The world-famous “The Spider” ballet dance choreography has been performed all over the globe and received 18 million views on YouTube alone. It was created by Milena Sidorova when she was 13 years old.
Want to know more about the choreography? See the Frequently Asked Questions below!
Did you see the creepy human spider in Dune? It was played by Milena. She was invited to be part of the Oscar-winning movie due to her spider choreography.
As a kid, I really loved spiders and I used to observe them a lot. They had this particular way of moving and were still very gracious creatures, although a bit weird. When I studied ballet professionally, I once tried to imitate the movements of a spider in the living room, which made my mother laugh a lot. She said: “Hey, why don’t you make that into a dance?”
And that’s how “The Spider” was born. I performed it for the first time about two months later.
I started to compete in international ballet competitions at the age of 13. During these competitions, participants usually had to perform several short contemporary solos. I danced “The Spider” at ballet competitions in Moscow, Kiev, Reus (Spain), Lausanne and London.
After my education at the Royal Ballet School in London, I’ve joined the Dutch National Ballet and have danced many choreographies around the globe — but not “The Spider”.
Yes. Not necessarily because it requires advanced technical skills, but the spider pose requires a certain flexibility in your hips and lower back that even most professional dancers do not possess.
The first pose and the subsequent walk are particularly demanding.
I recently coached a talented young Dutch dancer who performed it in a ballet competition in France — and she ended up winning 2nd prize. She also danced it on Japanese television programme ‘ItteQ! Let’s challenge the world’ (april 2018) which was watched by 20 million people.
During the past years, I have also noticed or have been notified that hundreds of people around the globe have performed it without my prior permission, which is not allowed. For this reason, I unfortunately can’t provide more detailed information on where it has been performed.
If the opening pose isn’t executed properly, you’re more likely to resemble a frog than a spider. Your knees need to be aligned with the hips and they should be higher than the back. This takes both flexibility and exercise.
Also, the coordination of some moves is very different to what it seems. This is often the case with choreographies, which is why most choreographers travel to ballet companies to rehearse their work, or send a team on their behalf.
For public performances, always ask permission. In many cases — for example when it’s a charity performance or a small non-commercial performance for children — I will permit you to perform it without a fee. For semi-professional and professional performances and competitions, a modest and reasonable fee will apply.
Being a professional dancer is not a requirement to perform “The Spider,” but it certainly helps. Besides the first pose, there are many elements that will look much better if you are a trained dancer.
It depends on the individual but a a rule of thumb, in order to be able to dance it well, I would say about two months.
Great! Try to be nice, because he or she will have lots of muscle ache in the beginning, especially in the hips and thighs. 😉
On a more serious note: it’s a great choreography to explore what your body is capable of — and what it is not. Always listen to your body. And remember that prior permission is required for performances.
I started my first lessons at the age of three. At the age of four, I danced a duet in a concert that was broadcast on national Ukrainian television. Four years later, I joined a professional ballet school where I was training six days a week. Between the age of 13 and 16, I participated in many ballet competitions across Europe. I was 15 years old when I joined the Upper Royal Ballet School in London.
I’m not performing this choreography myself anymore, but please contact me to see if I can send someone else or help rehearse it.
They sent me an email through my official website, and within two days I was talking to producers. 🙂
Yes, a lot!
Yes, the following image may be used with attribution: “The Spider choreography by Milena Sidorova”.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Do you have any other questions about “The Spider”? Please send me a message!
Please note that “The Spider” is a copyrighted piece of choreography and cannot be performed without my prior permission.