This was submitted by RileyJD. Want your fanart in our next blog? See below.
Hello everyone! It's February, which means it's Black History Month! Fandom is celebrating by highlighting Black IPs in the entertainment space! As with previous heritage months, we are celebrating by highlighting the black artists, cast, and crew involved in the Just Dance series! There are so many in the series to highlight so we will be splitting this up into two blogs. This blog will focus on the artists in Just Dance 2023 Edition and the next one will focus on the series as a whole.
YOUR FANART HERE[]
Want to be featured in our second blog? We want to showcase your art of black artists' songs, black characters (or characters played by black performers), and black performers. See this blog for more details. For a sneak peek of what we have received so far, read until the end of this blog.
Cast and crew[]
As a child I identified with models who were white, very conventional, which is sad really because you might think it's no big deal. But actually I believe that for a child's or teen's development, this lack of representation, of points of reference, is unfortunate... And luckily today the entertainment industry is much more diverse. And I think that with a game like Just Dance, today, we are part of a creative team and at our own level, we can push back against these norms and we can really say that dance is accessible to everyone. I think it sends a strong message.
Just Dance is produced by a very diverse team and this representation is importance is emphasized by this quote from their associate producer. Several black performers and choreographers have worked on the series, along with behind the scenes people like Djobet. Here are some of the performers and choreographers who worked on Just Dance 2023 Edition, those from previous installments will be in the next blog. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and just showcases some of the staff who have made multiple or notable appearances.
- Aurélie Sériné: Having made appearances as far back as 2012, Aurélie is one of the most prolific dancers in the series, appearing in iconic routines such as Disturbia, Birthday, and tons of others. She most recently played Ahri in More.
- Citron Rose: Québécois dancer and content creator Citron Rose makes a guest appearance this year on a special VIP version of Woman, which was covered by the news in Montreal.
- Cormier Claude: A dancer for the series since 2014, Cormier has played several notable characters in the series including Scarlet Gold, Fuschia Blue, and others. He most recently appeared as Polo in Danger! High Voltage (Alternate).
- House of Revlon: Gigi, Vinii, and Keoina from the House of Revlon, a ballroom house, guest-star as themselves in Anything I Do (more on that later) and several promotional shorts.
- Jerky Jessy: Choreographing and performing routines since 2014, Jerky has made several appearances behind and in front of the camera, sometimes doing both. He is part of the main cast of the story mode this year, playing Wanderlust in multiple routines.
- Sarah Magassa: Sarah has been with the series since 2016 and most recently appeared as Bonnie and Mothigan.
Artists[]
And now of course, the main draw of the series, the artists!
Adassa, Mauro Castillo, and Rhenzy Feliz (Encanto cast)[]
Encanto cast members Adassa, Mauro Castillo, and Rhenzy Feliz bring Afro-Latino representation to the series with their appearance on We Don’t Talk About Bruno. The posse cut features a routine that very closely mirrors the official choreography from the film and their respective characters appear alongside Mirabel in the routine.
Alika and Ms Banks[]
British rappers Alika and Ms Banks team up on CLiQ's Anything I Do, a bass-heavy club song accompanied by the House of Revlon doing a lot of voguing. The House of Revlon also appears in multiple promotional shorts for the game, which also feature the song.
Beyoncé[]
A veteran to the series, Beyoncé makes her sixth appearance in the series (fourth excluding covers) on Lady Gaga's Telephone. While the routine is more of an homage to Gaga, some of the dancers are still very much inspired by Beyoncé's appearance in the official music video.
Busy Signal[]
Dancehall is back! Jamaican dancehall artist Busy Signal makes his second appearance in the series with Watch Out for This (Bumaye).
Doja Cat[]
Despite only first appearing two games ago, Doja Cat is already making her fourth appearance with Woman. For the first time, she also has not one, but two alternate routines!
FS Green[]
Assisting with production on Watch Out for This (Bumaye), making his series debut, we’ve got Dutch producer FS Green!
Jillionaire and Walshy Fire (Major Lazer)[]
One of the biggest names in 2010s EDM, Major Lazer makes their fourth appearance in the main series with Watch Out for This (Bumaye). Long-time members Jillionaire and Walshy Fire were around for the majority of their hits, although Jillionaire would later leave the group in 2019.
Red Robyn and Terrell Mackey (The Just Dancers)[]
For this year’s Ubisoft Original, we’ve got If You Wanna Party, which serves as the victory song at the conclusion of the Enter the Danceverses arc. Among the five vocalists, who provide the singing voices for the main characters, we have Red Robyn and Terrell Mackey!
RuPaul[]
One of the most requested artists in this community, drag queen, host, and icon RuPaul finally debuted in the series this year. Sissy That Walk has made appearances on fanmade wishlists pretty much every year since its release and now it is finally here, with a performance from Drag Race France contestant Lolita Banana!
The Trammps[]
Last year we got Sylvester, this year we’ve got The Trammps bringing disco to the game with Disco Inferno!
Wasiu[]
Who better to close out this blog than the artist who soundtracked the final battle of the Enter the Danceverses arc? American rapper Wasiu provides vocals for Apashe’s Majesty, which accompanies the Just Dancers as they face off against the Night Swan army. Wasiu himself said he was honored to be included in the series.
Conclusion[]
And that’s it for Just Dance 2023 Edition! If there are any errors, please let us know. Otherwise, tune in around February 18th for part two, which will show off any fanart you all submit and talk about artists and performers from previous games! Here's a sneak peek of some of the submissions we have received so far:
