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Well Known People Who Have Done Dance
By Move Dance on 14th Feb 2020
It is not just professional dancers who have had dance lessons all their lives, some well known celebrities have too! From football to film stars, all these well known people have been involved in the dance world at some point of their life and have been extremely successful in it too!
Rio Ferdinand
Most famously recognised for his very successful career in football playing for Manchester United, it may be quite a shock to people that Rio Ferdinand took ballet classes and was even offered a scholarship to the London School of Central Ballet! Taking Ballet helped the footballer be where he is today and he even said that he found Ballet the hardest work he has ever done in terms of reaching the top!
Freddie Mercury
As the lead singer of QUEEN, Freddie Mercury is regarded as one of the greatest lead singers in the history of rock music. The performer did not grow up having dance lessons, however in 1979 the Royal Ballet asked Mercury to be involved in a one-off Charity concert dancing alongside the company! This was ground-breaking, and for Mercury himself it was a realisation of how dedicated and disciplined ballet dancers have to be. Continuing his love of dance, Mercury then involved ballerinas in his ‘I Want to Break Free’ music video, a song that is still played on repeat to this day!
To watch the video of Freddie Mercury dancing alongside the Royal Ballet, click here:
Charlize Theron
Photo Credit: DWNews Recent Celeb Gallery
You may recognise Charlize from films such as ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ playing the Evil Queen, but the actress came from a huge dance background, training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York in her late teens - a massive achievement! As one of America’s leading Dance Schools, the school requires serious training in classical and contemporary Ballet, where many students then find positions in successful and popular companies such as the New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and even their own, The Joffrey Ballet based in Chicago.
Amy Adams
Photo Credit: Diariocritico de Venezuela
With her heart set on being a ballerina, Amy Adams is a huge American actress who portrayed an amazing role as Giselle in Disney’s very own ‘Enchanted’! With ambitions to become a ballerina, the actress then realised that she would be more suited to Musical Theatre, and this is where her career began. Still being involved in dance, in 2014 Adams starred in a fairy-tale dance photoshoot with American director Tim Burton (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride) portraying ‘The Red Shoes’. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, the Ballet was huge in the film industry in the 1940’s, featuring a 17-minute ballet sequence where many different editing techniques were used instead of one static, still shot - a ground-breaking moment in both film and dance!
To see the video of the 17-minute clip, watch here:
Audrey Hepburn
Ranked by the American-Film Institute as the third greatest female screen legend of the Golden Age Hollywood, Audrey Hepburn was no stranger to Ballet, wanting to become a Prima Ballerina from a very early age. Hepburn even had a scholarship with Ballet Rambert - a huge, prestigious company in the UK! However from being told her height would stop her from becoming successful, acting became her main focus.
Madonna
And finally, referred to as the ‘Queen of Pop’, Madonna is no stranger to dance and has connections with one of the most influential women in modern dance - choreographer and dancer Martha Graham! At the age of 19, Madonna studied under Martha herself, where the choreographer named Madonna ‘Madame X’. This nickname stuck with Madonna, as it is the title of her most recent 2019 album!
So there is a round up of 6 famous people who have at some point danced in their lifetime! If you know any more surprising celebrities, then head over to our Instagram page @movedancewear as we would love to add to our list!
