America's most beloved dance couple, Keone and Mari, are known for their intricate and mind-blowing choreography and their all-too-tender couple antics. They captured our hearts on NBC's "World of Dance" with their qualifying performance and left the whole country tearing up with their heart-wrenching duel performance, but their creations have only gotten more epic since the end of the season. Recently, the two released a piece entitled "We Are" using music from Bon Iver, Billie Eilish, and a haunting sound byte on immigration originally used in the Hamilton Mixtape. They published the piece on YouTube with a simple caption: "A piece inspired by our grandparents who came to America to make a new life for their families and the many displaced humans around the world who are trying to do the same."
Beginning with flashes of black-and-white photographs of immigration protests and chilling images of refugees, the tone and intention of the piece is quickly set. After moments of darkness, Keone and Mari appear in plain clothing set against a large backdrop of a creek. Bon Iver's "715 - CRΣΣKS" begins to fill the space, and the two begin their lithe, interconnected movements. They are effortlessly in sync, and their movements focus on creating pleasing imagery. The use of the backdrop in this piece makes their movement slightly more two-dimensional than usual, as they try to stay close to the backdrop to make use of shadows. However, the section of floor work is absolutely brilliant. The isolations show extreme control, the camera angles create mind-boggling shapes, and the partner work shows a newly fluid quality.
The next section features an amazing use of prop. This is the first group piece that I have seen choreographed by Keone and Mari, and it demonstrates an entirely new side of their work. Choreographing group work is vastly different than solo or duet work because it relies on use of space and formations in different ways. Also, Keone and Mari have an intense connection that makes their movement so identical. When choreographing on others, they couldn't rely on this connection. Although the group section wasn't as clean as the duet section, Keone did note in an Instagram post that the piece was put together in less than one day. The passion shone through, and the dancers finished standing tall with a defiant "WE ARE HUMAN" shining on the backdrop.
The piece paints a humbling picture of struggle and overcoming, and feels larger than a group of dancers on stage. The genius of Keone and Mari's work is their storytelling, and this video is no different. Their vision is powerful, and this is a prime example of the immense power of dance. When words fail, the intense emotions tied to movement can speak volumes. Check it out here.
