Two young people dancing in the desert, an encouraging song playing in the background and a performance for a girl fighting for her life.
Those are all the ingredients necessary for a heartwarming performance like the one below. Emilio Dosal and Kelsey Landers, both successful dancers, decided to make a get-well message for their friend by doing what they do best: dancing.
It’s interesting how both Dosal and Landers developed impressive dance skills, even if Kelsey started dancing at the age of five and Emilio began when he was 18.
We love how it took Emilio a decade longer to figure that dance was what he wanted to do with his life, and he still managed to become so good! Today, he dances like a pro. It proves that anything is possible, and it’s never too late to start doing what you love.
The talented Texan is of Puerto Rican descent and he’s a member of the dance troupe called I.aM.mE.
Perhaps you remember Dosal best from season 11 of the So You Think You Can Dance competition? If not, he also has credits in the film Step Up: All In, and despite trying out different dance genres, Emilio’s main focus stayed on hip-hop dance.
Kelsey is a 27-year-old native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but she’s currently living in LA to pursue her dream career.
Starting at a very young age, Kelsey Landers had the opportunity to experiment with different styles. For years, she trained at Sandra Lynn’s School of dance in Greensburgh, PA. There, Landers studied contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, lyrical, modern and musical theatre.
She’s toured all over Europe with The Bad Boys of Dance in the show “Rock the Ballet.”
Shortly after, Kelsey joined a company created by Daniel Ezralow, called OPEN, and it took her on a journey to Italy. The most recent project Landers took part in is the Shaping Sound Dance Company.
The video Dosal and Landers filmed is full of symbols.
In the beginning, Kelsey’s laying in the desert all dressed in white, but covered with a grey sheet.
The sheet is a symbol of all the difficulties that any person goes through in their life.
As Emilio approaches her, he begins to dance and touches her, prompting her to wake up. She joins him just in time to start dancing together with the song’s chorus playing in the background.
Emilio explained that the dance is dedicated to his best friend who’s been suffering because of lupus, and everything that the illness’s been doing to her body.
Emilio and Kelsey dance their way through the song, and Kelsey moves as though she’s breaking free from everything.
The routine is very meaningful, and we know their friend must have felt much better from watching this.
Since it was posted, it has earned more than four million YouTube views.
We feel like this piece meant a lot to everyone who’s been dealing with Lupus. The dance is so fitting for the subject matter, and that’s what makes it so significant.
It’s been five years since this video was uploaded and their friend Christina is feeling much better, but the dance remains a source of hope and faith for everyone dealing with similar problems.
Kelsey and Emilio found a way to portray the battle against that illness through their dance, and it resulted in one of the best choreographies we’ve ever seen. Hats off, you two—this moved us a lot.
Check out the inspiring performance by clicking on the link below:
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