Holding Tea 🍵 at an Aaliyah Music Video Shoot 📽

Date: 11/11/2016

I was a background dancer for an Aaliyah music video getting ready to shoot. Unfortunately I didn't get to interact with her and only saw her briefly as she walked across the set. We were filming in a space that looked kind of like a greenhouse with large skylights and wooden floors. It looked more in line with Solange than the industrial sci-fi vibe that Aaliyah was known for. I was getting my make-up done by a well-groomed, sophisticated man who insisted we sit on the ground and that I hold tea in my hand. Now the thing is, the tea was not in a cup so I cupped my left hand to contain the liquid. He explained it would help us while he was working on me and I didn't question it. Instead of just sitting still, I used the opportunity to rehearse some of the arm and hand choreography that was India-inspired. As I shifted my legs, I accidentally spilt some of the tea on my dress which was long, simple, breezy and white. It wasn't a strong black tea so it didn't look super noticeable to me and so I didn't tell him or anyone else. Then I was in a super 70s version of my grandparents' home, but it was just my grandfather and me. (He is recently deceased.) I hardly saw him though. In my boredom, I walked through the different rooms waiting for my cousins to arrive. As they were pulling up to the driveway I woke up.