chose not to see them as rejection, but as opportunities for alternative experiences.

Part of why I made “245 strangers of Leipzig” was that I wanted to continue my experiment with rejection. Those who didn’t reject me have made Leipzig feel even more like home.


By Edouard Jacq

I started guitar & music theory at the music school in my tiny town “Berchem Sainte Agathe” in Brussels, Belgium, at the tender age of 6. At 16, I started piano, the impro piano, and discovered my first software to begin making music on a computer. 

Photo and copyright: Rico Molaro

In 2016, at 23, I started releasing music under my own label, “Doe Records”. I have released my first EP – called “Happily” – with 4 tracks. In the past year, I have released 5 new singles. My latest, “All Night Long”, came out on 2 January 2018.

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