Holding space is not an art that we can suddenly master by just
reading, nor can it be completely summarized by any list. It’s a uniquely
idiosyncratic experience depending on the people, place, and circumstance, with
endless subtleties, techniques, and levels which evolve the more we practice
it. And the more we practice it with others, the more we can give it to
ourselves, heal, and grow even faster, together.
On Tuesday, Sia released
the video for her new single, “The Greatest,” which features Kendrick Lamar
(though his verse isn’t in the video version). According to various
outlets, the video honors the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting which
occurred this past June in Orlando, Florida.
Directed by Sia
and Daniel Askill and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, the video stars Maddie
Ziegler, the young dancer who also brought Sia’s visions to life in videos for
“Chandelier,” “Elastic Heart,” “Cheap Thrills” and “Big Girls Cry.”
The clip starts
on a black screen with the words #WEAREYOURCHILDREN printed across. Then, we
see a crying Ziegler wiping paint under her eyes, as if crying rainbow tears,
or perhaps applying warpaint for battle. A large group of kids lies on the
ground below her, motionless, and she begins screaming (though we don’t hear
her), urging the kids to get up.
Once the music
starts, the group begins moving in unison, with Maddie leading the charge.
Attitude reports that the children represent the victims killed in
the deadliest mass shooting in America’s history ― “49 dancers for 49 lives lost,” as the magazine put it. With
lyrics like, “Don’t give up, I won’t give up / Don’t give up, no no no” and
“Running out of breath but I / oh I I got stamina,” it’s hard not to draw
those parallels.
The kids dance
through an old house, eventually coming together as one group. They jump up and
down, moving together as a single entity (much like individuals would at a
club as music blares through the speakers) before collapsing to the ground, leaving
behind the haunting visual of bodies on the floor.
Dedicating the
video wouldn’t be an unusual thing for Sia to do. Following the tragic
shooting, the singer dedicated a performance of her song “Titanium” to the
LGBTQ community. As she sang lyrics like, “You shoot me down, but I won’t fall,
I am titanium,” she was overcome with emotion and struggled to get through it.
The result was one of the most emotional performances we’ve seen from the
singer.
Sia has yet to
comment on the meaning behind “The Greatest” video. We have reached out to a
representative for the singer for comment.
She did,
however, retweet Vulture’s story, which called the video a “haunting tribute to Orlando.”
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