Bond Star Sébastien Foucan Is 'Freerunning' In Chiswick
'Casino Royale' actor to open an Academy at Chiswick School
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The pioneer of freerunning and one of the stars of James Bond’s Casino Royale, Sébastien Foucan has announced the expansion of his Academy into West London.
The Foucan Freerunning Academy has chosen Chiswick School as its base from January 2015.
“I am really excited to be expanding my Academy and Chiswick School feels like a natural home for it. The school strives to inspire its students to excel through activity, which matches with the goals of the Foucan Freerunning Academy (FFA),” Sébastien said.
Sébastien offered a free taster session at Chiswick’s Super Saturday of Sport in July and realised there was a real passion for freerunning in the area.
“We had such an overwhelming response at Super Saturday from people of all ages and it became very clear to me that there is a strong appetite for freerunning in West London,” Sébastien added.
Sébastien Foucan is the pioneer of freerunning style and became publicly well known in the UK after Mike Christie's Channel 4 Jump London documentary in September 2003 and the subsequent documentary, Jump Britain. In addition to those programs, Sébastien appeared as Mollaka in the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale. Sébastien appeared in the music video for Madonna's 2005 single, "Jump", accompanying the singer on her 2006 "Confessions Tour".
It was while Sébastien and his friends were growing up in Lisses, (France) in the 1980’s, that they began to develop an obstacle led style of play which they named ‘parcours’ after the military training, ‘parcours du combattant’ After leaving school, Sébastien went into military service as a fire fighter in Paris between 1995 – 1997 and throughout that time, he continued to develop his own style of parcours into what is now known as ‘freerunning’.
Movie star Sebastien Foucan shows how he does his free-running and stunts at 2014 Super Saturday of Sport - pic:Kelly Reeves
Chiswick School’s Headteacher, Tony Ryan commented: “We are delighted to be part of this exciting expansion of the Foucan Freerunning Academy. Sébastien is the best in his field and that is our aspiration as a school, so to tie the two together is perfect synergy.”
“We are attempting to provide extra curricular activities to fit every student, I am certain that this will appeal to Chiswick students and will further enhance our enrichment programme.”
Chiswick School will host after-hours FFA sessions every Tuesday from January 6. The sessions will be open to beginners and improver freerunners in separate classes (not just Chiswick School students) for 12 year olds and upwards.
The Foucan Freerunning Academy currently holds regular sessions at the Moberley Sports and Education Centre in North London for children and adults twice a week. The Academy’s expansion into Chiswick is part of a strategy to further develop freerunning as an accessible and safe activity for all ages.
The Academy will charge a fee for the classes but there will also be training space available to children who are unable to afford fees.
www.supersaturdayofsport.co.uk
December 1, 2014
