Maddie Ziegler is not like any 14 year old you're used to.
At age eight, she appeared on reality TV show Dance Moms (honestly, give it a watch one day, it’s captivating), since then she’s appeared in five Sia videos, toured with Sia, acted in TV shows, modelled for Ralph Lauren, Target and Betsey Johnson, she’s been a judge on a big American primetime dance show and she’s got her own clothing line.
Not too shabby for someone born this side of the millennium.
Now, she’s appearing in new animated film Ballerina which is the sweet tale of a French orphan called Félicie who runs away from her orphanage to Paris with the hope of becoming The Opera’s next star ballerina. It’s delightful and, if any of you lot used to dance, a real nostalgia-fest too.
‘I get REALLY antsy’ Maddie Ziegler told us when we met her last week. Standing still while she did voiceover takes was HARD. ‘I’m always like I wanna move, I wanna dance! I had to take some breaks and stretch it out a little bit.’
In the film, Maddie plays Camille, a snotty rich kid who has good technique but no heart, IRL though, Maddie is much more like the precocious Félicie. ‘Having passion for it is the most important thing. Like when people ask me, what does it take to be the best dancer I’m just like “passion and determination”.
Maddie herself is best known for the unnerving, almost animalistic style of dance she demonstrates in Sia’s videos – first Chandelier then Elastic Heart (which she starred in alongside Shia LaBeouf. ‘Girls with technique who don’t show any stage present can be a little boring after a while.’ Maddie says. ‘Like they’re all still beautiful dancers for sure but you want to see a dancer who wants to perform and who wants to be on stage.’
On top of her gruelling work schedule though, Maddie is a teenage girl. A teenage girl who’s living a hyper-accelerated version of what teenage life is like in 2016. She’s got social media followers times a million, is expected to have adult opinions ready to share and enjoys none of the anonymity a normal teen used to back in your day. ‘Teenage girls are very insecure.’ She says. ‘Like with social media – there’s so much negativity and you’re always trying to be good for other girls so they can be your friends or whatever… like there’s girls who aren’t even teenagers yet saying negative things and I’m like “where did they learn this all from?”
So how does she deal with it? ‘I’ve been struggling with being insecure with myself.’ She admits. ‘Being 14 and being in the teenage world…. But then I realise that no-one’s judging you. And, even if they are, don’t worry about them because it’s really important just to be the best for yourself and not try to look for anyone else.’
It’s perhaps because of this pressure that teenagers today seem less like you were – awkward and inarticulate- and more like adults. Maddie reckons they’re allowed more freedom too. ‘A bunch of my friends are allowed to do a lot of things. My mom lets me do a lot of things. Things have changed over the past few years – people say we act like adults but it’s just different now. It’s cool.’
After Christmas, Maddie is heading to Australia for a dance tour, she’s then got a book coming out and she’s got more work to do on her clothing line (and you thought your 2017 was going to be productive) but for now, she’s heading home to spend Christmas with her family. There’s going to be ten of them for the holiday and Maddie’s in charge of desserts.
As for New Years’ resolutions, she’s only got one so far. ‘I will try not to fight as much with my sister.’ She says solemnly. ‘But I say that every year – it just kind of happens!’
Ballerina is out now in cinemas.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.