Young Dancers Are the Stars of This Fun New Music Video From Animal Years

How do you capture the bond of friendship in a four-minute video? Through dance, of course. Indie rock band Animal Years did just that for their new music video “Friends,” highlighting some super talented young dancers in this cool video.

Directed by the band’s base player and choreographed by Amy Gardner (whose long list of credits includes everything from working with Madonna to “So You Think You Can Dance”), “Friends” features Bella Klassen, Alexis De Lucas, Emily Armstrong, Xavier Mack and Sam Browne.

“I had worked with four of the dancers before and knew I could rely on them,” Gardner tells us on choosing her cast. “I had seen my fifth dancer, Xavier, a while back during a mock audition at Broadway Dance Center where I teach and remembered him from that. I didn’t have time to hold auditions for this video, which serves as a good reminder to dancers to stay in class and connected to choreographers and directors,” she adds.

The whole video was impressively filmed in just one weekend, after around 10 hours in the studio and a quick location scout. “We drove up ahead of filming in order to map out where we would be dancing, and that is when all my ideas started to really come to life,” Gardner tells us. “It was important to have very specific characters for this piece.”

Gardner divided the dancing into three segments, starting with Klassen breaking into an energetic dance routine after climbing out of her tree house. As she makes her way through the woods, Klassen’s solo turns into a trio, dancing in unison as they’re joined by two more friends.

The choreography seems to perfectly match the meaning behind the song with its cheerfully frenzied movements, and the steps are all executed with sharpness and precision (something that’s made even more impressive considering the dancers are dressed in layers and boots).

“Friends” will make you want to text all of your studio friends for a dance sesh, immediately.