Princess Diana's Dance Partner Describes Her Wicked Sense Of Humor As He Reflects On Fond Memories

Jul 05, 2021 by apost team

Princess Diana was universally loved by not only the British public but by people the world over. She used her influence to enact good, spending much of her time campaigning for humanitarian causes that improved the lives of others. She sat with people who were ill, helping to break the stigma of the then-new diseases HIV and AIDS. These are the reasons she became known as the "People's Princess" — a shining beacon of light in the royal family. 

But on top of her kindness, Diana was also an incredibly charismatic and graceful woman. Still considered a true style icon, the Princess of Wales was ahead of the curve much of the time, as she worked with the best in the fields of hairstyling, makeup, and fashion. She also had a fondness for the arts, especially dancing.

Many people might remember the magical moment in 1985 when Diana shared a dance with John Travolta at the White House. Dressed to the nines, the pair were a stunning duo as they graciously glided across the dancefloor. The photos from that evening are still just as moving today, more than 35 years on.

But another moment that is less commonly referenced is when Diana, in that same year, made a surprise performance at the Royal Opera House in London during the annual Friends of Covent Garden show. She surprised the audience and even Prince Charles that night.

Now, famed British dancer Wayne Sleep, who was her dance partner that night, has opened up about his friendship with the princess. Describing her wicked sense of humor, Sleep recalls the two instantly became friends upon meeting.

Although it was reimagined in the Netflix series "The Crown," the famous moment when Princess Diana took to the stage at London's Royal Opera House was only captured in images and sadly not on film. Nevertheless, the photos of the princess moving along the stage with her dance partner Wayne Sleep highlight her grace and beauty. 

The idea to perform at the 1985 Friends of Covent Garden show was Diana's, as she wanted to surprise her husband Prince Charles. The annual show usually featured a special guest and so the princess reached out to Sleep and asked him to coach her for the performance, albeit via secret lessons so that nobody would find out before her big unveiling on the stage.

Upon first meeting the famed dancer and choreographer — who danced with the Royal Ballet and is an expert at jazz, tap and contemporary dance styles — Diana's sense of humor instantly came out, prompting her and Sleep to forge a close bond. He described the moment they met to Hello! magazine:

"I walked in and I looked up at this towering sort of goddess above me and I thought: 'This Isn't going to work; it'll be hysterically funny.'" 

Sleep was nine inches shorter than Diana but regardless their pairing worked. He continued:

"Then I said: 'You know, I've been up very late last night. Do you mind if I sit down?' And she said: 'No, not at all, you naughty boy.' From that moment, we started giggling and laughing."

It was this sense of humor of hers that helped them to forge a strong bond. Sleep added:

"We had the same schoolboy humour. I was her sort-of jester, in a way, but we did get on incredibly well. We had something that clicked."

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As well as sharing the same sense of humor, the duo shared a love of dance, something which Sleep thinks would still be a part of her life if the princess were alive today.

"Oh yes, definitely," Sleep told Hello! "She'd probably be teaching me how to keep my shoulders down and would be looking on Google to see what I was up to and if I was being naughty."

He also complimented Diana's incredible poise and charisma, stating:

"She had natural style. She could do the high kick, she could do a pirouette and she had lovely swinging hips.

"She had that thing called charisma. She was charismatic and even when she spoke with that very quiet voice, it was something that pulled you in and you just wanted to embrace her all the time."

Speaking about their 1985 performance to "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel, which was Diana's choice of music, Sleep explained how the audience "gasped" and were "frozen" when she appeared on stage. "It took a while for them to actually believe it was really her," he said.

Revealing how they kept their rehearsals a secret, Sleep said that they'd meet and then "slip into another part of the house." They also moved around different studios "so nobody ever got to know." However, he added that a lot of the preparation was done over the phone since Sleep would be on tour with his company, while the princess would be away in far-off places like Australia. He adds:

"She had a job to do and so we had to do a lot of it over the phone."

Did you know about Princess Diana's love of dance? If you learned something from this article then be sure to pass it on to those you know!