Choreographic Style and Process: Highlighting Keone & Mari Madrid
Dance takes on many different forms and styles. Its popularity has evolved immensely throughout history, and dance is no longer solely defined through its technical skill, Euro-centric value, or its elitism. A dance couple that has their artistic fingerprints in a variety of places is Keone and Mari Madrid. They are phenomenal Filipino-American artists, world-renowned dancers, award-winning choreographers, directors, creators, and global instructors based in San Diego. Additionally, they are also husband and wife, and parents to their daughter Numah. Stylistically the duo leans into commercial and hip hop styles, but is mainly based in storytelling.
I first discovered them in 2017 through World of Dance, the NBC dance competition show. Their routine to Hozier’s “Like Real People Do” struck me in terms of its simple but textured movement and storytelling, and I have been casually following their work since. What they do extends beyond just the dance world. They have choreographed for pop singers and music videos, K-Pop idol groups, award shows, commercials, dance competitions and dance shows, and they even created a dance e-book. Pre-COVID, they were beginning to work in the musical theatre world as well.
As a solo choreographer, Keone Madrid has worked with numerous K-Pop idol groups, including BTS. He is also part of The Kinjaz, an incredible Asian-American dance crew/collective, many of whom have also choreographed for various K-Pop idol groups. Through Keone’s Instagram, he has shared a little bit of his process in choreographing for BTS. Keone and his dancers create the routine, then film it and send it over to the in-house choreographers/performance directors for these K-Pop idol groups. On Instagram, back in 2016, Keone shared a video of the choreography for BTS’ “Fire”. In the caption he wrote this about the process: “Now that the MV is out here’s a peek at some of the original “Fire” rehearsal footage of myself and my dancers. Process: I’ll create it with my dancers, get it on film, then send it over to production for them to learn it. It’s not easy learning through video, especially this one specifically being difficult. So I’m always very impressed with how well BTS gets it. Thanks to them and their team for another opportunity!” Prior to that, he shared a few videos of his original choreography for BTS’ “Dope” in 2015, with the caption: “Man, kpop has been a big part of mine & Mari’s careers, and is one of our favorite jobs to do. Over the years we’ve been able to work for many wonderful artists. Just wanted to show some gratitude to them and for all the support from the #kpop world. Sometimes we do go to Korea to work directly with artists, but often we do things remotely by filming with dancers and sending it to the company. So this is the raw footage of a very early version. Was very happy to see bts just absolutely kill it in the final version you see in the corner screen.” This process is really fascinating and unique because of the international reach, in both artists and audiences, and the factor of not being able to teach the choreography to the artists in person.
It is amazing to see the YouTube videos of their own dances and choreography for themselves and their productions, and then to see it being carried over in the choreography for these pop artists. There is a particular vibe, sense, dynamic, and movement vocabulary that makes me go: “oh yeah, I can see Keone and Mari in this routine.” In 2018, Keone choreographed “Singularity”, which is V of BTS’ solo song on the BTS album “Love Yourself: Tear”. Seeing the music video compared to this other piece he choreographed for himself and his dancers on their own channel, I noticed that they have the same concept and vibe. I had seen the Keone & Mari channel video before I had seen the “Singularity” music video so it was cool to see that concept reappear. I also didn’t know “Singularity” was his choreography when I originally saw the music video but I remember thinking it was so similar to that Keone Madrid video I watched previously. In the K-Pop spheres, the choreography tends to become iconic but there is a large lack of credit given to the choreographers themselves. Most of the ways I am made aware of Keone’s contributions to particular music videos or routines is because it has been shared on his social media or listed in his work highlights on his website. This is a problem in the world’s view of dance as “less valuable” or “less important” than directors or other creative team positions.
In terms of Keone and Mari’s choreographic style and process, when working together, their routines involve a fair amount of partner work. This is beautifully displayed in their YouTube video of their “Like Real People Do” routine. Their style is described by Haley Hilton of Dance Magazine as “[consisting] of immensely intricate movement weaving in and out of their two bodies in mesmerizing ways” (Hilton). This can also be seen in Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” music video, which they choreographed and starred in back in 2015. In that same 2020 Dance Magazine interview, Keone and Mari talked about how they often used to fight when creating work together. For a 2015 Dance Spirit article, they said this more specifically about working together:
M: Usually, we’ll talk a little bit first and then just start moving; sometimes, we’ll map out a piece to make sure it has good ups and downs.
K: Yeah, it’s definitely a good mixture of freestyle and pre-planning. It’s almost like a game of Twister, putting together different ‘pictures.’
M: Yes on Twister! Sometimes I’ll be in a terribly uncomfortable position while we figure out the arms, and I’ll have to take a little breather. But it’s all worth it.
K: I’d describe our choreography as urban dance — it’s a fusion of styles with a strong base in hip hop, but definitely not pure hip hop. Storytelling is a big part of it.
M: It’s also rooted in musicality, with lots of detail and precision.
K: Our choreography is all about grooves! The feeling is the most important. We brainstorm moments we want to bring out of the song, but a lot of times, the flow creates itself and new ideas come to the table.
Keone also talked about how their faith has a big impact on their artistry. He says “the songs [they] choreograph to and the message [they] decide to share” are greatly influenced by their faith. In this interview, they also talked a bit about how they have often been compared to the dance/choreography duo Nappytabs, well known from choreographing for So You Think You Can Dance:
“We totally get it, since they’re also married and do hip hop and partnering,” Keone says. “But we’re in different worlds — they’re very much in the industry, while we’re somewhere in between the industry, the competition/community scene and YouTube.”
Personally, while I would describe Keone and Mari’s style as hip hop and commercial, it isn’t quite that. Or at least, it isn’t commercial and hip hop in the common idea and sense of what that means right now — with current commercial hip hop being all about hitting big shapes, sharpness and “gritty-ness” of the movement, and eye-catching tricks and techniques. I think what really makes them stand out is their storytelling and use of dynamics within their often relatively small and simple movements. Their choreography is eye-catching and fantastic not because it’s full of tricks, but instead because of the relationships they create, the musicality, and the textures of the movements.
In their careers so far, Keone and Mari have been very versatile and have taken on many different mediums by which to share their storytelling. First of all, in terms of performance, “Mari was still dancing onstage at seven months pregnant at Coachella with Billie Eilish in 2019, [but] the couple’s path has changed since [their daughter] Numah was born” (Hilton). They have also done an immersive, full length theater dance show entitled Beyond Babel, which was nominated for 2 Drama Desk Awards in 2020 — one for “Best Choreography” and one for “Unique Theatrical Experience”. It was self-directed, choreographed, written, and starred in by the couple. “Beyond Babel […] proved they could tackle long-form, as well [as short form]. The contemporary retelling of Romeo and Juliet comments on today’s social issues — in particular the proposed border wall” (Hilton). Of this particular project, their artistry, and roles within it Mari said: “We feel most proud of our work when we’re able to be involved in every aspect. It’s when we feel like we have ownership and can express our true voices beyond just choreography” (Randall).
Secondly, in terms of their other stage choreography, back in January 2020, it was announced that they would choreograph the Broadway musical adaptation of the iconic film, The Karate Kid. They were also in the beginnings of directing and choreographing the Britney Spears jukebox musical Once Upon a One More Time before COVID lockdowns began. This turn from performing and choreographing short pieces to longer, bigger choreographic projects came about simultaneously with the beginnings of their family. For Dance Magazine, Hilton writes: “A week before Mari went into labor, they got a call telling them they’d been promoted from choreographers to directors for their first Broadway production, Once Upon a One More Time. The show would keep them in one place for an extended period, something their usual commercial jobs didn’t allow” (Hilton).
A recent example of their non-traditional, non-stage work is their project for Walt Disney Animations, in which the duo choreographed the animated short featured before the new film Raya and the Last Dragon. This short, entitled 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 short has no dialogue and is told entirely through dance and a funk- and soul-infused score” (Yang). For the process of creating in this format, Keone and Mari talked about how storytelling through movement is what they are most drawn to and how it is what they do all the time anyway, making this short a perfect collaboration for them to be a part of. For the process of creating in this medium, Yang of EW writes that the Madrids would record their “choreography based on Parrish [the writer and director]’s own recordings of himself talking about each scene, and they’d go back and forth in this process” (Yang). Keone also speaks on this creation process saying: “The key for us was having as much context as possible because one little sound could influence us differently, one little move can make an impact later on in the piece” (Yang).
In somewhat of a similar vein to this animated short film, Keone and Mari released Ruth, the first ever dance ebook, back in June 2018. It is a fictional story created by Keone & Mari, with writing authored by Mariel Madrid — who holds a degree in creative writing, and videos directed by Keone Madrid. It is described as the “first-of-it’s-kind dance experience” with 9 chapters and a combination of reading, illustrations, and cinematic video. It is a “multimedia [ebook] that [is] driven by dance videos in an educational and/or storytelling way” (Keone on Twitter). The story itself follows “an elderly woman named Ruth, [who] moves back in with her family after they take her out of a retirement home for the first time in many years. As her family experiences tough times, Ruth is suddenly transported into an alternate universe where she is engulfed into a world full of movers” (Twitter).
I find it so exciting and inspiring to see how the Madrids use dance and storytelling across various styles, personalities, and multimedia forms. They have taken their different passions and skills and have been able to fuse them together in different projects. It is also wonderful and exciting for me as an Asian artist to see Asian dancers, choreographers, and storytellers creating extraordinary work both as vehicles for themselves and for others. Keone and Mari Madrid are important choreographers and performers to look at because of their diversity in forms, innovation, and their emphasis on beautiful storytelling.
Works Cited
Dance Spirit. “Two-Stepping: Keone and Mari Madrid’s Dance (and Love) Story.” Dance Spirit, Dance Spirit, 11 Nov. 2015, www.dancespirit.com/two-stepping-2326694177.html.
Evans, Greg. “‘The Karate Kid’ In Training For Broadway: Musical Adaptation Has Original Screenwriter On Board.” Deadline, Deadline, 22 Jan. 2020, 10:01 am, deadline.com/2020/01/karate-kid-broadway-musical-adaptation-screenwriter-robert-mark-kamen-1202837960/.
Hilton, Haley. “The Storytellers: Keone and Mari Madrid Capture What It Means to Be Human.” Dance Magazine, Dance Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020, www.dancemagazine.com/keone-and-mari-2646951015.html?rebelltitem=9#rebelltitem9.
“Keone & Mari Homepage.” k&m, www.keoneandmari.com/#:~:text=Keone%20%26%20Mari%20Madrid%20are%20world,music%2C%20film%20and%20online%20platforms.
“Keone Madrid BTS Dope.” Google Drive (From Instagram), drive.google.com/file/d/1G0HBI9vVwlF8to9XyU8kgnP32CMzOJI5/view?usp=sharing.
- Madrid, Keone. “‘Dope’ Pt 1.” Instagram, 4 Oct. 2015, www.instagram.com/p/8biphUHwAE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
- Madrid, Keone. “‘Dope’ Pt 2.” Instagram, 4 Oct. 2015, www.instagram.com/p/8bihW8nwP2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
- Madrid, Keone. “‘Dope’ Pt 3.” Instagram, 4 Oct. 2015, www.instagram.com/p/8bic-qHwPn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.
Lefkowitz, Andy. “Britney Spears Jukebox Musical Once Upon a One More Time Postpones Pre-Broadway Run in Chicago.” Broadway.com, Broadway.com, 17 Mar. 2020, www.broadway.com/buzz/198811/britney-spears-jukebox-musical-once-upon-a-one-more-time-postpones-pre-broadway-run-in-chicago/.
Madrid, Keone. “@KeoneMadrid on Twitter: About RUTH.” Twitter, 31 May 2018, twitter.com/KeoneMadrid/status/1002374751862419456?s=20.
Madrid, Keone. “Soompi Awards: Keone Madrid Wins Best Choreography for V of BTS’ ‘Singularity.’” Twitter, 31 May 2019, twitter.com/KeoneMadrid/status/1134570254439313408?s=20.
Morlan, Kinsee. “Culture Report: Taking Dance From Viral to Vital.” Voice of San Diego, 31 July 2018, www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/arts/culture-report-taking-dance-from-viral-to-vital/.
“Our Work.” k&m, www.keoneandmari.com/work.
Randall, Kaylee. “Keone and Mari Madrid on Their Groundbreaking New Projects.” Dance Spirit, Dance Spirit, 7 Aug. 2018, www.dancespirit.com/keone-mari-madrid-beyond-babel-2593051351.html.
Yang, Rachel. “First Look at ‘Us Again,’ Walt Disney Animation’s First Theatrical Short in 5 Years.” EW.com, 15 Feb. 2021, ew.com/movies/us-again-walt-disney-animation-short-first-look/.
