‘Savage’: Twins from Elk Grove go viral with remix of popular TikTok dance challenge
Considering they’ve earned a viral following online for a fun but aggressive dance routine to a remix of a song called “Savage,” Shayné and Zhané Stanley are remarkably polite.
Born and raised in Elk Grove, the identical twins have lived in Los Angeles for several years and have made dancing their career, including experience with well-known artists such as Iggy Azalea, Kehlani, Keke Palmer and P. Diddy.
But the Stanley twins, or “Nae Nae twins,” as they’re known on TikTok, scored millions of views last week for a video of their well-synchronized dance to “Savage Remix,” released April 29 by artist Megan Thee Stallion, which they posted the same day. The remix features Beyoncé.
The 40-second clip went viral on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, with Megan Thee Stallion herself sharing it to her nearly 11 million followers on Instagram.
They hashtagged the original post, “#savageremixchallenge,” after the original non-remixed version of the song spawned its own dance challenge weeks earlier on TikTok and Instagram. The Stanleys’ version shows the twins dancing in their living room to the track, wearing matching camo Los Angeles Dodgers hats.
Shayné and Zhané Stanley, in a video interview with The Bee, said they choreographed the moves in an hour or two, and didn’t make the video with the expectation it would go viral.
“The day the song came out, we were like ‘Oh let’s create just a little routine for this, it’ll be fun,’ “ Shayné
said. “Then we were like .... ‘Let’s just put out our version, let’s just do it, because it’s popping right now.’ ”
But once it started to gain traction, they said they weren’t surprised when Megan Thee Stallion reposted the video to her official page, where it’s been viewed more than 2.4 million times as of Wednesday. The rapper is prolific on social media.
Shayné and Zhané, both 25, moved to L.A. shortly after they turned 17 to pursue their dream of careers in dancing.
They grew up in Elk Grove and attended Sheldon High School, but said they’d been told since age 5 they had a natural talent for dance. From about ages 14 to 17, they developed more at Kast Academy of the Arts, a school and dance studio also based in Elk Grove.
The sisters said they don’t do too much choreographing anymore, but they got experience while working at their mom’s nonprofit organization, Stanley Girls Learning Health Center for Children. Shayné and Zhané had two older sisters who died several years ago from health issues, inspiring their mother Deborah to found the nonprofit, which combines health education and dance.
“We were the dance teachers under her program,” Shayné said.
After moving to L.A., Shayné and Zhané signed with an agency and began to find work, mostly as background dancers.
A big part of modern dance, especially with the recent rise of TikTok, is maintaining a social media presence and following, which the twins agreed is like a full-time job in its own rite.
“It’s a whole lot of responsibility,” Shayné said. Zhané added: “You gotta keep them engaged and entertained, a lot.”
The Stanley sisters said they’ve had an influx of other dancers send them their own versions of the dance they created, through TikTok and Instagram. Shayné and Zhané posted a slow-motion tutorial for the choreography to their YouTube page.
“Seeing other people do our choreo, seeing it on them, that’s exciting,” Zhané Stanley said. “Cause I was like ‘Oh wow, she did this part way different than we did, but I like it.’ The way she did it is so cool. Seeing the different versions of other people doing it is just dope.”
The sisters, who finish each other’s sentences seamlessly, said one of their main goals has become teaching other twin dancers how to dance with better synergy.
“We love when dancers are like, very in sync,” Shayné said.
“And that’s the reason we feel like this video went viral,” Zhané said, “because we’re so in sync,” they said simultaneously.
Their styles are different. Zhané said she’s “more like the hard-hitting, aggressive dancer” while her sister “is more the soft, subtle” type.
“But we both look the same,” she said, “and it’s crazy.”
