Every time Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 7-time Mr. Olympia, stepped on stage, he put the judges in shock with his 22-inch arms and 57-inch chest. Beyond his intense definition and survival precision, it was his famous “vacuum pose” that drew the spotlight. To master most of his poses, he took dance training.

One of the recent training moments shared by the OG Bodybuilding on its Instagram. The post featured a montage of images showing Schwarzenegger being trained by a professional ballet dancer.

The December 18, 2024, Instagram post further highlighted the context of the images through its caption, which contained:

“In 1976, Arnold Schwarzenegger worked with ballet dancer and choreographer Marianne Claire in New York City to improve his posing and stage presence for bodybuilding competitions.”

According to the post, the dance training helped the legend enhance his posture, grace, and fluidity. It also enabled him to present his physique in a controlled way.

The post also added, “Claire’s guidance was instrumental in refining his posing techniques, which became a key element of his success at the Mr. Olympia competitions. This unique approach of blending ballet with bodybuilding is often credited with shaping Schwarzenegger’s iconic stage presence.”

The learning of his dance was also captured in the famous documentary Pumping Iron, released in 1977. On April 8, the official Instagram account of Arnold Sports shared a short video clip from Pumping Iron. In the clip, the bodybuilding legend and his friend, the late Franco Columbu, were seen taking ballet lessons.

Talking about the experience, Schwarzenegger stated on his 2023 Netflix documentary, “Bodybuilding was a sport where you had to perform. So I could learn in my own way, to perform and pose on stage. And people then correct you and say, you know, smile more when you perform.”

So, Schwarzenegger learned to dance not for fun; it was necessary to enhance his professional skills and prepare for bodybuilding competitions. However, apart from bodybuilding, he never avoided dancing in real life.

Other instances where Arnold Schwarzenegger danced

There are many instances where Schwarzenegger has shown he loves dancing, and a real fan has definitely noticed.

For instance, at many Cannes Film Festival events, Schwarzenegger performed a waltz with Sylvester Stallone.

Apart from that, there are other entertainment videos, and in one of them, the bodybuilding legend can be seen dancing with Joe Manganiello on “106 & Park,” an R&B and American hip-hop video show.

Apart from that, Schwarzenegger also learned a dance style for True Lies, a James Cameron movie.

However, the Terminator director knew that the bodybuilding legend could not dance, yet he still included a scene in the movie where Schwarzenegger had to wear his dancing shoes.

According to Fandom Wire, in an interview, the director said, “I sent him the script and in the margins, I put an arrow to the tango scene that said, This is your most dangerous stunt. I think he took that to heart, because he did learn how to tango!”

And that movie became successful, earning over $378 million at the box office.

So, Schwarzenegger learned to dance and used it to show his dominance on and off the stage.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Ashvinkumar Patil