As Childish Gambino's "This Is America" continues to bask in viral sunshine, it has become universally agreed upon that one of the most fascinating parts of the video is Gambino's dancing.
Well, it turns out there is an amazing 23-year-old black woman behind those dances.
The viral music video's choreographer Sherrie Silver sat down with Interview Magazine to discuss her creative process, how she got involved with the video and her introduction to Gwara Gwara.
Rwanda-born Silver grew up in England since the age of five. She started uploading YouTube videos of her African dancing while studying business marketing at university. It was her YouTube videos that got Gambino's attention.
"Childish Gambino’s team reached out to me after seeing some of my dance videos online," she recalled. "They saw one particular move that they liked, Gwara Gwara from South Africa, which we did in the video and also on SNL. I came up with different steps, taught the school kids and the choir and helped Donald with his solos."
Speaking of Gwara Gwara, Silver spoke on her introduction to the dance; and how she incorporated dances from other African nations into the video, as well.
"Well, every six months there’s a new Afro-dance move that goes mainstream. For a while now, Gwara Gwara has been the dance that everyone wants to do and learn," noted Silver. "It looks simple, but it’s actually difficult to do. I lived in South Africa for two months while filming a movie, so I became quite familiar with it. I also included the Shaku Shaku dance from Nigeria, the Alkayida from Ghana, the Azonto from Ghana and other moves that don’t have names, as well."
Her creative process with Glover was super collaborative, too!
"With Donald, I put together some choreography for him based on the concept and what I call Afro-dance. He has his own dancing style and had his own ideas for the solos. We definitely met in the middle," she said. "He had done ballet before, so there’s some of that in there, in addition to American dance references, like the “Shoot,” “Reverse” and “Nae Nae” dances. He rehearsed at home with videos he found, too."
Overall, Silver is thrilled at the reception to her work and the video's viral status. "For me, it’s not just about dancing. It’s the actual outcome that matters most," she said.
