AGE 19
HOME CITY SYDNEY

As one of the younger competitor’s in SYTYCD, the talented triple threat that is Rhiannon Villareal began dance classes when she was just two years old. “I can’t believe I actually did dance classes at that age,” she laughs. “You think I would only just be walking then!” But dance she did and
the down-to-earth nineteen year old simply hasn’t stopped dancing, acting or singing since then. She describes going to school at Brent Street’s Talent Development High School as one of the best thing’s she ever done, as it gave her the confidence to pursue performing as a professional career.

She started classes at the Sydney school when she was 11, and trained fulltime in performing arts there last year. Now a teacher herself at Talent Zone, a dance school in Merrylands, Rhiannon brings a wealth of performing and TV experience to the comp which belies her young age.

She was a semi-finalist in Australia’s Got Talent, performing with a dance group called Raptous. She performed on Mornings with Kerri-Anne, at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award and the Australian and New Zealand Urban Music Awards. She was part of a TV series called Dare to Dance, which followed four performers’ lives for nine weeks whilst training at Brent Street. And she’s no stranger to the world of video clips either, having performed in big-budget clips for Aussie pop acts Rogue Traders, Girl Band, Nikki Webster and Young Divas. She was even part of Michael Jackson’s HISTORY tour in 1996, where she got to give him a rose as part of the act and he kissed her forehead (“I didn’t wash it for a week!”).

Rhiannon loves all styles of dancing but feels most comfortable with the sharp, fluid moves of Jazz, a style she says she picked up straight away. Bubbly and caring, Rhiannon brings one of the most important qualities a dancer can possess to the competition: honesty. She can’t stand people who are fake or pretend to be someone or something they’re not, and her open, generous performances on the floor are sure to win many fans.

Key quote: “I’m very real and very down to earth. I don’t like fake people, and I believe that if you work hard, you will succeed.”

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