Walt Disney Animation Studios’ new theatrical short “Us Again” features dances choreographed by the Filipino-American husband-and-wife dance team of Keone and Mari Madrid.
Dance scenes were unveiled by Disney on February 16, 2021, in the first look at its latest film written and directed by Big Hero 6’s head of animation, Zach Parrish.
“Us Again” tells the story of an elderly man named Art and his young-at-heart wife Dot who rekindle their zest for life through dance one magical night. The new short has no dialogue and is told entirely through dance and a funk-and-soul-infused musical score.
Parrish closely collaborated with the Filipino world-renowned dance couple Keone and Mari Madrid who have worked with musical acts like Justin Bieber, Korean pop superstars BTS and Got7, and Kendrick Lamar, among others.
The Madrids have received nominations for best choreography at the MTV Video Music Awards and the UK Video Music Awards.
Most recently, the duo co-created, directed, and choreographed their first full-length Off-Broadway theater dance show, “Beyond Babel.”
Keone Madrid shared about their latest achievement in an Instagram post the same day Disney made the reveal.
“Dream project announcement 😭 Since 2019 we’ve been working on an animated short film with Disney, told entirely through dance/music (can’t believe I get to type that). And on March 5th, “Us Again” will play in theaters before Raya and the Last Dragon (wherever theaters are open),” Keone Madrid wrote.
Walt Disney Animation will premiere the short film “Us Again” before the feature film “Raya and the Last Dragon” in theaters this March. “Us Again” is the company’s first short in five years.
“There are so many levels to which my heart explodes with joy when thinking about this coming to life, particularly that we can watch our daughter watch this – and that watching the shorts before Disney films have always been something I’ve deeply cherished – but this film and the village of people who helped bring it to life, are so special,” Madrid adds.
The husband-and-wife duo continues to share their passion for dance digitally amid the novel coronavirus pandemic through their joint YouTube channel, Keone and Mari.
Keone and Mari’s YouTube videos have amassed 2 billion views. The Filipino-American tandem is currently based in San Diego, California, and is teaching online on their reimagined dance training program, Building Block 360.
“Us Again” will come to the streaming service Disney+ this March 5.
The new theatrical short film is also produced by Brad Simonsen (Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Ralph Breaks the Internet) and executive produced by Jennifer Lee, Chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios.
The Disney-Pixar Sparkshorts film “Float”, written and directed by Filipino-American Bobby Rubio, broke new ground as the first Pixar work to feature Filipino-American animated characters.
A Disney animated video ad, “From Our Family To Yours,” released last year paid homage to Filipino Christmas traditions and characters set in a fictionalized Philippines on Christmas eve.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to world-renowned dancers and married couple Keone and Mari Madrid for being an inspiration to Filipinos everywhere with their newest collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studios’ for the new theatrical short “Us Again”!
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