The new Sia video for track ‘Cheap Thrills’ dropped last night, and sees the singer-songwriter team up with her thirteen-year-old partner-in-crime Maddie Ziegler once more. The video depicts Ziegler and two male dancers performing an imaginative and at times manic dance routine in which they seem to blur and blend into one. Meanwhile, Sia sings off-centre, her face obscured by her familiar black-and-blonde wig.
Ziegler has been collaborating with Sia for some time now, having featured in her videos for ‘Chandelier’, ‘Elastic Heart’ and ‘Big Girls Cry’. Collectively, these three videos (which all feature Ziegler dancing) have chalked up over 1.7 billion views. ‘Cheap Thrills’ has the same visual motifs: Ziegler in a nude outfit, the use of Sia-inspired wigs, a close attention on Ziegler’s facial expressions (although sadly no topless Shia LaBeouf). The video is co-directed by Daniel Askill and Sia, and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, the visionary LA-based choreographer who was also behind Ziegler’s performance in Sia’s other videos. If Ziegler’s dancing has inspired you once again, you can check out this Ryan Heffington tutorial to ‘Chandelier’ here.
