Arthur Gourounlian (@gourounlian) is an Armenian-born professional dancer, choreographer and television personality, and most recently one of the three judges on Dancing with the Stars Ireland.

Arthur has performed and toured with some of the most beloved performers of recent time, from Bananarama to Beyoncé, Pink to Kylie Minogue, and many more. After a successful career as a dancer, he went on to take a leading role in casting, coaching, movement directing and choreographing music videos, world tours, media campaigns, and trade/fashion shows for Christian Louboutin, Diesel, Puma, Jean-Paul Gaultier among others. He has also appeared on television and movies, fashion shows, and advertising campaigns himself, and performed in Britain's Got Talent, Celebrity X Factor, the Brit Awards and The Royal Variety Show.

Arthur and Anne met in 2010 when she was working for Christian Louboutin. They collaborated on a project for online platform Fashionair, when Arthur trained Christian for his first and only dance performance, which culminated in a viral video that saw the famous shoe designer tap dance his way in a dream sequence on a London stage.

In this conversation, Arthur shares with Anne his harrowing journey from Armenia to Belgium as a refugee with his family, escaping the war when he was just twelve years old. Then how, while their refugee status was still being decided, his family was rocked by the death of his father. Shortly after, young Arthur left for Brussels to try his hand at hairdressing, only to find himself being picked out of the crowd and selected as a dancer. From there, Arthur discusses his many surprises and successes, how he went from Milan to London, and made his mark on the dance scene as a performer before turning to choreography and creative direction.

Arthur dreamt of making it big, an homage to his father, and moving away from the refugee status he carried as an adolescent. The successful and charismatic personality is also the other half of one of Ireland’s most beloved celebrity couples, as he is married to Big Brother alumni/star Brian Dowling. The two of them recently welcomed their first child into the world, Blake Maria Rose, and Arthur shares the ups and downs that have led to this most joyous moment.

Arthur’s story is quite unlike any other. As Anne reflects to him, it’s epic enough to be hinting at Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey. A sparkling, touching and deeply positive interview with someone who will certainly light up your day. Happy listening.

Favourite quote of the episode: ‘I only keep things that Arthur wants to keep because I only keep what I think is best for me. Why would I listen to you? It's your journey. I want to create my own journey.’

***

You can out more about Arthur on his website: http://arthurgourounlian.com/

IG - https://www.instagram.com/gourounlian/

Facebook - Arthur Gourounlian - https://www.facebook.com/arthurgourounlian

and his Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/user/arthurgourounlian

and Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/arthurgourounlian

The Fashionair film Dancer in a Day Dream featuring Christian Louboutin and Arthur - https://youtu.be/esXVbslAvVY

The making of the film - https://youtu.be/ZxwocNpdl4Q

You can also discover Arthur's new venture, AG Socks - https://theagofficial.com/products/the-gourounlian

Notre Dame de Paris, the musical - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris_(musical)

Sous le Soleil TV show -https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172057/

The podcast Mamia & Me featuring Arthur and his husband Brian Dowling - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dont-wake-the-baby-with-brian-dowling/id1570246269?i=1000559798535

The blooper real with Arthur and Brian touching up their hair - https://youtu.be/MPMxXk0usVI

The song 'Maniac' by Michael Sambello - https://open.spotify.com/track/7CML07e8m56LrmgkC4Bl3Z?si=9462b40d81fb4e98

Dancing with the Stars Ireland - https://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/dancing-with-the-stars/

***

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For all notes and transcripts, please visit Out Of The Clouds on Simplecast - https://out-of-the-clouds.simplecast.com/  

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***

If you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe for more, and consider writing a review of the show on Apple Podcasts, we really appreciate your support and feedback. And thank you so much for listening!

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#177 Gene 'Bean' Baxter (KROQ)