Beyoncé’s Creative Director Shared Why She Only Rehearses in Heels

When Beyoncé gets onstage, she does it in towering heels. While some artists might work up to doing choreography in heels, Beyoncé jumps right in. Her creative director shared why the singer doesn’t waste time learning a dance in flat shoes.

Beyoncé’s creative director gave insight into why she rehearses in heels

Beyoncé is famous for a reason. She is, of course, a talented and compelling performer, but she also throws herself wholeheartedly into her work.

“She stays up late reviewing tapes, studying them to make it better,” her mother, Tina Knowles, told Marie Claire. “It’s hard for me — it’s one of the reasons I go on tour. I’m always the person to make her go to bed. I’m still her mother, so I can walk up and close the computer and tell her to go to bed.”

Because of her success and focus, she has a limited amount of time to get everything done. Her creative director, Frank Gatson Jr., said that because her time is short, she sometimes skips transitional steps. 

“She understands that her time is valuable, so when she comes in the room, she’s in it to win it,” Gatson said, adding, “She doesn’t have the time to learn the choreography in flats, because eventually she’s going to have to do it in heels. She feels like she’s gotta get to it.”

Beyoncé admitted her heels make her backup dancers groan

Beyoncé doesn’t do every part of her training in heels. She said she draws the line during her normal workouts.

“No, I don’t run on a treadmill in heels. That’s a bit extreme,” she told Billboard. “But I do practice my choreography in heels. And I have a rule that when I have my heels on, everyone has to have their heels on too.”

This rule is sometimes difficult to accept for her dancers, who know they face hours of rehearsing with heels on.

“Sometimes the dancers are like, ‘Oh, God, we hope Beyoncé comes in late,’ because I’ll go all day,” she said. “And in the end, I’ll have blisters and my toes will have bruises. It’s really hard sometimes.”

Kelly Rowland praised her work ethic

Those who have worked closely with Beyoncé have noted that her work ethic is unlike anything they’ve seen in other people. Kelly Rowland, who was in Destiny’s Child with her, thinks of herself as a hard worker. She doesn’t think she can compare to Beyoncé, though.

“No, hers is different,” Rowland said on Angie Martinez’s In Real Life podcast. “It’s different, it’s like another whole beast. And it’s so funny because her being so focused in that space made me come up in another space that I am just as excited about in. So, I’m like, ‘Oh, I have to pay attention to that much detail.’ I watch the way she works.”

She believes that Beyoncé’s drive isn’t something that just any person can develop.

“She works so incredibly intricate. It’s something that you’re born with. You either have it, or you don’t,” she said. “And it’s a really dope focus, and it’s one of the many reasons it makes her so f***ing dope.”