Watch This Young Martial Artist Fight Through Sia’s Poignant Video For “Alive”

Sia is back with a new video that features another pint-sized-but-potent young alter-ego in a set piece about survival titled “Alive”, the precursor to the Australian singer-songwriter-performance artist’s new album, “This is Acting”, due january 29. Once again, Sia is absent, instead featuring a bewigged and bite-sized doppelgänger: Mahiro Takano.

I’m no expert in martial arts-don’t know the first thing about it-but the pairing of Sia’s pained voice with this young fighter’s precise, forceful body movements makes for a poignant video. Sia reportedly got in touch with Takano after seeing her videos on YouTube. Watch the Sia and Daniel Askill-directed clip for “Alive” below.

Sia’s videos are always simplistic, but watching Takano karate chop for five minutes just isn’t captivating the way Ziegler dancing in “Chandelier” or playfighting with Shia LaBeouf in “Elastic Heart” was. Ziegler recently appeared on “Pretty Little Liars” in a guest-starring dance spot. The track was written with Adele, and was originally meant to appear on her forthcoming album 25.