If you don’t know his name, you’ve at least come across his viral dance videos – especially if you were on the internet endlessly scrolling through your social media feed during the pandemic. Donté Colley is a Canadian content creator who used social media to spread his energy, positive affirmations and joy through viral dance videos.

This has landed the wunderkind brand partnerships and celebrity collaborations like working appearing in music videos with Ariana Grande and Doja Cat. He even danced his way to the 2022 Met Gala.

Recently, the 25-year-old became the ambassador for  jewellery brand Pandora, being one of the faces of its Pandora ME summer campaign. Colley joins other Pandora ME ambassadors this season, including Charli XCX, Beabadoobee, Addison Rae and Cecilia Cantarano. The new Pandora ME collection is inspired by the music, energy and freedom of summer festivals. Colley is a shining example of these three pillars. Even over Zoom, Colley brings all his energy and positive affirmations to brighten my day.

Utilizing Joy over Trauma

“There have been so many things in my life that have happened that have made me reflect on the person that I want to be. There have been so many instances that I’ve faced that I’ve had to really make the choice that I don’t want to treat anybody the way that people have treated me. That just led me to want to express myself.

Growing up in the digital era that I grew up in, the social platforms that started to pop up and evolve really started to give people the opportunity to express themselves. For me, I really wanted to find ways of connecting with others by utilizing joy versus bonding over trauma. It was something that helped me build my community today. That’s just always been the sole purpose of me sharing the things that I love doing and the things that I enjoy.”

The Serotonin of Dance and Digital Media

“Dance has always been the thing that’s kept me going and has helped me communicate in ways that words can and it’s just allowed me to really deal with the darker things in my life that I’m able to express and exude in a way that’s positive and as a way that feels good for me and feels good in my body. Also, digital media has been a huge part of my life. I use the internet to learn about myself and learn about the things that I liked. I just fell in love with the internet, I fell in love with having access to all of these different things that I could learn and digital media and graphic design and all of these multimedia things are all things that I am passionate about and love to explore.”

 

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Dealing with social media trolls

“My mission was always to find light in the darkness. We all go through our own things each and every single day and that makes us who we are and those are just things that not everyone can understand or should be understood. I’m not here to please anyone. I am who I am. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t so you just gotta keep going because everyone’s gonna have something to say.

It starts from yourself. I think that self assurance is so important because at the end of the day, what other people think of you is none of your business. There are people who want to see you succeed and want to see you accomplish all that you want to. But at the same time, you have to understand that if you have haters, you’re doing something right.”

Self-Expression is Key

Festivals are a hub for self-expression and Colley is fully aware of this. “In this time that we’re in now, I think we are just craving for community, we’re craving for the things that heal us and the three major things are: environment, movement and music.

“I love fashion; fashion is a huge part of me as well. I have always loved creating things out of nothing. I’m a huge thrifter and I love finding pieces that are unique to me that I know not a lot of people will have. I think that’s what’s really special about the Pandora brand is that it’s about you and it’s about how you want to express yourself and show up and what you wear and how you wear it. But for me, I love going all in and I love keeping it minimal so I think there are no rules to fashion. And you know, you can wear all of the latest things, but you know, style is your own. And I think that’s what’s really special about this brand is that you style it how you want to and what feels best for you. And that’s just, I guess how we were able to connect that way.”

Pandora Me reflects Colley’s Personality and Style 

Pandora ME’s festival-inspired jewellery collection includes interchangeable pieces to express one’s true, unfiltered self. The new range includes bold styling links, open rings, medallions and mini dangles in eye-catching tones. These pieces are bursting with bright colours, including the new tie-dye enamel.

“For me, the Pandora ME Bright Purple Styling Heart connector is one of my favourite pieces. I love that we’re getting more colourful, and we’re getting bolder and just playing around. I think it’s important to have fun, it’s important to express your inner child and not be so serious because we have taken things so seriously in the past. I really believe that it’s time to just lean into expressing yourself in ways that maybe you didn’t necessarily think of before. So I think it’s all about your heart and it’s about where that leads and that’s what just speaks to me.”

Being Your Authentic Self is the New Festival Trend

“I feel like the best festival trend will be seeing things that we necessarily haven’t really seen before. I think we’ve seen Coachella, we’ve seen all of these festivals in the past. I think people are getting bolder and more excited and letting their guard down a little bit more on who they are and how they show up. So I’m excited to just see how people are unapologetic about who they are, and how much more authentic they can be and who they are and how they show up. I think that would be the best thing.”

Read more:
Festival Season Is Back—Here’s What Everyone Is Wearing This Year
Meet Barbie Ferreira and Charli XCX’s stylist, Chris Horan
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