Features

Photo Credit: Cheyenne Ellis

Kenny Wormald
The new Footloose star tells us about dancers’ feet, L.A. girls and tripping in front of Madonna.

Dancer/actor Kenny Wormald, 27, stars in this month’s remake of the classic 1984 film Footloose, reprising the role that Kevin Bacon made famous. Wormald was born and raised in Stoughton and began dancing at the age of six. He trained in many genres and, at 10, was selected to perform for President Clinton at the White House. In 2002, he won the gold medal at the World Dance Championships and was one of six featured on the MTV reality show Dancelife. He’s performed in music videos for Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Chris Brown, Nelly Furtado, Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey and Prince, and has toured with such artists as Justin Timberlake and the Pussycat Dolls. Wormald lives in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Soroff: If there’s music, can you stop yourself from dancing?
Kenny Wormald: I actually really can’t. It’s kind of a problem. I’ll be in a grocery store and a song will come on, like a Justin Timberlake song that I like, and I really can’t help it.

Must’ve been a problem in school.
It was. I used to get yelled at in Spanish class for tapping my feet. My nickname was “Worm,” and the teacher would just yell, “Gusano!”

Are you the ultimate wedding date?
Absolutely. I’d be by far the best wedding date money could buy. 

If your life was a musical, what would it be?
A mix between Chicago and Showgirls.

When you toured with Justin Timberlake, did you ever spark up a joint with him?
[Laughs.] I didn’t get the pleasure. I think he was more into it on the first tour, not the one I was on.

Madonna: a deity or past her sell-by date?
She’s awesome. I really dug her. I was so young, and that was one of my first jobs. The video was supposed to depict war through a fashion show. I was playing a young soldier, and I had to pull a knife out of the runway, and Madonna was sitting at the end of the stage. I walk up to pick the knife up and I fell, because it was jammed so deeply into the stage. I literally fell right in front of Madonna. I didn’t know if I was going to get fired or what, but she laughed, and she was so nice to me the rest of the time. She’s wicked cool. She’s tiny, and she’s totally in control.

So how many degrees of Kevin Bacon are you?
I guess either one or zero.

Pop star who’s the best dancer?
When I worked with Justin, it was him, but I’d say now it’s Chris Brown. Just dance-wise.

Ever done the macarena?
It was popular when I was in junior high school, and it would come on, and you’d just get stuck doing it. That was the song for the girls or guys who couldn’t dance. It got everyone going.

Have you ever done the lambada?
I don’t even know what that is.

A 1980s dance craze.
Whoa. Sounds interesting.

Favorite ethnic dance?
I’m a huge fan of krumping. Have you seen the documentary Rize by David LaChapelle? They compare krumping to some of the African tribal dances that are thousands of years old.

Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly?
I feel like I’m a mix between them both. Can we combine them? Fred Kelly?

Are you the real Lord of the Dance?
You know what? Yeah, I am. Michael Flatley is ill. He absolutely killed it. But there’s a new generation, and out of the young dancers today, I’m up there.

Are you a big ballet fan?
I grew up taking it. I did ballet solos. It’s so important for your training as a dancer. It helps your footwork and your balance. But I don’t go to the ballet. It’s vital. It’s important. I love and respect it, but I’m not really around it anymore.

Do you go out dancing at clubs a lot?
I do go out. Not a lot. Hollywood clubs kind of suck. Everyone’s just standing around and doing the two-step. But if it’s a cool club, and there’s room for it, and the vibe’s inviting, then yeah, I’ll dance. But I don’t go to clubs to dance.

Are your feet in pretty rough shape?
Y’know, dancers’ feet are usually pretty gross, like Black Swan style. But I wear sneakers or shoes when I dance now; I don’t ever dance barefoot anymore. So my feet are cool.

Most comfortable shoes?
In life, Nikes. They have shoes that are like Vans that I wear around. But when I dance, I like Jordans, or basketball sneakers.

What’s the best party trick you can do?
My buddy and I do this. Either girls out here in L.A. are dumb, or they’ve never seen Good Will Hunting, but you know the scene where he says, “I have 12 brothers”? We do that, and the girl goes “Nah!” And I say, “Marky, Ricky, Danny, Terry, Mikey, Davey, Timmy, Tommy, Joey, Robby, Johnny and Brian.” I do that one a lot, and girls always fall for it.

What can you do with your feet that I can’t?
It’s called the Kenny move. It’s an optical illusion, if you will. I definitely made it up, and I’ve seen other people use it. Jay-Z actually used it on his Madison Square Garden DVD.

Is dancing the best way to seduce somebody?
Yeah. I don’t think guys should set out to do that, but it works, for sure. But girls with guys? Absolutely.

Can anyone who dances badly be good in bed?
If you can’t find the rhythm, you’re going to be a little off.

What do you have to say to all those kids who teased you when you were a kid for dancing?
On Twitter, a guy I went to high school with wrote, “Holy shit! We used to make fun of that guy for tap-dancing! I feel stupid now.” I was like, “Ah, yes.” But kids’ll make fun of another kid for wearing the wrong color sneakers. They’re going to make fun of the kid who does ballet. I understand it. But now I’m laughing at their girlfriends driving them to the movie theaters to see me.

Favorite musical of all time?
That’s a tough one. I do dig Chicago. I actually love that one. But my first Broadway show that I ever saw had a really big impact on me, and that was Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk. It might not be a musical, but it will forever kinda be the seminal memory for me because I’d never seen anything like it.

So how long before you’re on Dancing With the Stars?
I don’t think I’ll ever be one of the stars on the show because that would just be unfair, and I don’t plan to be an in-house dancer, so probably never. Unless we do a Footloose promo thing.

Photographed by Cheyenne Ellis; wardrobe stylist: Melinda Tarbell; grooming: Sydney Zibrak/The Wall Group; shirt: Cohesive & Co.