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“When we lose, we create,”says singer Jacque Ryal.And like so many people across the country, Jacque Ryal of the synth pop duo RYAL recently found herself grieving a loss. Earlier this year, JD, her friend and college roommate, whose drag name was Bebe, lost his battle with COVID-19. Bebe was the life of the party.
“He had a way of gathering people together,” Jacque says. “He had a laugh that you could hear inside a crazy loud club.” Jacque turned her pain into art, creating the song “Thunder (Solo on the Dancefloor)” alongside producer Aaron Nevezie, the other half of RYAL. However, even after the song came out, Jacque had another story she wanted to share about her friend, his bravery, and the way he always inspired everyone around him.
”In my meditations, I could hear him telling me to stop being sad and to relish in life, enjoy every second, to stop my negative chatter about his passing,” the singer says. “His message was motivation and a real good kick in the ass. So I put on my big girl boots and bought a Zhiyun Gimbal and practiced how to shoot with it.”
Working with dancer, actor and performer Sam Given, Jacque wrote, directed and shot a powerful, heart-pumping video for “Thunder (Solo on the Dancefloor).” To maintain safety, Jacque didn’t employ asingle crew member for the shoot at Peerspace in Long Island City. Given leapt at the opportunity to work with the synth pop duo.
“RYAL speaks to me because they celebrate different perspectives, different stories, different storytellers and most of all, different tactics for smashing the system,” he says. However, he didn’t expect the video shoot to be cathartic for him.
“Dancing to this music on film transported me to a place I hadn’t considered: a community where I can fight for the creatives I believe in and stand up for goodness,” he says. “I was just expecting to dance and make pretty shapes with a good friend, but what came out was anger, sadness, trauma, clearing my heart and allowing hope and magic to take root.”
Jacque says Given brought something invaluable to the shoot, too. “Originally the ending of the video was him lying on the ground exhausted from the dance,” Jacque says. “But Sam said ‘Why don’t we take this to the streets in full dance and celebration? That’s what Bebe would have wanted.’ And he was exactly right.”
Now, the singer hopes people who watch the video see some of Bebe’s magic, and remember something important. “The ones we lost are always with us,” she says, “and they show up if we ask.”
