- Students at Dream Catchers Academy went viral for recreating Rihanna’s iconic Super Bowl halftime choreography.
- The all-girls school integrates creative arts, like dance, to build leadership skills.
- Its TikTok account is full of impressive dances from its students who mostly come from disadvantaged areas in Nigeria.
Students at Dream Catchers Academy are going viral for their perfect execution of Rihanna’s Super Bowl dance. In less than 24 hours, it’s generated 5.4 million views.
On March 9, more than a dozen girls participated in the TikTok that was coordinated and shared by the school. Dream Catchers Academy is a nonprofit that provides food, shelter, and access to the arts to orphaned and disadvantaged girls in Nigeria. The academy, based in Ikorodu, Lagos, uses “dance, drama, music, visual arts, and leadership skills,” to encourage girls to stay in school and pursue a “purposeful life,” states its LinkedIn bio.
Viewers were astonished at the girls’ skill and precision — and how it took very little production value to captivate so many people. “Budget: $0, Talent: 1000%,” one top comment reads.
Some commenters even encouraged the nine-time Grammy-award-winning artist to hire the group for upcoming performances.
From February 21 onwards, the account has posted multiple Rihanna Super Bowl 2023 recreations as part of the app’s #rihannachallenge — a trend that encouraged users to put their own spin on the “marshmallow” choreography that instantaneously went viral.
The school’s TikTok account is full of joyful and talented dance numbers, from celebratory Afrodance to pop culture-trending choreography. It’s also posted vignettes of what life is like for girls at the school, like dance and musical rehearsalsto lunch preparation. A February 3 TikTokshows “how we get ready for school on Fridays” as the girls in uniform are seen dancing in tandem to the TikTok-famous song “Players” by Coi Leray.
It’s not the first time the school has plucked material out of the zeitgeist and made it its own; In a February 14 TikTok, the group riffs on the Spanish hit series “Money Heist” with masks and their own choreography.
The academy, which currently has 339,000 followers on TikTok and 309,000 on Instagram, also has a link in its social media profiles for the academy’s GoFundMe for donations.
“An art-based education teaches students that there are multiple approaches to solving problems,” the GoFundMe campaign description reads. “Art is our way of keeping our dreams and hopes alive.”
Its viral Rihanna dance has called many people around the world to donate. “Saw your TikTok and loved the videos! The kids look so happy and are so talented. Keep up the great work,” one person wrote with their donation.
Credits: INSIDER