For the 11th Hennessy Very Special Limited Edition, global dance superstars Les Twins express the pulse of street culture in a dual design incorporating freestyle dance.
It is with great excitement that Maison Hennessy unveils the Very Special 2021 dual limited edition in collaboration with Laurent and Larry Bourgeois, the urban movement creators known as “Les Twins”. Far more than a classic collaboration, this Hennessy Very Special partnership marks a brand-new horizon and a ground breaking meeting of minds.
Cultural icons in their own right, Hennessy Very Special and Les Twins created a multi-media collaboration around the tagline “Move Out Loud” to celebrate French heritage and the pioneering spirit for the 11th Limited Edition. A first for the series, this movement creates an exceptional, inclusive platform for artistic expression through live dance, video, and music.
Khomotso Ledwaba, Marketing Manager for Hennessy SA, says: “The collaboration is an exciting evolution of our previous artistic projects for Hennessy Very Special, this time combining urban territories of dance and music - shining a light on urban culture while championing pioneers who are continually pushing the boundaries of their potential.”
“Locally, South Africa has an extensive dance and music culture, and therefore Hennessy is confident that this collaboration will resonate with South Africans on a whole new level. South Africa is a fertile ground for vibrant, dynamic new moves, from the pantsula dance popularised in the 80s to recent forms such as bhenga, danced to the raw, electronic beats of gqom, or the house style of amapiano.”
Les Twins represent the very essence of the Hennessy Very Special mantra ‘Never Stop Never Settle’. Their entire life has been about movement, expressed physically through dance, but also through personal advancement and a life philosophy that keeps them striving for more.”
Les Twins' flair for dance, choreography, acting and producing have garnered international recognition, yet Les Twins continue to hone their art as they always have — together, blending street culture and intuition, and inventing new moves with every dance.
The blending of tradition and dance
In the vineyards, distilleries, and Founder’s Cellar in Cognac, Les Twins found inspiration in not just one aspect but the entire art of making Hennessy Very Special, from earth and vine to barrel and glass. The initiation to a craft spanning centuries served as a creative trigger for a freestyle dance interpretation of the six principal stages of cognac-making and the wonder Les Twins experienced at Hennessy.
The art of making Hennessy Very Special reveals many unexpected parallels with the world of dance. Just as an exceptional cognac comes from blending many unique eaux-de-vie, so freestyle performing requires the harmonious orchestration of singular movements, a unique assemblage based on skill and instinct.
Both arts demand patience, precise gestures, perfect timing, boundless energy — and a spark of genius. In the same spirit, cognac-making and freestyle dance both far surpass their original discipline, letting French creativity resonate with global street culture. Above all, the resulting creations stir emotion and convey Les Twins’ impressions of the deep-rooted, multi-faceted world of Hennessy Very Special.
A history-making dual limited edition
The collaboration between Hennessy Very Special and Les Twins is a story of many firsts. As an artistic interpretation, it stands as the most expansive to date, touching on all the key steps of cognac-making through multiple mediums.
Using motion capture technology, Maison Hennessy preserved the exhilarating energy of Les Twins’ live performance and transposed those digital images into an original limited-edition concept.
For the first time ever, a single limited edition of Hennessy Very Special is represented by two complementary graphic designs: each bottle features a likeness of either Laurent or Larry, rendered as captured digitally, with all their signature energy and a QR code that opens up the many facets of this movement experience to all.
The Hennessy Very Special in Motion by Les Twins is available in Makro and Pick ‘n Pay stores nationwide.
