sexual vibe to it, and we wanted to play along with that. The beautiful beach, the idea of dancing on the yacht, were all Hype’s idea. We just wanted to have this really beautiful, classy, elegant video.” Speaking about the filming locations, Derek Lee Aaliyah's former stylist stated, "He said, we’re shooting here, here, and here, and that’s all, Back then, when you worked with an artist all the time, directors didn’t really say too much. They were just like, do what you do. Make sure it works within the framework.” On August 21, 2001, Aaliyah appearered on BET's 106 & Park, and announced that the accompanying music video for "Rock the Boat" was to be directed by Hype Williams and that filming would begin the following day. The video's dance routine was choreographed by Aaliyah's close friend Fatima Robinson and dancers in the video included Carmit Bachar, Denosh Bennett, Nadine Ellis and Electrik Red members Binkie and Lesley. There wasn't a lot of time to rehearse choreography and they rehearsed three days before production began in a Miami dance studio. Robinson stated, "We only did a few days, it wasn’t long at all, But [Aaliyah] was an amazing dancer, and caught on really fast. Sometimes, she felt like she couldn’t get it, but I would push her a little harder, [and say,] ‘You got this.” Recalling her experience with Aaliyah Ellis said, “Aaliyah was there for all the rehearsals, “She came in and learned along with us, hung out with us, and was very, very cool. That’s the memory of her that stands out for me. There have been artists who, when they don’t have to be around the dancers, will step into another room or will get there with just enough time to learn the choreography and move on with their day. But she really wanted to be there. It just reminded me how much of a girl she still was.” On August 22, she filmed both the underwater and green screen scenes for the video in Miami, Florida. Ellis, "had been cast as Aaliyah’s “mirror” for the green screen portion—a dance partner who reflected Aaliyah's “hip swivels". The idea for the mirror dance moves "stemmed from Robinson’s natural meshing with Aaliyah when they danced together, which she likened to synchronized swimming." After filming the green screen portion, "the crew decamped for a hotel swimming pool", where Aaliyah