This Stunning Video Aims To Raise LGBTQ Awareness Through Dance
Two men get into the Pride Month groove on the Los Angeles streets in this colorful music video that’s also a retro-inspired meet cute.
Released by the DanceOn Network, the video stars dancers Derek Tabada and Will Johnston, who sport jewel-toned Paul Smith suits as they perform a playful, acrobatic routine to the tune of singer-songwriter Dylan Hyde’s “Clearly.” Eagle-eyed viewers may recognize Johnston, who also choreographed the number, from “The LGBTQAlphabet,” a similarly queer-inclusive video produced by Equinox in collaboration with the LGBT Community Center and released earlier this month.
At one point, the dancers strut their stuff in front of Paul Smith’s West Hollywood storefront, which received a rainbow makeover earlier this month as part of an Instagram Pride Month initiative.
DanceOn CEO Amanda Taylor told HuffPost her company hoped to “act as an ally and an advocate” for the LGBTQ community by releasing the video, which aims to “channel artistic expression for positive change.” Last year, the group produced a contemporary dance homage to Orlando’s Pulse nightclub tragedy that has since received over 2 million views on YouTube.
The Paul Smith storefront, of course, is typically painted pink, and is known as one of the most photographed locations of its kind in Southern California. Unveiled June 7, the new paint job is one of five “rainbow walls” created by Instagram to “strengthen relationships through shared experiences,” particularly among members of the LGBTQ community. Visitors are asked to share images of themselves in front of the five walls, which will also appear in London, Madrid, Cleveland and Nashville, Tennessee, with the hashtag #KindComments so that others can use Instagram to find a “community of support.”
“For Pride, we hope the rainbow walls become physical structures that inspire kind comments and support,” Instagram’s Chief Operating Officer Marne Levine told HuffPost, “but equally create an opportunity for people to come together on Instagram to support the LGBTQ community.”
Take a look at some photographs from the June 7 rainbow wall debut below.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
