Britney Spears with the snake and the tiger... the story of the musical show that shook the pop world

- American singer Britney Spears was preparing to release a new song in 2001, at the height of her international stardom, and she had to present a show that equaled the level of expectations, but she chose to go further than that. Spears performed her song "I'm a Slave 4 U" for the first time live on stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, without a preview or encore of the song.

What she performed that night turned into one of the most prominent moments of pop music performances at the turn of the millennium, in a time before the spread of social media and portable cameras that kept stars under constant surveillance. Spears, then 19, stepped out of a gold-plated metal cage, while a white tiger appeared behind her.

She wore a moss green top, bright turquoise shorts, and long nude boots studded with sparkling details. She was surrounded by a group of dancers wearing animal-inspired looks, including body paint with zebra-like patterns and wigs in multiple neon colors.

But the most famous moment came with the snake; During the last part of the show, Spears carried an albino Burmese Python snake, which was about two meters long and weighed approximately 9 kilograms, and she named it “Banana.” That moment established Spears' image as one of the most prominent pop stars at the peak of her career, an image that is very different from her life today.

Since the end of the legal guardianship that lasted for years, during which aspects of her personal and professional life were subject to the control of her father, Jamie Spears, the singer has repeatedly confirmed, through her social media accounts and published memoirs, that she does not want to return to singing on stage. Writer and cultural critic Amber Horsburg believes that the importance of that show is due to the combination of several factors in one moment, including Spears’ overwhelming fame, the influence of MTV at the time, and the nature of television viewing that pushed the audience to follow the event on time, which made the show part of the cultural scene on a large scale.

Towards an identity of her own. Americans Kurt Swanson and Bart Mueller, known as “Kurt and Bart”, designed Spears’ look, inspired by the jungle atmosphere and the “Jungle Goddess” character. The look consisted of a top and shorts decorated with chiffon strips, with nude mesh and lucite heeled shoes, Swarovski crystal details, and a shiny snake wrapped around one of her legs, in reference to the character of Eve.

The details were not limited to the clothes, as Spears' skin was also decorated with Swarovski stones in the form of temporary tattoos. The designers said that they adopted a color palette inspired by insects, the forest, and tropical birds, which included emerald green, turquoise, fuchsia, and bright yellow, with influences inspired by paintings of female warriors, belly dance movements, and details of moving fabrics and jewelry.

Having a live tiger on stage was not in the original plan, as the cast met the animals for the first time during technical training on the day of the concert, and received instructions on how to move around the stage without attracting the tiger's attention. The problem was that Spears's look itself included moving fabrics, feathers, and her shiny hair, which made it an element that might attract the animal's attention.

So choreographer Wade Robson rearranged some details of the show in collaboration with Tiger's trainer to keep Spears out of his field of vision. The two designers continued the same approach in Spears' look for the song video that was released weeks later, while maintaining the strong colors and chiffon details.

Mueller explained that Spears' movements and the way she performed the song were among the most prominent elements that guided the design of the look. Technology in a different time At the time, digital collaboration tools were still limited, forcing the team to rely on hand drawing, scanning and faxing between Los Angeles, New York and London.

The design came in the form of high metal cages surrounding Spears and the dancers, with the need to ensure that they could withstand the presence of the tiger on the stage. Theater designer Ray Winkler considered that the absence of social media and camera phones gave the team greater control over the way the show reached the audience, as the television version was the only one available for viewing.

Debuting the 'manufactured pop star' image Brian Friedman, one of Spears' choreographers and dancers, knew from the moment he heard "I'm a Slave 4 U" that she would make a big impact. He and Wade Robson choreographed her famous dance, which became one of the most prominent moments in the American star’s career, and her movements are still repeated today.

He said that the introduction of the snake and the tiger into the show came as part of the search for new elements that would give the performance an unforgettable presence, especially after Spears gave a large number of performances. A vacuum in the world of pop. Friedman also considered that Spears' decision not to return to the stage should be respected, despite his hope that she would return one day, citing Madonna's continued performance until the age of 68.

On the other hand, writer and cultural critic Amber Horsburgh pointed out the need to respect Spears' clear desire to stay away from the stage, pointing out that her career left a vast wealth of songs, albums, pictures and performances that established her position, and that appreciating what she presented is more important than asking her to provide more.