Parris Goebel Is the Secret to Rihanna's Savage x Fenty Show
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While Rihanna is the mastermind behind the Savage x Fenty empire, one could say her longtime choreographer and collaborator Parris Goebel has helped take her annual fashion production to the next level.
The Auckland, New Zealand-born dancer — who has also worked alongside megastars such as Jennifer Lopez, Normani, and Justin Bieber — has choreographed every iteration of the Savage x Fenty spectacular since the original live show at Barclay's Center back in 2018. For Goebel, collaborating with a global force like Rihanna is a no-brainer, not because of her universal influence, but because of the support she offers as a friend and creative partner.
"Me and Rih — we just have such an awesome chemistry. She's a friend and a sister first, so she genuinely cares about me as a person, not just an artist, and I think that comes through in our work," Goebel tells BAZAAR.com. "She really gives me the freedom to create and express myself as a woman. Usually I go crazy presenting to her ideas and different concepts, and she reacts, and then we keep working through it. It's effortless, really. She trusts me and we just have fun with it."
Goebel's work for the fourth installment of the Savage x Fenty show is her most dynamic yet. The choreographer conceptualized nearly an hour of nonstop choreography that included sultry slowed-down numbers as well as high-energy, in-your-face routines that showcase the brand's latest offerings. She was inspired by the massive, otherwordly set that the Savage team created for the production — an expansive, slightly post-apocolyptic setting that inspired her to take an adventurous approach with the show's dance moments.
"I played around in this fantasy world of a Savage forest, looking at how different animals move. If this was our environment, how would we move, how would we live?" she explains. "We weren't afraid to get weird. I try not to overthink or over-calculate my work. At the end of the day, as I'm taking people through this roller coaster, I want it to have as many dips and rides as possible. You're constantly going up and down and you don't know where it's gonna go. How can I make the best ride that anyone's ever seen?"
While Goebel begins mapping out choreography around three months ahead of time, her crew of dancers normally only have about three weeks to perfect the intensive routines. Longtime fans of the fashion show know that both Goebel and Rihanna always ensure there's a global approach to the production with a soundtrack that masterfully incorporates pop songs, R&B throwbacks, and Latin and Carribbean dance tracks.
"It's a very diverse and very international show. People all over the world get to experience it, and we take that very seriously. So we do our best to include all cultures and genres of music," she explains. "People from all over the world can feel like they belong in this Savage world that we've created."
For Goebel, crafting this latest version of the Savage show was also a cathartic experience.
"I was going through a lot of personal challenges that had stripped me of my confidence as a woman, and it provided me an opportunity for me to gain it back," she reveals. "I put it all into my art. The fight that you feel through my choreography is the fight that I feel in my life. I'm fighting to be stronger. In the show there's this story of being a warrior and being fearless and aggressive in the most powerful way. That is what I needed to tell myself in the moment when I was creating the show."
Rihanna, she says, has always openly welcomed her to bring her whole self to work — through the good and the bad.
"She creates her own worlds and creates her own rules, and that inspires me as a woman and as a creative," Goebel says. "Working by her side is so empowering. You can't help but feel like you want to be a better person, a better artist, and who doesn't want to work with someone that makes you feel that way? I always feel like she is there to let me shine."
Savage x Fenty Vol. 4 is now streaming on Prime Video.
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