‘SHE IS SO FUNNY’:Beyoncé’s ‘II Hands II Heaven’: Drea Kelly says her viral dance now has ‘a life of its own’-HO
Beyoncé’s song “II Hands II Heaven” off “Cowboy Carter” has captured the internet’s attention with fans recreating a viral dance to the song’s second half. Beyond Beyoncé, there’s another familiar face attached to the dance: Drea Kelly.
Andrea Kelly, also known as Drea, is an American choreographer, dancer, and actress. She gained prominence as the ex-wife of singer R. Kelly, from whom she divorced in 2009. R. Kelly is currently serving prison time.
When fans began using her dance moves for the Grammy-winning singer’s new music, she recalls, “I was like hold on now, Beyoncé’s internet is on to something. And it has taken a life of its own.”
Drea has been immersed in dance since childhood, and today she teaches dance fitness and burlesque classes in Atlanta, among other pursuits.
While her dance moves have been circulating on the internet for some time, she expressed excitement and overwhelm seeing fans across social media adopting her choreography for Beyoncé’s latest song.
“I do burlesque. So that original choreography is to Muddy Waters, ‘I Just Want to Make Love to You’ and somebody put Beyoncé’s music on it. And the next thing I know…they put her music over one of my classes, they put her music over one of my videos. And in Chicago, there’s a dance called the Percolator. So this move that everybody sees me doing is actually an old school, house-music dance, and it fits perfectly.”
Andrea Kelly enjoys dancing to various genres of music, including country, rock, and R&B. However, she particularly loves dancing to Beyoncé’s extensive catalog of music, including tracks like “Cowboy Carter.”
For Kelly, this social media trend represents more than just a fleeting moment; she hopes that fans can find inspiration from it.
“I have been doing that choreography almost two years now (and it) has been on my page. But you know, I want this to be a testament to people. Your gifts will make a way for you. And I don’t care what anybody thinks. Don’t think you’re too old. Don’t think your content is too old. Something that you put on your page years ago, somebody can discover and it has a new life.”
She also hopes to help dismantle ageism in the dance world. “Dance does not have age cap (and) performing doesn’t have age cap,” she said.
Going forward, she says there may be more Beyoncé choreography.
As fans are aware, Beyoncé initially unveiled “Cowboy Carter” during an unexpected Super Bowl commercial in February, alongside the release of singles like “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em.” These tracks quickly captivated the internet, as did the album upon its release on March 29.
From the release of the singles, Beyoncé made history and shattered glass-ceiling norms within the country music landscape. And she continued to break records with the release the full album. Recently, the “Ya Ya” singer became the first Black woman to debut at No. 1 on Billboard’s top country albums chart.
Prior the album’s release, Beyoncé opened up about creating the five-year project: “It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed … and it was very clear that I wasn’t. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
“It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history,” she wrote. “The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. Act ii is a result of challenging myself and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
Kelly expresses, “I just adore the fact that, regrettably yet thankfully, Beyoncé had to ascend to a throne to garner the world’s attention. We’ve been immersed in country music. It’s not a novelty. But I’m profoundly thankful that she utilized her platform to illuminate a realm that was already thriving.”
