Rita, we've got your next music video sorted.
Image from GETTY/stuff.co.nz
Can you imagine if Rita Ora actually booked Shut Up & Dance to learn some moves from us for her next music video? 😆 Well, hang on… it sounds ridiculous, but maybe it’s actually a brilliant idea… 🤔 💭
As this Stuff article headlines, pop star Rita Ora and New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi were spotted heading back to Auckland, but Shut Up & Dance were a listed incentive for the couple to stay in the capital.
As well as blending gin, slinging back coffees at Queen Sally’s and eating their way through Wellingtons’ best vegan restaurants, it was explicitly recommended that Taika and Rita come along to a Shut Up & Dance class.
We can’t express just how welcome they would be at class, and how honoured we are that stuff.co.nz thought of us as a cool thing for them to do. We also simply cannot express how outrageous it is that stuff.co.nz suggested that Rita Ora consider using some of our moves in her next music video 🤣
But since they did, we’ve been thinking about it and we actually think we’ll just storyboard, direct and deliver the whole thing for you, Rita. Like, just trust us, kay?
It’s going to be on the Desert Road, and all shot in one long, beautiful take that follows our motley crew down the highway as each and every dancer barrels the lens. Yep, you read that right – the people in our community will feature in Rita’s vid, and everyone will get the chance to have their own close-up. Rita will be in amongst the action too, just like, singing and stuff.
The mood? It’s pretty chaotic. Let’s be honest – we’re a bunch of semi-professional amateur dancers, so there’s a shit tonne of glitter to make up for being slightly out of time, and there is without a doubt, more than one style/genre of dance happening in any given frame. It’s a mess.
A hot, glittery, desert roady mess.
Having said that, if Rita looked up the word for ‘commitment’ in the dictionary while she was having a break on set, she would find Shut Up & Dance, which would help her to put our “clumsy aesthetic” into perspective.
And despite feeling a little bit confused about why her PR team suggested ‘Shut Up & Dance Ltd’ choreograph her music video as she watches the shoot unfold, she’ll look back at the footage while she’s chilling out with Taika back in Wellington and think: Wow. That music video literally couldn’t encapsulate the feeling of my song better.
Taika would also be impressed, and probably a bit upset that we didn’t ask him to direct it. But honestly Taikz, don’t worry – we could totally collab on What We Do in the Shadows II, perhaps help out Johnny Brugh with some moves too? He’s got serious potential.
But anyway, back to Rita feeling stoked about the music video we choreographed for her – it’s perfect, she’s totally stoked, and it’s because we didn’t really focus on anything else other than the feeling of her music. Because that’s what really matters, isn’t it?
If you, like us, want to tick ‘be in a music video’ off your bucket list – come along to class! Each and every song you learn a routine to has been carefully choreographed to encapsulate that particular songs’ feeling, it’s energy, and it’s nuance. It’s about celebrating the energy of the music we love by giving YOU the moves to express yourself YOUR way✨
Rita, if you’re reading this, feel free to come along to a class to see if stuff knew what they were talking about. Just let us know when you’re coming, we’ll make sure we’ve got your bangers in the playlist 🥹