Students’ lip sync video, choreographed by Smiley, makes it to
the screen
Students from Hollister’s West Coast Music and Dance FX caught a
little of the Bieber fever when they put together a video to be
featured in the Justin Bieber movie
”
Never Say Never,
”
now playing in theaters.
The filmmakers invited dance studios to choreograph lip synced
performance to a new Bieber song,
”
One Time,
”
and submitted videos to be used as footage in the film. Jessica
Smiley, the president/owner of West Coast Music and Dance FX, heard
about the video contest from Heather Longerbeam, a friend of
Smiley’s from college who was working on the movie.
Students’ lip sync video, choreographed by Smiley, makes it to the screen
Students from Hollister’s West Coast Music and Dance FX caught a little of the Bieber fever when they put together a video to be featured in the Justin Bieber movie “Never Say Never,” now playing in theaters.
The filmmakers invited dance studios to choreograph lip synced performance to a new Bieber song, “One Time,” and submitted videos to be used as footage in the film. Jessica Smiley, the president/owner of West Coast Music and Dance FX, heard about the video contest from Heather Longerbeam, a friend of Smiley’s from college who was working on the movie.
“We were roommates in college,” Smiley said. “She said they needed more footage and she knew I had the dance studio and asked if I would come up with something really fast, put it together and submit it.”
Smiley said she had never really listened to Justin Bieber’s music, but that the students in her classes knew his songs well. The song they were sent is Bieber’s first release, “One Time,” and Smiley she listened to it a few times before jumping into the choreography with her students.
“This one was really fast and I just kind of did it on the spot,” Smiley said. “I listened for timing and different beats – musicality and what are the strong accents.”
She also thought about what talents her students had, including some who are really good at tumbling, or turns and leaps. She gathered up some students from an intermediate class and an advanced class that were in session that day. The students ranged in age from 8 to 17, and had different ability levels.
“I just kind of walked into whatever classes and grabbed students and told them to come with me,” she said. “I told them what we were about to do.”
The students were immediately enthusiastic.
“They were dying,” Smiley said, when they found out the video would be featured in the movie. “They were so excited, but they weren’t allowed to tell anyone. They had to sign (confidentiality forms). They couldn’t Facebook it, MySpace it or YouTube it.”
The dancers couldn’t tell anyone beside their parents until the movie was released. The girls attended the opening night of the show Feb. 11, sitting in one row.
“When their video came up, they stood up and started screaming and yelling that it was them,” Smiley said. “The row in front asked them to be quiet. They said they didn’t expect to jump up.”
Smiley herself was invited to attend the premiere of the movie in Los Angles, with her friend Heather Longerbeam, who had a backstage staff pass. The carpet for the film was purple instead of the traditional red, and Smiley filmed the experience to share with her students on YouTube.
“I keep telling people it was magical,” she said, adding that she had never been to a red carpet event before. “We were literally standing on the red carpet. All the stars had to walk by us before going into the movie. It was just so amazing. We saw Will Smith and Jaden Smith and Miley Cyrus and, of course, Justin Bieber.”
In the movie, the many lip sync videos that were submitted are shown quickly in a collage, and about seven videos were selected to be featured for longer on screen, including the West Coast one.
“We were one of the featured videos,” Smiley said. “I feel really lucky that we were able to have that opportunity for the students that they got to be in a major motion picture. They will always remember that. They will all buy the DVD and remember it forever. They will show it to their kids someday and that will be the best.”
To view the YouTube video of Smiley’s time on the red carpet, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkO5UQ9yCPg or search for West Coast Music and Dance FX.
