NEWS EXTRA
IF you’ve had anything to do with the performing arts scene in Dubbo, you’ll be familiar with the name Charles ‘Charlie’ Bartley.
Right now, the indomitable dancer and choreographer should be performing for the masses in the Australian leg of Channing Tatum’s world-famous Magic Mike Live show as the dance captain, but instead, COVID-19 decided to steal the show.
Due to open in Melbourne at the end of May, the Magic Mike Live Australia tour has been pushed to November, so Mr Bartley has returned to Dubbo from Los Angeles to wait out the pandemic.
“We are cautiously optimistic we’ll have the gang back together and ready to perform then,” Mr Bartley told
Having auditioned for the show twice before getting the gig, Mr Bartley admits he didn’t really know much about Magic Mike Live until he stepped off the plane in LA three years ago.
“At that time, they only had their Las Vegas residency show up and going,” he said.
“I auditioned originally back in 2017 for some potential replacements in Vegas and then again in 2018 for the London show.
“It’s something that I always intuited I would like to do, so figured it was only a matter of time and persistence until they found me a spot somewhere in the world; little did I know that was going to be Australia.”
Based on the film in which Mr Tatum stars, the live show is renowned for its steamy, sex appeal, but Mr Bartley said there’s far more to it than just being a spicy strip show.
He’s even cool with his Mum and Dad coming along.
“The Magic Mike shows have an element of raciness to it, of course, although I think people underestimate the production, thought and integrity that underlies the whole show as well,” he explained.
“Yeah, we get our shirts off, but people will leave surprised by the spectacle and I wouldn’t want to be a part of something tacky, so I am actually excited for my parents and family to see it.”
In fact, Mr Bartley’s younger brother and protégé, Anthony, has also been cast in the show.
Having lived on each other’s floors sporadically over the past few years, the Bartley brothers are like “two peas in a pod.
“It’s going to be a wild ride experiencing the show with the not-so-little brother,” Mr Bartley said.
“It has been an absolute blessing to be able to share our experiences with one another as we navigate the craziness of the dance world and it’s been great to watch him forge his own path and discover elements of his performance unique to him.
“When we are old and our knees creak at least we’ll have the gift of looking back at these videos and shows we did.”
While back in town, Mr Bartley, a 2008 Dubbo Ballet Studio graduate, has been sharing his skills and knowledge with bright-eyed up and comers at the local dance school.
“I’ve been teaching around at DBS sporadically every week to help give the kids a boost since they’ve been learning from home for so long,” he said.
“It also keeps my creative mind ticking.”
In 2009, Mr Bartley became a household name as runner-up of Network Ten’s season two of So You Think You Can Dance.
Since then he has performed alongside global singing sensations such as Katy Perry, Kelly Rowland and Kylie Minogue, featured in hit musicals FAME The Musical, King Kong and
Dirty Dancing, and even made an appearance in Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.
But picking a career highlight is easy.
“A highlight for me personally is performing in Sydney at the end of 2018 for Usher at RNB Fridays Festival,” he recalled.
“My family were in the crowd amongst 50,000 others for one of the biggest artists in the world.
“It was definitely moment to remember.”
As for what’s next, he is leaving his options open.
“I have had the opportunity to perform on such a variety of platforms and with amazing artists over time, yet still things keep creeping up that I would’ve never dreamt of doing but are ultimately amazing experiences,” he said.
“What I try to do is simply keep working on things I love doing such as dance, and in a world now where everyone can have eyes on you thanks to social media – if you keep up the integrity of your work, it seems to me that people will notice.
“For now, I’ll see what comes up.”
Magic Mike Live tickets are now on sale at www.magicmikelive.com.au