Toddla T feat. Roots Manuva 'Watch Me Dance' by Rollo Jackson

Toddla T and Roots Manuva have got a potential hit on their hands with Watch Me Dance, so they get the slightly tongue-in-cheek pop video treatment from Rollo Jackson, in which Roots is a loveable fish out of water witnessing the fitness of his artfully-attired dancers, but still just about maintaining his focus.

"I had a pretty open brief - the use of colour was going to be key, especially in the light of Toddla's previous video that was black and white," explains Rollo. "I was really keen to make something abstract and unreal that I could insert Roots' performance and Toddla's cameo into, something that used colour but with a refined 'matte' palette rather than overblown glossy colours normally associated with pop videos.

"In the same way I wanted the dancers to be slightly unreal, robotic almost, for the attention of the viewer to be drawn to their movement and shape but not in a typical 'sexy backing dancer' way that you so often see. I was also really keen to construct something that was slightly confusing visually using in camera techniques rather anything done in post.

"They also made the costumes and introduced the slightly Bauhaus element which complemented the roboticism of the dancing I wanted. The choreography followed suit and needed to be mannequin-like rather seductive, hence drawing attention away from their real skin colour / body shape. One thing I definitely learnt is that all over body paint takes A LONG TIME!"

Toddla T feat. Roots Manuva
Watch Me Dance (Ninja Tune)
Directed / Edited: Rollo Jackson
DoP: Carl Burke
1st AD: Jhonny Zurita
Producer: Chris Goulder
Art Direction: Anna Lomax & Jamie Brown
Make Up: Kim Kiefer
Choreographer: Ianthe Wright
Stylist: Mel Downing
Commissioner: Maddy Salvage