Two dancers from Sunshine Coast studios are featured in a newly-released music video by American Idol contestant Delaney Renee. The commercial video shoot was the culmination of a week of scholarship-funded workshops in Los Angeles.
Andrea Villanueva, a Grade 12 student at Chatelech Secondary School and a dancer with Sechelt’s Coast Academy of Dance and Performing Arts, was selected to attend last month’s Liberate Artists workshops after appearing in the Star Talent dance competition in Burnaby this spring. Connor Dixon, a Grade 11 student at Elphinstone Secondary and a performer with the Gibsons Dance Centre, earned his way during another Star Talent contest in Langley.
“The Focus L.A. experience is focused on commercial styles,” said Dixon. “So we had a lot of classes in hip hop, a lot of contemporary dance, improvisation, Broadway, and shooting concept videos. As far as the skills and what the teachers brought, they have a lot of knowledge of the [dance and music] industry, and are really trying to promote inclusivity.”
Villanueva and Dixon joined other teenage dancers from across North America on the campus of Loyola Marymount University in downtown Los Angeles. The mid-July sessions united dancers from around the world, with special emphasis on building confidence and promoting social growth.
“Liberate Artists is always emphasizing that you are enough,” said Villanueva. “It helped me realize, it’s not a competition in a dance class; you’re there to learn and grow for yourself. It’s all a part of the learning experience to mess up and make mistakes.”
The two Sunshine Coast dancers appear in a music video directed and choreographed by Lauren Froderman, who in 2010 was the top finisher on So You Think You Can Dance. Froderman conceived the music video for vocalist Delaney Renee’s first single, Why I Fall.
Dalaney, originally from Massachusetts, netted 49.6 million views on a social platform after she was secretly recorded singing to a girl she was babysitting. Her popularity landed her a debut on American Idol in 2022.
The video situates Dalaney in a fantastic world inhabited by tightly-choreographed nature spirits. Villanueva and Dixon are featured in a segment where tree elves herald the singer’s arrival with synchronized exertions.
“The tree elves were supposed to be regal creatures, almost like royalty, that welcome Delaney into the fantasy land,” explained Dixon. “That’s what we were trying to go for, and what we had in mind when we were dancing.”
“It was just very fun and lighthearted during the filming,” added Villanueva, “and the song was beautiful that [Dalaney] wrote.”
The two also earned admission to the Liberate Artists dance captain program, which offers additional seminars and training over 10 months. Classes cover the business of dance training, organization and self-confidence.
Dixon received the Liberate Artists KCC Award, given to participants who demonstrate kindness, compassion and care.
The music video that features Villanueva and Dixon is available at youtube.com/@delaneyreneewilson.
