HOLIDAY Insta siblings
Photo / Raymond Sagapolutele
Teenagers are frequently unimpressed by anything their parents do; for those with parents who work in the media, which means Mum or Dad’s name may appear in the paper or online, there is the added burden of embarrassment.
So, imagine the shock when an interview elicits enthusiasm and excitement from said teen. Such was the case when I announced a conversation with Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler. The prodigies, Maddie, 15, and Mackenzie, 14, are two of the world’s most influential teens. Maddie has 11.7 million followers on Instagram; Mackenzie, 10.6 million. Maddie became an “overnight sensation” when she danced in singer-songwriter Sia’s Chandelier music video in 2014 and, in the past few years, has starred in four more Sia videos as well as touring with the star and taking on acting, modelling, launching a clothing line and writing a memoir. There’s also the television show Dance Moms, about the machinations of young dancers — and their determined mothers — at the Abby Lee Dance Studios in their home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Maddie was 2 years old when her mother, Melissa, enrolled her for lessons.
Mackenzie went dancing too, appearing on Dance Moms but using it to start a music career (her 2014 debut album went to No 1 on the iTunes pop chart list), act and write her own book, Kenzie’s Rules for Life.
The Ziegler sisters are in New Zealand next month, part of an Australasian tour where they’ll get up close with fans. Marko Panzic, one of Australia’s most successful choreographers, and The Dream Team are along for the ride; Melissa will host a special Q&A.
They say those taking one of their dance masterclasses need bring only their dance shoes and their amazing personalities; it’s about being confident and having fun.
“You don’t have to be the best dancer, just come and dance and have fun,” says Mackenzie, who, thinks it’s a shame that many of their peers are so insecure. “We all seem to have such trouble pushing past the confidence thing; there’s so much harshness and comparing each other, so it’s hard to find yourself, especially with social media.”
The sisters admit they’ve survived bouts of sibling rivalry and that Mackenzie started dancing only because it was convenient and better than sitting on the sidelines watching her sister. Both now love what they do and are committed to it.
“You’ve got to make yourself happy first, love Photo / Glenn Nutley your life and have fun,” says Mackenzie, who acknowledges downtime is important and when they get time off, they’ll hang out with friends, who keep them grounded, watch Netflix and mess around making humorous home videos.
“We couldn’t have imagined our lives in the way they have panned out,” says Maddie. “But we are so grateful for everything we get to do and it’s amazing to be able to inspire others.”
Inspiring others includes being positive role models, especially on social media. They tell fans to be confident, unafraid of putting themselves out there and supportive of one another.
“People can twist things around and make up stories; you’ve got to be really careful about what you put on social media. We know we’re role models for other girls, so we’ll only ever put up things that are age-appropriate.”
“There’s always going to be the person who leaves a hate comment because they are bored
. . . We’ll report that straight away because we don’t want it on our page.” Dionne Christian