For hours, you dance in a bridesmaid’s dress among people you don’t know, as cameras follow your every move. You talk nonchalantly with Ryan Lewis, and Macklemore is across the room. You are there beginning at 5 PM, and don’t end up going to bed until 7 am. This may sound like the life of a typical Hollywood starlet, but in reality, it describes the experience of sophomore Mackenzie Gouge, when she was chosen to be a part of musical duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s newest music video, Dance Off, which can be found on YouTube.
“One segment of the video was being filmed at my dad’s hotel, the Seattle Arctic Club Hotel; he emailed the producers a video of me dancing last year,” sophomore Mackenzie Gouge said. Gouge was a part of the opening wedding reception scene, and played the part of the maid of honor. She worked directly with the video’s director and record producer, Ryan Lewis, who told her what to do and where to stand.
“I was also next to Macklemore the entire night while shooting, but I never really got to ‘meet’ him and introduce myself,” Gouge said.
Being one of the youngest dancers there, Gouge does not have very much time in the video itself. In fact, she only appears in a few second-long scenes of the final product, which came out May 17. However, despite not being prominent in the actual video, Gouge feels that the experience itself is the part that truly affects her the most.
“The experience mainly taught me how to be confident. After hair and makeup, I realized that I looked pretty awesome and that I would probably never look like this again,” Gouge said. “I decided it was time to show it off in front of a camera for the world to see, which helped my confidence grow immensely.”