INPERSON
S H OOTING
S T A R
Murrysville ’ s Maddie Ziegler conquers stage and screen . BY JENNIFER BROZAK
At age eight , Murrysville native Maddie Ziegler shot to fame as part of the Lifetime reality show “ Dance Moms .” At age 11 , she was starring in the music video for
“ Chandelier ” by singer-songwriter Sia . Today , Maddie is publishing a memoir , just finished filming two feature films and is working on a clothing line . And she ’ s only 14 . Maddie , who has been dancing since she was two , has become internationally famous for her talent both on stage and in front of the camera . Widely dubbed the “ breakout star ” from “ Dance Moms ,” she catapulted to fame when Sia contacted her for the music video .
“ She watched me on ‘ Dance Moms ’ and liked my dancing , so she tweeted me , asking me to be in her music video , ‘ Chandelier ,’” Maddie recalls . “ I flew to L . A . two weeks later .”
The video , which features Maddie performing a contemporary routine in a nude-colored bodysuit , has amassed more than 1.5 billion views on YouTube . It ’ s won numerous awards , including Best Choreography at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards . The video was also nominated for Best Music Video at the 2015 Grammy Awards .
Since that initial meeting , Sia and Maddie have continued their professional partnership , working together on additional music videos . Maddie starred alongside actor Shia LaBeouf in the 2015 video for “ Elastic Heart ” and “ Big Girls Cry ,” and has danced to Sia ’ s vocal performances on “ Saturday Night Live ,” “ The Ellen DeGeneres Show ” and “ Dancing with the Stars ,” among others . Last year , she also accompanied Sia on her North American tour , where she danced alongside the singer on stage every night .
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