An Irish dancer has described the whirlwind emotions of taking a top-secret job only to discover that she would be dancing in a TV ad showing the life story of Elton John in a series of flashbacks.
The Boy in the Piano features Elton John at different stages of his career performing his signature tune, Your Song.
The video starts with Elton as he is today and then takes him back in time with clips of him performing the song in huge concert halls, small venues, recording studios etc.
It then goes all the way back to his childhood where there’s a poignant message saying…well, let’s not spoil if for you as you may want to watch it yourself.
The video is the latest in a series of Christmas blockbuster ads from the department store, John Lewis. The company always comes up with something special at this time of year, so much so that their ads have become like a Christmas tradition, tugging at people’s heartstrings.
Molly Ward is from Co Cork but is now working as a dancer in London. She’s seen dancing at a Christmas party while a young Elton plays the piano in the corner.
Molly, who’s 23, told Red FM radio news that she landed the part after auditioning, without knowing what it was about or who was involved because the whole project was shrouded in secrecy, with John Lewis not wanting any advance publicity about the video that would spoil the surprise.
“All we knew was that it was called Project X. I went to the audition and was asked to do some improv 60s-style dancing.”
She then had to sign a confidentiality agreement to ensure the project was kept top secret. It was all worth it in the end.
Here’s the video in full.