Ashley Everett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ashley Everett
Everett performing during The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013-14)
Born	Ashley Chrisha Marie Everett (1989-04-19) April 19, 1989 (age 36) Chico, California U.S.
Occupation	Dancer Actress
Years active	2006–present
Musical career
Genres	Contemporary ballet modern jazz street hip-hop
Associated acts	Beyoncé Ne-Yo Usher Les Twins

Ashley Chrisha Marie Everett (born April 19, 1989) is an American dancer and actress. She is super famous for being the main backup dancer and dance captain for the superstar Beyoncé. Ashley has also worked with many other big artists like Usher, Jennifer Lopez, and Ne-Yo. You might have seen her in popular music videos, TV ads, and huge concert tours.

Ashley's amazing career started when she was just 16. She met Beyoncé's choreographer, Frank Gatson, Jr., while dancing at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2007. Later that year, Gatson Jr. gave Ashley a chance to audition for Beyoncé. When she was 17, she decided to join The Beyoncé Experience Tour instead of going to the Juilliard School. By the time she was 19, in 2009, she became Beyoncé's dance captain!

Ashley has been with Beyoncé on every big concert tour and in many TV commercials. She has danced or acted in over 20 music videos with the singer. She also started working with other music artists and even began acting. She had a role in the TV show Hit the Floor in 2015.

In 2008, Ashley was one of only two dancers in the famous music video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". This video has been watched over 685 million times on YouTube and is known for its amazing dancing. Ashley has also performed with Beyoncé at huge events like the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII halftime show, the 2016 Super Bowl 50 halftime show, and Coachella 2018. You can often spot her on stage by her curly, red afro hair. She has many fans among Beyoncé's followers. Ashley started learning contemporary ballet as a child. She has also mastered many other dance styles, including tap, ballroom, jazz, and hip hop.

Ashley's Early Life

Ashley Everett was born and grew up in Chico, California. She has a diverse background, with her mother being African American and her father being White. Ashley has shared that growing up in Chico was sometimes tricky because of her mixed background. She felt like she didn't quite fit in with either group.

Ashley's Dance Journey

Ashley (right) performing "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" with Beyoncé on Good Morning America

Ashley started dancing when she was just three years old. She first learned ballet, but also trained in tap and jazz. When she was sixteen, Ashley moved to New York City. There, she trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It was during a training session there that Ashley met Beyoncé's choreographer, Frank Gatson, Jr..

About two months later, Ashley went to an open audition for Beyoncé. Gatson remembered Ashley from their meeting. This led to her getting a job dancing with Beyoncé!

When she was seventeen, Ashley began working with Beyoncé by dancing in music videos. Beyoncé was making a video album for B'Day (2006). Ashley danced in the videos for "Green Light" and "Get Me Bodied". After this, Ashley went on her first worldwide concert tour with The Beyoncé Experience (2007). She performed as a backup dancer for 96 shows. Before joining the tour, Ashley was accepted into the Juilliard School. But she decided to tour with Beyoncé instead to follow her dance dreams.

Ashley (second from left) performing "Crazy in Love" with Beyoncé during The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

In 2008, Ashley performed with one of her heroes, Tina Turner, at the 2008 50th Annual Grammy Awards alongside Beyoncé. She also appeared in the music video for "Love in This Club" by Usher. This started her working relationship with him. In October of the same year, the video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" came out. This video featured a special dance style called J-Setting. It only had Beyoncé, Ashley, and another dancer named Ebony Williams. The video quickly became a viral sensation. It has been watched over 580 million times and copied thousands of times. It also won the MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.

Ashley also appeared in videos for "Ego" and "Sweet Dreams" from Beyoncé's album I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008). She then went on her second worldwide tour with Beyoncé, the I Am... World Tour (2009–10). On this tour, Ashley was the female Dance Captain for all the shows. In 2010, Ashley started working with Ne-Yo. She was in three of his music videos from his album Libra Scale (2010): "One in a Million", "Champagne Life", and "Beautiful Monster". In 2011, Ashley was in three videos from Beyoncé's album 4 (2011).

In 2012, Ashley was also a dancer on the TV show Glee. She appeared in season 4, episode 16 during Naya Rivera's performance of "Cold Hearted Snake".

On February 3, 2013, Ashley was a lead backup dancer for the Super Bowl XLVII halftime show with Beyoncé. Over 110 million Americans watched this performance. After the show, Beyoncé announced The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013–14). Ashley was the head Dance Captain for 132 shows on this tour. Before the tour, Ashley appeared in the film Life Is But a Dream. She also appeared in TV commercials for H&M and O2. Ashley was in six videos from Beyoncé's self-titled visual album. She even had a main acting role in the video for "Heaven".

Two months after The Mrs. Carter Show ended, Ashley was announced as the lead Dance Captain for Jay-Z and Beyoncé's On the Run Tour (2014). This tour took place in big stadiums. Ashley also danced for most of Usher's The UR Experience Tour (2014–15). However, she missed some shows because she was filming Hit the Floor. In February 2016, Ashley joined Beyoncé at the Super Bowl for a second time. This was during the Super Bowl 50 halftime show. Beyoncé and Bruno Mars were special guests for Coldplay's performance. Over 115 million people watched this show in America. After this performance, The Formation World Tour was announced. This was a 49-show stadium tour, and Ashley was again the dance captain for Beyoncé.

Ashley has also danced and worked with other artists like Robin Thicke, Ciara, La Toya Jackson, and Jennifer Lopez.

Ashley's Acting Roles

Ashley Everett appeared in the first episode of Hit the Floor as a character named Peyton. In late 2014, Ashley shared that she was filming for the third season of the series. In 2012, Ashley was in the final episode of the second season of Shake It Up. In 2013, Ashley starred with Beyoncé in the music video for "Heaven" from the album Beyoncé (2013). This video was Ashley's first non-dancing role with Beyoncé. It shows Ashley acting out fun "bucket list" ideas with Beyoncé, who plays her best friend. Ashley has said she wants to do more acting, especially roles where she isn't just dancing. She said in 2014 that "Film and cinematography and stuff lasts forever." She loves that her kids and grandkids will always be able to see her work, creating a lasting legacy.

Besides acting, Ashley has appeared on TV shows like Fox 32 and WCIU-TV. She has been interviewed and taught news anchors dance moves. She also promoted the concert tours she was performing in during these interviews.

Ashley's Artistic Style

Her Dance Style

Ashley Everett is a professional dancer trained in contemporary ballet. She also learned tap and jazz as she grew up. When she works with popular music artists like Beyoncé and Ciara, Ashley often performs hip-hop and street dance styles. But sometimes, you can still see elements of ballet in her performances.

Who Inspires Her

Ashley has said that her biggest dance inspiration is Janet Jackson. She would love to work with her the most. She also mentioned Michael Jackson (if he were still alive) and Justin Timberlake as other artists she would want to dance with. Ashley also finds inspiration in Beyoncé's strong work ethic.

Ashley's Videos

Music videos

All videos listed feature Ashley either dancing or acting within them.

Television and Documentaries

Commercials

Tours and Residencies