Watch this 13-year-old dancer blow away the professional choreographer who danced with her

Phil Wright said, he ‘got smoked.’ Yup.

dance, choreography
Photo credit: Phil Wright/InstagramMariandrea Villegas dancing with Phil Wright at The Dance Awards.


Humans may not always recognize greatness right away, but sometimes it’s so clear it simply can’t be denied.

You don’t have to be a dancer yourself to see when someone’s got moves, and a viral video from choreographer Phil Wright spotlights a kid who’s got moves. Like, wow.

Mariandrea Villegas may be tiny, but she packs a mighty amount of energy, skill, coordination and x-factor into her dancing. Oh and joy. Did I mention joy?


Villegas, 13, danced alongside choreographer Phil Wright at The Dance Awards and holy moly. She snatched the stage right out from under him.

“I think I got smoked,” he wrote when he shared the video on his Instagram page. “I need to stop dancing with these kids. ? They’re low-key superheroes.”

If Villegas is any evidence, he’s right. Watch:

Upworthy shared the video on Instagram as well, and people loved it.

“When you find your passion at a young age, it’s a beautiful thing to see,” wrote one commenter.

“And all with a smile on her face,” wrote another.

“This kid is an absolute star ?” shared another, echoing the sentiment of the copious fire emojis in the comments.

Keep on dancing with joy and passion, Mariandrea! We can’t wait to see more from you. (You can follow her on Instagram if you want to see what she’s done up to now. It’s impressive.)


This article originally appeared on 2.20.23

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