Many people don’t know, Keanu Reeves is not only a talented actor, but he is also a published author, a musician and a hockey player. As if this wasn’t enough talent, some fans were wondering if Keanu can also dance.
Keanu Reeves can dance as he’s taken ballroom dancing lessons. Whether he learned ballroom dancing for a role or just for himself is unknown, but he has said he loves doing it. Keanu has also had a few dance scenes throughout his career in films and on television series.
Continue reading to find out more about Keanu Reeves’ history with dancing and his ballroom dancing lessons.
Ballroom Dancing
Ballroom dancing is a type of dance done as a couple either socially or competitively. Any dance done as a couple can be loosely called ballroom dancing, but there are five popular types of ballroom dancing.
The five popular types are the Waltz, the Foxtrot, the Rumba, Cha-Cha, and Swing. These dances are done internationally.
Keanu Reeves is a private person, as much as he can be. So it is not surprising that most people don’t know about his dance talent.
In 2019, Keanu Reeves went on The Graham Norton Show and Graham Norton asked Keanu about his ballroom dance training.
Keanu seems embarrassed at first as he clarifies that he did not train as a ballroom dancer, he took lessons. Taking only a few lessons suggests that Keanu did it for personal use rather than to perfect his skills for a film.
He does further say that he took the lessons because they sounded like fun and he says they were thrilling. He even said this: “One of the first lessons I had, it was amazing. I got a high.”
He says it was special being able to do the waltz with his instructor leading him as he was able to move through space in a new way.
In these lessons, Keanu learned the Waltz, the Tango, the Foxtrot, and the Cha-Cha dance. It seems that he did not attend these lessons just casually if he learned so many dances.
Dancing in Film
Keanu’s ballroom dancing lessons were put to great use as he has done a few dance scenes in his films and television series.
Though Keanu Reeves is pretty well-known for his roles in action films, notably the recent John Wick series, he has a versatile acting background.
Keanu has been acting since 1984 at 20 years old. At the beginning of his career, he did not start off with action films.
He was in theatre productions like Romeo and Juliet, coming of age short films like One Step Away and romantic dramas like Flying.
Throughout the 1980s when his acting career was just taking off, teen drama films were very popular.
So, despite not being a teenager as he was over twenty, he starred in a few. Notably, The Night Before in 1988.
In the film, Keanu has a starring role opposite Lori Loughlin. The storyline is similar to one we know today in teenage dramas where Keanu played a high school nerd and Lori Loughlin played the popular cheerleader.
Since Lori Loughlin’s character lost a bet on a football game, she has to go to prom with Keanu Reeves’ character.
It is at prom that Keanu gets to show off his dance moves. Keanu’s character sweeps Lori Loughlin off her feet with a “funk” form of ballroom dancing. He even lifts her and swings her around at one point.
Keanu’s character seems very comfortable in his dance skills, this may have come from Keanu’s ballroom dance lessons.
His dance lessons may have also helped in his action movies as well since dancing is known to improve your balance and strength, both skills you need in martial arts.
So, Keanu Reeves is a man of many talents. He can act, fight, sing, play guitar, and also ballroom dance.
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