Just Dance
Two girls spread positive energy through dance videos.
If you walk in the halls of the school during passing period or pass the table closest to the 700s hallway during second lunch, you might see two girls moving busily as if they’re searching for something. One holds an iPhone, while the other stands attentively beside her, occasionally giggling. The girls are looking for students to record lip syncing and dancing to a throwback hit.
Those girls are sophomores Sydney Zellak and Lauren Taylor.
Getting Started
A few weeks into school, Zellak and Taylor decided to take something they do for fun and share it with the entire student body.
“Lauren and I are in Ms. Endaya’s sixth hour together and every day after class we would walk together and record dance videos on Snapchat,” Zellak said. “Then we decided to put the videos in iMovie and add music to them because we thought it would be funny.”
One day, Zellak and Taylor were recording themselves dancing when a few classmates asked to join in. The rest is history.
“Lauren and I decided to keep making the videos. I started editing the videos then putting them on Instagram, but they kept getting taken down due to copyright,” Zellak said. “So, I decided to make a Twitter account dedicated to this.”
Collecting Followers
Since they created the Twitter account on September 17, this year, the account has collected 300 followers, 46 retweets, and 626 likes as of October 17. But that isn’t the only evidence of fan love. The account’s comments are continuing to flood with positive feedback from people of all ages.
“These videos are about expressing yourself and having fun while dancing with your friends,” sophomore Maya Gaona said. “It just brightens up my day and everyone else’s.”
Aside from students, the account also has teachers who enjoy the dance videos.
“I love the happiness in the videos,” Jillian Endyaya said. “The smiles are contagious and everyone seems to really enjoy being in them.”
The Mission
When Zellak and Taylor first created the account, there was no conversation about the purpose of the account. But as the account continued to grow, the mission developed.
“This was honestly for fun. There was no reason behind what we did, it just spontaneously happened. Now we’re trying to incorporate more people in the videos,” Zellak said. “We want this to bring everyone in the school together.”
Zellak and Taylor plan on continuing reaching out to students to spark a desire to be included. They know the video fun is becoming contagious because people they don’t know are beginning to approach them about being featured in videos. The girls said they want everyone to be included and request you spread the word.
Production
People who see and participate in the videos know they are supposed to be humorous and light-hearted. What they don’t realize is the commitment required to have the 45-second videos posted every day.
Zellak and Taylor dedicate hours each day to creating the videos. During school, they spend time finding people to film. Then Taylor sends Zellak the videos she collected, and Zellak uploads all of the videos onto her computer. Once Zellak arrives home, she has to begin meticulously editing and inserting each clip based on the lyrics or rhythm of the song. Finally, Zellak assembles an assortment of dance clips into one, smoothly constructed, entertaining music video.
Sometimes the rigorous editing can be difficult after eight hours of school, however, the girls have big plans for the dance account’s future.
“We want this to take us to L.A. It’s our dream to be on Ellen and ‘Carpool Karaoke’ with James Corden,” Taylor said. “We also want to make a teacher edition and a ‘Single Ladies’ edition with all girls.”
Get Happy
Besides the girls’ dedication, they also have a passion for making others happy.
“The videos make the school day more fun and if you’re having a bad day you can just dance,” Javin said.
Like Shaw, others share similar feelings about being part of the videos.
“I think it just shows that everyone can be involved for one common thing,” Gaona said. “It’s really just about inclusiveness.”
So no matter your grade, height, race, or relation to Zellak and Taylor, stop one of them in the hallways or find them sitting at the table closest to the 700s hallway during second lunch. They’d love to record you too!
