Maddie Ziegler on being a teen phenomenon and being mates with Sia

SHE’S homeschooled, rehearses nine hours a day, has famous friends and has become the hottest trend at costume parties. Meet Maddie Ziegler.

Maddie Ziegler and Sia at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

YOU might not be familiar with Maddie Ziegler’s name — but she’s the most famous 12-year-old in the world right now.

It hasn’t even been a year since the teen dancer pulled on a leotard and wig and took on the role of a pint-sized Sia in the video clip for “Chandelier”, but she’s already accomplished things that performers twice her age probably never will.

The infamous video clip has clocked up more than 600-million views online and has been parodied by Jim Carrey on Saturday Night Live.

Maddie’s performance with Kristen Wiig was also the most talked about act at this year’s Grammy Awards.

Jim Carrey parodying the Chandelier clip on SNL.

Maddie Ziegler in the video clip for Chandelier.

Maddie has become such a phenomenon that “Mini Sia” has even become the hottest character at Halloween and costume parties.

“That was the coolest thing!” she told news.com.au.

“There were babies, there were adults ... I saw a dog that had a wig and a leotard on! Everyone is dressing up and I think it’s so cool.”

Kristen Wiig and Maddie Ziegler performing at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

So how does a 12-year-old dancer team up with a reclusive megastar and go viral?

Turns out Sia was a fan of Maddie’s work on the reality show Dance Moms — which follows the lives of the students and their mums at the Abby Lee Dance Company in Pittsburgh.

“She tweeted me and asked me to be in her music video for her new song and I thought it was fake at first because not a typical person just tweets you — like a celebrity,” she said.

“I didn’t even know she was making a video — there was no audition, no anything. It was just a direct message from Twitter.”

Dance teacher, and star of Dance Moms Abby Lee Miller with Maddie Ziegler.

It’s hard to talk to Maddie without bringing up Sia’s recent decision to shy away from the public eye — performing with her face hidden or back to the audience. It’s kind of the reason Maddie features in Sia’s work in the first place. So is Maddie allowed to see Sia’s face?

“Yes ... I'm going back to LA in about a week and I went to her house last time I was there,” she says.

“I just have so much fun with her and her husband Erik (Anders, a documentary film maker) and the three dogs — they’re just all so fun.

“And they’re just such a natural family. If you didn’t know Sia’s name then you wouldn’t have even known that she’s a celebrity — by the way she acts, by the way she just is in general. It’s really cool to see that because I don’t like when celebrities are super cocky so it’s really cool just getting to be natural and normal with Sia.”

NOW YOU DON’T: Sia at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

NOW YOU SEE ME: Sia in a rare appearance without a covered face.

Despite the sudden fame, Maddie has managed to stay “natural and normal”. This is probably because her schedule doesn’t allow time for much else.

She’s homeschooled between 830am and midday (“I do about four hours, sometimes three hours”) - and then it’s off to dance school until 945pm. “That’s pretty much all I do in a day,” she says.

After the success of “Chandelier”, Maddie pulled on the blonde wig and leotard again for Sia’s “Elastic Heart” video — only this time she was dancing opposite Shia LaBeouf. And Maddie says he doesn’t live up to his odd reputation.

“He is not mean or anything — he is the nicest person,” she assures.

The 12-year-old is homeschooled in the morning before heading to dance class each day.

“People do say he’s rude and this and that, but they don’t even know him ... he’s super nice and he cares a lot.

“He worked really hard for the video and we had a lot of fun together. The day before the rehearsal I was getting lifted up by these guys and one of my blood vessels broke from having it squeezed too tight and Shia was really caring about me and he was like, ‘whoever did that I’m gonna punch you out.’”

Another misunderstood person in Maddie’s life is her dance teacher, and star of Dance Moms, Abby Lee Miller — who owns the school featured in the reality show. Abby’s brought the show down under this week to find Australia’s ultimate dancer.

“She does have her bad days” Maddie says about dance teacher Abby Lee Miller.

Her tough love with students and blow-ups with parents often play a bigger part in the show than the dancing.

“She does have her bad days ... she does,” Maddie says.

“But she also has her good days. And she does care for us a lot. And she’s really sweet and she wants the best for us and that’s why she yells at us to make us better.

“And obviously we get mad because she yells at us a lot. But that’s just the way she is.”

Abby Lee Miller pushing for perfection on Dance Moms.

And even though Maddie’s interpretative dancing in the Sia performances is a long way from the more traditional style of dance she learns at the dance school, “Miss Abby” isn’t critical of it. Well, not too much.

“It’s not her choreography so she doesn’t try to critique it ... but she definitely does say, ‘well I wish you could just point your feet on this ...’”.

For details about classes and shows from Abby’s Ultimate Australian Dance Tour, visit:

http://www.abbysultimateaustraliantour.com/

Originally published as Maddie Ziegler on being a teen phenomenon and being mates with Sia