Watch FKA twigs’ Physical, Creative Process Play Out in New Short Film Practice

In her new short film Practice, FKA twigs takes us behind the scenes of the intoxicatingly gorgeous music video for her comeback single “Cellophane.”

The seven-minute video excavates the year-long physical training and creative process behind the visual accompaniment to her first solo single in more than three years, focusing on her strenuous pole performance as she perfected the routine.

“There’s a lot of hard work that went into making the video happen on a creative level, on a business level, on a physical level,” she says in the video. “It’s all very well me going in and doing a three-minute routine. That’s easy, but the difficult thing is knowing you have the stamina and the strength to make sure you can do that three-minute routine for eight hours (during a shoot).”

FKA twigs also details her training, which included cardio twice a day, pole training for at least two hours a day, cross-training, stretching and yoga, all while making sure to sleep enough and eat plenty of protein.

“I do train like an athlete, so I need to make sure I’m strict,” she says.

The short film captures elements of the beautiful, ethereal glow of her music video, but laced with down-to-earth, honest moments.

At one points, twigs squats on the floor after a perfect pole swing with her head in her hands, laughing and admitting that she’s “on her period and can’t deal with it.”

And after seeing a video of her performing her full routine, twigs looks shocked.

“I can’t believe that’s me,” she tells those on set with her. “I basically learned pole dancing because I had this idea for a video a year ago.”

Learning pole dancing may seem like quite the feat just for a music video, but twigs tweeted that “to complete my vision for the cellophane video I had to learn to pole dance, I knew it from the moment I finished the song in the studio.”

‘practice’
presented by @WeTransferhttps://t.co/UYu1a8BrrD

to complete my vision for the cellophane video I had to learn to pole dance, I knew it from the moment I finished the song in the studio. I am proud to share a precious part of my training with you. pic.twitter.com/EZbdU9Rzwu

— FKA twigs (@FKAtwigs) June 4, 2019

FKA twigs also explains the concept of the video paired with its vulnerable, intimate lyrics as she sings, “Didn’t I do it for you? Why don’t I do it for you?”

By coupling amazing pole dance tricks with lyrics full of self-doubt, twigs says she brings in an element of humor and declares not only is she good enough, but also that she’s more than enough.

“For me, there’s something humorous about that,” twigs said. “I’m sure that other people don’t see it that way, but for me, it’s sick and funny and it feels powerful.”

For twigs, being on set is a dream and where she can take her shot at “changing the cultural DNA,” she says in the film.

“It’s where I thrive,” she says. “To have my creative family all working toward the same goal, I feel like I have the A-team.”

After releasing her first song in three years nearly four years after her EP M3LL155X, twigs says, “Right now, I feel like I’m on the right path,” before the video cuts to a shot of her thanking her A-team.

Watch her impressive process for yourself in the new short film below, and keep scrolling to revisit the “Cellophane” music video.