Dancing was my first love, says Cheryl
GREATEST Dancer captain Cheryl says she idolised ballerinas while taking lessons as a kid before looking up to the likes of Britney and Beyoncé as she grew up.
The singer returns to BBC screens this weekend when The Greatest Dancer airs for the first time. In the show, Cheryl is a mentor, or ‘dance captain,’ for amateur dancers hoping to win a cash prize and guest slot on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Despite her background in pop music, it was ballet which first caught Cheryl’s eye as a child growing up in Newcastle.
She had early aspirations to follow in the footsteps of Dame Margot Fonteyn, who was a prima ballerina at the Royal Ballet and is considered as one of the greatest British ballerinas of all time.
Cheryl said: “I have danced since I was three years old and I am classically trained in ballet.
“I wanted to be a ballerina until I was about 12 and I have always had a passion for dance in every style, shape and form.”
She said her dance teacher in her early ballet classes was “inspiring” and added: “I wanted to be like Margot Fonteyn when I was younger.
“As I grew older it was Britney and Beyoncé who I looked up to – their routines were amazing.”
Cheryl, who was previously a judge on ITV’s The X Factor, said she has “always wanted to be part of a dance show.”
She added: “I feel like a platform such as The Greatest Dancer for dancers in the UK was needed.”
The programme will see a studio audience pick which hopeful contestants is given the chance to go through to the live stage of the show, where the dance captains will each take on a mentoring role.
The winner, who will be voted for by the public, will win £50,000 and the chance to perform on Strictly Come Dancing as a guest.
Cheryl said she is looking for “passion and performance” in the contestants and she feels contemporary dance is “underrated and underappreciated”.
She added: “During the audition process I did see some contemporary dance styles which moved me more than I anticipated they would.”
The Greatest Dancer begins tonight at 8.00 on BBC1.