The new video for Saara Aalto’s new single Dance Like Nobody’s Watching is so heart tugging you will be a sobbing mess!
These days pop videos are pretty boring and samey – all flashy lights, eye dazzling colours and an army of lithe dancers chucking shapes left, right and centre. Very few tend to take you on an emotional rollercoaster and leave you in a blubbering teary mess by the end of it. But groundbreaking Finnish superstar Saara Aalto has bucked the trend and produced a video for her stunning new single Dance Like Nobody’s Watching that is so heart wrenching and tear-inducing,you might need therapy.
SPOILER
In the Billy Elliott inspired video, we see a young lad fall in love with ballet. Sadly his dad isn’t happy about his interest in dance and makes it clear he doesn’t want him to pursue it. Throughout the video we cut to an older ballerina dancing in a studio…. By the end of the clip we realise that the dancer we have been watching is a beautiful transgender woman who has been looking back at her childhood….
The heart tugging story is very close to Saara’s heart, who wrote the emotional track and devised the story after speaking with friends who have experienced the same journey in life. “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching is the most precious and important song of my career so far,” Saara says. “I want this song and video to empower anybody who maybe doubts themselves or has others doubt them to see that you can truly be who you are meant to be. Your life can be incredible, beautiful and peaceful. It takes courage, strength and ultimately a no fear attitude, but you can do it.”
Jessica Allen plays the grown up ballerina and has enjoyed a remarkable career having landed principal roles in the musical Cats and the English National Ballet Company. In 2013, Jessica realised she was transgender and began her transition; this, paired with a severe injury led to her retirement from professional dance. Jessica has come out of retirement to star in the clip for Dance Like Nobody’s Watching and her appearance in it is her first professional dancing role as her correct gender.
Mermaids, a charity providing much-needed support to gender variant and transgender children, young people and their families, have praised the clip. ‘This video is so important as it provides a positive representation of trans youth, and we know that this works towards increased acceptance and understanding,” Susie Green, CEO of Mermaids, says. “The world can be a hostile place for trans kids, this beautiful and emotive piece created by a mainstream artist, tackling some of the key issues faced, gives a platform that will be widely seen and appreciated.”
Saara says she hopes the video will give others like her the chance to make their dreams come true. “As an LGBTQ+ artist myself, I have experienced prejudices both personal and professional, but I made my dream of being a singer come true and I want to use this platform to inspire others that you too can lead a lead positive and loving life.”
