Sumith Prasad
In Sean Baker’s comedy-drama film ‘Anora,’ Mikey Madison plays Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a seasoned erotic dancer despite her young age. She is one of the highlights of her adult entertainment club, HQ, also known as Headquarters. The actress displays her dancing skills extensively in the first half of the movie. After leaving an impression on her clients with her lap and pole dancing, she becomes the exclusive girlfriend of Ivan “Vanya” Zakharov, the son of a Russian oligarch for whom she performs in his big mansion in Brooklyn, New York City. Madison had to work hard to prepare for the movie and transform herself into Anora, which also included learning how to dance like her character!
Mikey Madison Spent Months Learning Lap and Pole Dancing for Anora
When Mikey Madison first read the screenplay of ‘Anora,’ it didn’t take long for her to remember that she was not a dancer who could easily display the flexibility of Anora “Ani” Mikheeva. To prepare for the role, she reached out to Kennady Schneider, a pole instructor and choreographer. The actress learned the basics of dancing as an erotic dancer by training under Schneider for two days a week for three months. Their lessons even continued through Zoom calls after the comedy-drama film entered production. Madison learned how to twerk to perfect Anora’s lap dancing since it was “really important because that’s a big part of dancing at clubs,” as per her interview with People.
In her own words, Madison learned pole dancing extensively, even though she only had to do it for 20 seconds in the movie. As a committed performer, she wasn’t ready to make any compromises since her character had been dancing for years. The actress was adamant about integrating Anora’s experience and efficiency into her movements and performances. “I wanted my body to look a certain way, and I also wanted to feel differently about myself when I walked around too,” Madison added in the People interview about her extensive training ahead of the filming the movie.
Schneider helped Madison significantly to shape Anora as an erotic dancer. “My job was to understand Anora and how Mikey embodied this character, who Anora was through movement,” the choreographer told Polyester. “I helped Mikey build who this character was and how she moved. […] What moves would this character be doing in the club, and what seems realistic to club culture? We talked about how polished versus how raw this movement should be. That all impacted the way that I was going to choreograph and build with Mikey,” she added. Schneider and Madison’s collaboration ended with the former being incredibly proud of her student’s work in the film.
In addition to learning lap and pole dancing, Madison wanted to polish her demeanor to become an erotic dancer. She interacted with the dancers of HQ KONY Gentlemen’s Club, which stands in for Anora’s HQ in the movie. The actress also did comprehensive research on sex work by reading memoirs written by individuals involved in the field, watching documentaries, and communicating with consultants. These conversations and media consumption helped her transform herself into Anora convincingly. The extensive training paid off, as she was confident about the way her body moved during the filming of ‘Anora.’
As we can notice, Madison portrays Anora with remarkable ease and flexibility, which are the results of her months-long, dedicated training. Even though her dance performances do not contribute significantly to the movie’s duration, the lessons she received helped her play her character authentically, which is one of the highlights of the acclaimed film.
Read More: Can Mikey Madison Speak Russian in Real Life? Did She Learn it For Anora?
