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10 Famous Dancers With Amazing Skills We’ve Never Seen
In the fast-paced world of the 21st century, there are unlimited ways to become famous. Some are celebrated for their talents, their achievements or even their fortunes. Dancing is a talent that comes naturally to many individuals around the world. However, a select group of people have been able to hone their own talents to the extent that it is possible to effortlessly captivate an audience with their incredible dance moves. Below is a countdown of the world’s most famous dancers who have literally found themselves in the spotlight.
10 Famous Dancers With Amazing Skills We’ve Never Seen
Shakira
This Colombian bombshell has become known for her powerful voice as well as her impressive dance moves. Although many of her musical colleagues depend on professional choreographers to develop their dance routines, Shakira has earned a reputation for creating and performing her own routines. With impeccable performances both in her music videos and on stage, she has proven herself to be an all-around performer. She is also a well-known practitioner of the Arabic dance form known as “belly dancing” and, according to her, this speaks to her Lebanese ancestry. These and many other reasons have earned him a place on this list of the most famous dancers in the world.
Rudolf Nureyev (1938-93)
Rudolf Nureyev was a Russian professional dancer who specialized in ballet and contemporary dance. He is widely regarded as the greatest ballet dancer of his day, earning him the nickname “Lord of the Dance”. He gave his own interpretation of several classical ballets, including Swan Lake, Giselle and La Bayadère. Nureyev has also danced with the prestigious London-based ballet company, The Royal Ballet. He then directed another prestigious ballet company, the Paris Opera Ballet, before becoming the company’s chief choreographer.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov is also widely regarded as one of the greatest ballet dancers the world has ever known. He began his ballet studies at age 11 in the former Soviet Union where he was born. His achievements in ballet brought him international fame and he had the opportunity to tour several European countries. In 1974, he defected to Canada to pursue other opportunities in western dance.
Baryshnikov freelanced with Different DanceHe then joined the New York City Ballet in 1978 as a principal dancer. He joined the American Ballet Theater in 1980 as Artistic Director, a position he held until 1989. In 1990 he co-founded the touring company The White Oak Dance Project alongside American dancer Mark Morris . until 2002.
In 2005, he founded the Baryshnikov Center for the Arts (BAC), a complex located in New York City that offers facilities for dance, other performing arts and the visual arts. Mikhail Baryshnikov is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the National Medal of Arts.
Prabhu Deva
Multi-talented Indian star Prabhu Deva has carved a niche for himself as an actor and choreographer. As a teenager, he started out as a backup dancer in the late 1980s and soon after ventured into the world of film choreography. Interestingly, he was inspired by his father Mugur Sundar, a South Indian film choreographer, who inspired this singular career path. Deva has so far worked on over 100 films. He is the founder of Prabhu Deva’s Dance Academy in Singapore. He is indeed one of the most famous dancers to come out of India.
Joaquin Cortes
Joaquín Cortés is a Spanish-born professional dancer with a particular interest in flamenco and classical dance. Born in the city of Córdoba, in southern Spain, Cortés became interested in dance at an early age. He was finally able to enroll in dance lessons at the age of 12 when his family moved to Spain.
As a young teenager, he was accepted into the Spanish National Ballet Company which gave him the opportunity to perform at various prestigious venues in Europe and the United States. He founded the flamenco ballet company Joaquín Cortés in 1992 and soon after began his first international tour. In addition to his stage performances, he also performs in film and television. At the turn of the century, Cortés turned to choreography and artistic direction, although he recorded a limited number of performances.
Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan is undoubtedly one of the greatest movie stars to come out of Bollywood. Interestingly, this international cinema sensation is well known for his impeccable acting skills as well as his dancing skills. His flawless performances in some of Bollywood’s greatest films have earned him the well-deserved title of ‘King of Dance of Bollywood’.
Martha Graham (1894-1991)
Martha Graham was an iconic professional dancer whose illustrious career spanned over 7 decades. Her immense contributions to modern dance have earned her the title ‘Picasso of Dance’ as well as ‘The Mother of Dance’. She has received many accolades during her career, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Born in the township of Allegheny City (now part of Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania, Graham was certainly not a blooming start as his parents’ strict background did not particularly encourage dancing. The family later moved to Los Angeles when she was a teenager and attended the first dance performance of her life when she was 17. She then studied at the Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts where she began her career as a dancer.
Fueled by a vision of making dance an art, instead of being a mere form of entertainment, Graham established her own dance company/school the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance in 1926. Among her many innovations, she created the Graham Technique , a modern dance technique taught around the world. She made history on February 25, 1937, by becoming the first dancer to perform at the White House.
Madonna
This famous multi-Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter needs very little introduction. Although Madonna has been identified as a pioneer in the genre of pop music, many do not know that this superstar started out as a dancer and she devoted a good part of her youth to learning modern dance.
Madonna took ballet lessons as a teenager andAfter high school she got a dance scholarship to the University of Michigan. She then trained at the American Dance Theater Alvin Ailey as well as at the Pearl Lang Dance Theater in New York after dropping out of school. Thereafter, she began working as a backup dancer and back-up vocalist until 1982, when she landed her first recording contract.
Several decades later and with over 300 million records sold, Madonna is reputed to be one of the world’s top female recording artists. As expected, live performances have been essential to Madonna’s successes over the years and she can always count on her solid background as a dancer to deliver those memorable moments on stage. She is known for being one of the very first performers to embrace hands-free microphones which allow her a greater degree of movement while dancing on stage.
Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
Of course, no list of the world’s most famous dancers can be truly complete without mentioning the King of Pop. He is considered by many to be the greatest entertainer in the world to ever walk this planet and his dance routines are pivotal points in his performances.
Jackson literally invented and popularized his signature dance moves, including robot, lean, slides and slides, kick, foot, MJ Spin, and moonwalk. While many of these dance moves were known to be very complex, the music icon particularly stood out because he executed them effortlessly.
Interestingly, Jackson’s anti-gravity lean was aided by a specially designed pair of shoes that were locked to the ground, allowing the performer to lean up to 45° from his center of gravity without risking falling face down. . Talk science meets dance! Despite this incredible invention, this move proved nearly impossible, with many MJ fans sustaining multiple injuries trying to pull it off.
Michael Jackson may be dead, however, his dance steps have been kept alive thanks to several Jackson imitators who make a living simply by performing some of these legendary dance steps.
Bailiff
Usher Raymond IV, simply known by his stage name Usher, is an international music superstar. Although not known to have had formal dance training, this multiple Grammy winner has distinguished himself as an artist to be reckoned with. At the height of his career, Usher was recognized for his rare ability to sing and dance perfectly without losing his breath. He combines powerful choreography with a showmanship that makes his stage performances memorable all the time. He is indeed one of the most famous dancers of the early 2000s.