How Camila Cabello And Shawn Mendes's 'Señorita' Choreographers Made Their Love Look Real

Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes fooled each person with "Señorita." The steamy, cinematic video stars the duo as will-they-or-won't-they lovers whose summer fling plays out over a windy motorcycle ride, a late-night hotel hook-up, plus a sexy dancefloor rendezvous. It's those latter scenes that have gotten fans especially hot and bothered, wondering how the longtime companions made their onscreen love look so real.


"I know it's tough for Shawn and Camila, because they're companions along with a lot of the moments are super intimate. It was hard to stay focused and not laugh," choreographer Sara Bivens told MTV News. "That was probably one of the hardest things: to really lock in the chemistry and not be so nervous."


The video's steamy dance sequences were dreamt up by Bivens and Calvit Hodge, two L.A.-Based choreographers who have worked with Cabello since her solo breakthrough in 2017. In that time, they've gotten to watch Cabello grow an artist as well as a performer — they contend she right now has the sensibilities of a professional dancer — although working with a dance newbie like Mendes was another story.


"He was super nervous. He was sweating," Hodge mentioned. Nevertheless it was actually really, really, really easy to work with him because he was super eager. The one thing that he kept saying was, 'I don't aspire to look like I'm attempting to be a dancer. I want it to feel natural.'"


To keep it natural, Hodge observed Mendes in the studio, taking notes on his behaviors and body language and using that to prepare choreography that suited the singer's energy. It's an approach Hodge and Bivens use routinely in their work; they create an authentic story through movement, as instead of mapping out strict dance steps.


"Like, there's a part where he sort of flicks her hair, and that's something that he obviously does," Hodge explained. "So we just took his organic motions and put it to a beat and made a dance out of it."


He added, "We use the same thing [with Camila]. We spend a lot of time with her, so we know her a lot more — what kind of movements she likes to do, and we know that her best side is her left side… things like that. It's almost like little cheat codes to prepare it work for her."


Bivens and Hodge didn't hear "Señorita" for the initial time up until they were actually in rehearsals with Cabello and Mendes, meaning they came up with the choreography on the spot. They only had two four-hour rehearsals with the duo before the video shoot, nevertheless that tight turnaround ensured that the dance didn't feel forced or over-rehearsed. Director Dave Meyers — whom Hodge and Bivens had worked with on Cabello's VMA-winning "Havana" video — gave the choreographers some reference points, citing Dirty Dancing as aesthetic inspiration. Mostly, though, they were influenced by the song's sultry, summery sound, and by both Mendes and Cabello's evolutions as artists and as people.


"I feel like they're both in the same point in their lives," Hodge explained. "And we just wanted to tell that story of a young woman beginning to be an adult as well as a young man beginning to find his maturity and his sex appeal. We wanted to play on both sides of that."


Take, for instance, one of the most tantalizing scenes: as soon as Mendes handily and passionately pins Cabello against the wall. Hodge mentioned, "That's the human in it. And that's what this song is about — it's about passion and emotion. It looked like, what could be a usual thing we would do? 'Oh my god, I need you so bad, I want to take you against the wall and let's keep going and making out.' That's a usual reaction. So let's capitalize on that."


Fans of Mendes and Cabello know the two go way back — "Señorita" is their second teamwork on wax, following 2015's moody "I Know What You Did Last Summer," and the two have remained close companions since. That relationship, Bivens mentioned, was both blessing as well as a curse any time it came time for them to execute the sensual "Señorita" moves.


Hodge elaborated, "Imagine if you're not really a dancer, like Shawn. And also you must [dance] in a room of people that just taught you these moves, and act like you're madly in love together. And then as soon as you figure that out, you should go on set where there's, like, 50 to 200 people watching do this, and you also attempt to create it look like you guys are in the room by yourself. That was probably the most complex [part] for them."


To shake off the nerves, Bivens came up with an awesome idea where Cabello and Mendes would scream at the best of their lungs before each take (a montage of these moments can be seen in one of the "Señorita" behind-the-scenes videos released last week).


"I know everybody in the room was like, 'What in the heck is going on?!' However it helped them," she said.


Even so, the chemistry between Cabello and Mendes was palpable and gave each person on set goosebumps, Hodge admitted.


"From what I saw, the energy on set got awkward. Like, it's awkward because it was so good," he laughed. "It was like, 'Oh my god, this looks real. This is also real.' So that's routinely a good sign, 'cause if we can feel it in the room, you could certainly feel it via camera."


Fans have absolutely been feeling it — since the video's release on June 20, it's racked up a whopping 138 million views (and counting), and the single has shot to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's a testament to Mendes and Cabello's star power, however also the possibility to be able to see both artists in a fresh light.


"The glow-up is real!" Hodge mentioned, with Bivens adding, "I think everybody's just so shocked that Shawn danced. He's masculine, and [Hodge] was a brilliant match for him, to teach him that choreo and get him to find the grit. Then the woman that Camila is becoming is just ever-evolving. I think the fans are noticing that. Above everything, it was the shock of, 'Holy shit, the glow-up is happening right in front of us, and we're getting to watch it."