Though Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” did not win a Grammy last Sunday, it did manage to attract the attention of photographer and director David LaChapelle, who recently directed a new music video for it. The video features a long, passionate dance from Ukrainian ballet dancer Sergei Polunin and choreography by Jade Hale-Christofi.
Polunin shocked the prestigious British Royal Ballet a few years ago when he resigned from his post as the principal dancer at the young age of 22. His tattoos and tweets about his drug use drew concern from colleagues and fans. "I was not able to put things together," he explained in an interview with the Telegraph. "Dancing-wise I didn't feel I was in charge of anything."
Polunin is the sole dancer in the music video, which takes place inside a wide, empty church-like studio with a backdrop of airy green trees. The four minutes and seven seconds of video are dedicated to an emotive, visual interpretation of the song. Polunin performs contemporary ballet, intermingled with modern dance and a deeply personal touch.
One of the problems with the music video, however, is the cinematography. Many shots fail to capture the emotion of Polunin's movements, and some even cut off the view of the dancer's legs in key athletic and artistic moments. Furthermore, the alternating use of wide shots and close-ups seem more or less arbitrary.
In aninterview with Fuse TV, Hozier explained his own interpretation of the song: “The song, to me, is about what it is to be a human, what it is to love someone as a human being, and organizations that would undermine that, and undermine the more natural parts of being a person.”
In that sense, Polunin’s natural, emotional performance is incredibly fitting.
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