Wade Robson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wade Robson
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Robson in 2008
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| Born | 17 September 1982 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Amanda Rodriguez
(m. 2005) |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Primetime Emmy Award 2007, 2008 Outstanding Choreography 2007 So You Think You Can Dance Outstanding Choreography 2008 So You Think You Can Dance |
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| Associated acts | Quo |
Wade Jeremy William Robson (born 17 September 1982) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. He started dancing when he was only five years old. He has directed music videos and world tours for famous pop stars like NSYNC and Britney Spears.
In 2003, Robson hosted and produced his own show on MTV called The Wade Robson Project. Later, in 2007, he joined the TV dance show So You Think You Can Dance. He was a guest judge and also created dances for the show. He even won an Emmy Award for his amazing dance number "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" on the show.
When Wade was a child, he became friends with pop singer Michael Jackson. In 2005, during a court case involving Jackson, Robson said under oath that Jackson had never acted improperly. However, in 2013, Robson changed his statement. He filed a lawsuit against Jackson's estate, claiming that Jackson had harmed him when he was young. This case is still being heard in a California court. Robson shared his story in a 2019 documentary called Leaving Neverland.
Contents
Wade Robson's Career
Starting Out as a Dancer
Wade Robson was part of a group called Johnny Young's Talent School. They performed many shows each week, often in places like shopping malls. When Wade was nine, he moved to the United States with his mother and sister. Michael Jackson helped them move. Jackson also asked Robson to dance in three of his music videos: "Black or White", "Jam", and "Heal the World".
By the age of 11, Robson had his own agent. He formed a hip-hop duo called Quo with his friend DeWayne Turrentine. They released an album through Jackson's record label. The next year, Wade was teaching dance classes in Hollywood. He also created a dance group of children who performed around the world.
When he was 14, Robson got his first job choreographing for the R&B group Immature. This led to more jobs with artists like Britney Spears. Sometimes, clients were surprised to take directions from Robson because he was so young. When Britney Spears first met him for her tour, she said, "He's a friggin' baby!" She had expected someone much older.
Working with Pop Stars
In the late 1990s, while still a teenager, Robson choreographed Pepsi commercials for Britney Spears. One of these commercials was shown during the 2001 Super Bowl. He also choreographed a performance by NSYNC and Britney Spears at the 1999 Video Music Awards. He helped direct Spears's 1999–2000 world tours and NSYNC's 2000 No Strings Attached Tour.
In 2001, he choreographed Spears's "I'm a Slave 4 U" music video. He also directed and choreographed NSYNC's 2001 PopOdyssey Tour. In NSYNC's "Pop" music video, Robson even had to fill in for NSYNC member Joey Fatone during some dance parts because Fatone was injured. That same year, Robson directed Spears's Dream Within a Dream Tour.
Robson also worked with NSYNC's Justin Timberlake in 2001. They wrote hit songs together like "Pop", "Gone", and "See Right Through You" for NSYNC's final album Celebrity. Robson had originally written "Celebrity" for his own album, but he let NSYNC record it instead. They also co-wrote Britney Spears's song "What It's Like to Be Me".
Later Career Highlights
Robson created and hosted MTV's The Wade Robson Project. This show was a competition to find talented hip-hop dancers. In 2002, Dance Magazine named Robson one of their "25 to Watch."
A dance clothing company called Power T Dance created a line of dance shoes with Robson's name on them. Robson also appeared as himself in the 2004 urban dance movie You Got Served. This film won an award for Best Dance Sequence. Robson also joined other famous choreographers on the PULSE Tour. This tour offered weekend workshops where dancers could learn from top choreographers.
In 2007, Robson started choreographing for the American Idols LIVE! Tour. He also created dances for the second and third seasons of So You Think You Can Dance. In September 2007, Robson won an Emmy Award for his dance "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" on Season 2.
Robson won his second Emmy Award in 2008 for a jazz dance called "Humming Bird and the Flower" on Season 3. The show's producer, Nigel Lythgoe, called it "absolutely genius, brilliant."
Robson and his wife, Amanda, were hired to direct and choreograph Britney Spears's tour, The Circus Starring Britney Spears. However, they were later replaced by another director. Spears's team said Robson was only hired for the promotional tour for her 2008 album Circus.
Robson choreographed the animated movie Happy Feet Two, which came out in 2011. He was also supposed to direct Step Up Revolution (released in 2012), but he left the project for personal reasons.
Wade Robson and Michael Jackson
When Wade Robson was five years old, he met the American singer Michael Jackson. Jackson was on tour in Australia at the time. Two years later, Robson visited the US with his family to perform in Disneyland. Jackson invited Robson's family to stay at his home, Neverland Ranch. Robson also appeared in Jackson's music videos.
After Jackson's death in 2009, Robson said that Jackson's "music, his movement, his personal words of inspiration and encouragement and his unconditional love will live inside of me forever."
In 2013, Robson changed his previous statement and filed a lawsuit against Jackson's estate. Robson said that his earlier denial was because Jackson had "manipulated and brainwashed" him. He explained that becoming a father and having nervous breakdowns led him to change his story. The claims made by Robson and another man, James Safechuck, are shown in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.
In 2017, Robson's lawsuit was dismissed because the time limit for filing such a case had passed. However, this ruling was overturned in August 2023. This means the case can now go to trial.
Wade Robson's Personal Life
Wade Robson dated Michael Jackson's niece, Brandi, for seven years. Brandi is the daughter of Jackie Jackson. Brandi said in a documentary that she and Robson met as children. Robson asked Michael Jackson to set them up. They were friends for ten years before they started dating.
Brandi also said that Robson cheated on her with Britney Spears during Spears's 1999–2001 tour. This ended their relationship. It also ended the relationship between Spears and her former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake. This suggests that Timberlake wrote his song "Cry Me a River" about Spears cheating on him with Robson. Britney Spears has confirmed that her affair with Robson happened. Robson also dated dancer Mayte Garcia from 2000 to 2001.
See also
In Spanish: Wade Robson para niños
- List of dancers
