Biography of the choreographer
It is no secret to fans of the black dancer’s work that his real name is Sergei Migelevich Shesteperov. The future artist was born in the town of Khimki near Moscow, in the Podrezkovo district on July 21, 1982. The boy became the fruit of the passionate love of a Cuban and a Russian girl. Sergei’s parents were forced to separate for many years, since his father, an officer by profession, Miguel Messa, left for Cuba after finishing his service in the USSR, and his mother, Tatyana Shesteperova, was unable to go abroad. Strict Soviet regulations deprived the boy of the opportunity to grow up in a complete family. Seryozha was raised by his mother, who works as an engineer, and his grandmother, a Russian language teacher.
For some time, the future artist studied at a secondary school in the city of Zelenograd, but due to a conflict with classmates, he transferred to the private school “Harmony”. Because of his colorful appearance, so unusual for Soviet society, the boy was often attacked by his peers. As a result, Sergei graduated from school as an external student, and focused all his attention on choreography, which he began to study at an early age.
As a 4-year-old child, he saw an excerpt from the ballet “Giselle” on TV. Inspired by what he saw, he began working on the production of “Swan Lake” and, together with his friend Masha, showed his family and friends a performance of 4 acts. In the 5th grade, the boy began attending the Fuete dance school. Here I learned the basics of choreography for 3 years. Then he continued his studies at the Bolshoi Theater Choreographic School. Having received brilliant classical training, the young man was ready to conquer the heights of show business.
The talented young man immediately began to stand out from the crowd of students. Already at the age of 17, he received a lucrative offer to perform in the musical “Metro”. The new genre in art attracted the attention of not only the public, but also the artists themselves. Sergei took a pseudonym, calling himself his father’s name, Miguel, and agreed to participate in the production. The project brought popularity to the young dancer in narrow circles.
Further, the projects “Notre Dame de Paris” followed, in which Miguel performed for more than two years, and “Romeo and Juliet”. How many more years would the artist have worked in the theater if not for a twist of fate? Shesteperov was kicked out of the show project for being late for rehearsal.
Our hero is not used to giving in to difficulties; he has developed a strong character since childhood. Therefore, I began to look wider and look for new opportunities. The new project, thanks to which the artist got on television, was “Star Factory”. Then there was a year-long tour and a return to dancing.
For several years he succeeded in the field of choreography. Among his latest achievements, he worked as a mentor for participants in the television program “Dancing”, where he worked on a par with dance art guru Yegor Druzhinin.
In addition to choreography, the hero of our article is successfully engaged in producing. Since 2011, he has been the producer and main inspirer of various creative teams and projects.
Childhood and adolescence
Miguel became known to Russian viewers as a choreographer-mentor and jury member for the dance show “Dancing” on the TNT channel. From the biography of the choreographer Miguel it is known that he was born in the small district of Podrezkovo in the city of Khimki. He was raised by his mother, who worked as an electrical engineer, and his grandmother, a teacher of Russian language and literature.
The parents of the famous dancer had a hard life. His dad had to return to Cuba in the 80s, and his mother could not leave with him. At 33, Miguel still managed to see his father: “It was a very touching meeting. He came to us for several weeks. All this time he lived with me and my mother.”
While still very young, Miguel began to take an active interest in dancing. He was inspired to do this by scenes from the ballet Giselle. He was delighted with what he saw, and from the age of 4 he began to try himself in ballet, bringing to life his production of Swan Lake.
Miguel's participation in "Star Factory - 5" gave a good start to his career
When the boy was 5 years old, together with his best friend Maria, he showed his mother and neighbors his first performance, consisting of 4 acts.
During his first school years he attended school in Zelenograd, but was expelled. In 2nd grade, his classmates had a negative attitude towards him. They didn't want Miguel to learn English because he was "black." As a result, the boy was transferred to a non-state educational institution - Secondary School "Harmony".
From 5th to 8th grade he went to the Fuete children's dance school. Miguel graduated from his last school years as an external student. Sergei entered the Choreographic School, which gave him an excellent education in the field of classical dance. He claims that his desire to develop in a dance direction was influenced by the work of Michael Jackson, who was his idol.
Dancer's personal life
Despite the increased attention to his own person, Sergei does not conduct PR campaigns at the expense of his personal life. In general, the artist does not like to give unnecessary information to journalists. It is difficult to obtain reliable information from accounts on social networks Instagram and VK. Miguel is a person with a sense of humor, so on his pages you can see humorous photographs, including wedding ones. One of these pictures gave rise to rumors. The photo shows Natalya Gordienko hugging Miguel, the couple in wedding suits. However, this was only a photo project in which the artists participated.
Shesteperov’s ex-girlfriend is the same partner in the debut ballet, performed in childhood in front of family members - Masha Ryzhkova. She's the first love. True, the relationship between the young people did not develop, and the couple broke up. Thanks to another provocative photo on Instagram, the artist was credited with an affair with Anastasia Vyadro, a participant in the “Dancing” show. In fact, the girl has long been the happy wife of another man and the mother of a wonderful daughter. And the photos with Miguel were funny.
The yellow press accused the dancer of being gay, which is why he has not yet started a family. But the artist does not comment on such rumors and enjoys life. Today, his main place is work, and family and children are secondary for Miguel.
Miguel's personal life
The personal life of the famous choreographer interests journalists no less than his creative projects. Unfortunately, the artist clearly does not intend to allow outsiders into this territory, as he spoke about more than once in interviews. He resolutely denied all the novels that the press attributed to him. For example, as soon as several photographs of Miguel and “Dancing” participant Anastasia Vyadro appeared on the Internet, an affair was immediately attributed to them, although the girl is married and has a daughter. The choreographer noted that joint photographs of two people are not at all proof of their romantic relationship.
Miguel admits that he is still single and completely absorbed in work, although, without false modesty, he enjoys success with women. To improve his personal life, he was repeatedly offered to become the main character of another show on TNT - “The Bachelor”. But the artist is not a supporter of publicly building relationships; for him, love and feelings are too subtle matters that should not be put on public display.
In addition, Miguel does not consider himself a show business star and does not pursue popularity. What’s more important for him is to do what he loves, to work on interesting projects, and recognition is just a side effect of the creative process. By the way, it’s not very interesting for a choreographer to watch his work recorded, so he didn’t follow the “Dancing” show on TV. The artist is simply confident in his behavior and actions, completely trusts the team with which he works, and therefore does not waste time re-learning familiar material.
Miguel calls the key to his popularity with the fair sex not only his exotic appearance, but also his spiritual qualities. He considers himself to be quite cheerful and sociable enough to command attention and make an impression in any company. The wording “real man” for a choreographer is associated, first of all, with caring for a woman. In this matter, he does not recognize the equality of the sexes and would like to always act as a protector and a stronger partner.
Miguel's vocal career
In 2004, Miguel came to the casting of the TV project “Star Factory”. And although the young man did not have exceptional vocal abilities, he attracted the attention of the jury with his flexibility and artistry. An important role here was played by personal acquaintance with Alla Pugacheva, who was the project manager. For Diva's "Christmas Meetings" he was already developing the choreography of the numbers.
He did not win any prizes on the television project, but he was remembered and loved by the audience for his non-standard appearance and high-quality choreography. The public liked the way the young manufacturer danced. The young performer recorded the song “Cafe” in a duet with Alla Borisovna. Not everyone gets this chance. In general, participation in the show was successful for Miguel, bringing him recognition and unprecedented popularity, as well as employment with touring activities over the next year.
At the end of the factory owners’ tour, Sergei finally pulled away from his singing career and returned to dancing. Miguel began to professionally stage concert programs, videos, and films.
Career
In 1999, Sergei was invited to perform in the famous musical “Metro”. He found out about the casting by chance and wanted to try his hand at it. He attracted attention with his originality. The musical was a huge success, and its participants became incredibly famous. Miguel began to be recognized in circles of dance fans.
After Miguel, they invited him to another musical show, Notre Dame de Paris. The project premiered in 2002 in the Russian capital. This project also received many positive reviews. The final performance in his ballet career was the Romeo and Juliet project. Afterwards he decided to start developing in other areas.
Miguel is a permanent mentor on the show "Dancing"
"Star Factory"
In 2004, Miguel appeared on television in “Star Factory - 5”. He did not have a good voice, but won the love of the jury thanks to his dancing and artistry. The artist was remembered by the viewer for his unusual appearance. It was this project that made Miguel famous and popular. When the show ended, he realized that no one was interested in his vocals, and decided to focus on dance art.
Television and choreography
Miguel began to actively stage fashion shows, concerts, and videos.
His projects:
- He often worked with global brands, one of which was Mercedes-Benz. As a choreographer, Miguel proved himself in the filming of the films “Hitler Kaput” and “Rzhevsky against Napoleon.” He also choreographed dance numbers for many Russian celebrities, including Valery Meladze.
- In 2011, he appeared on television in the famous Ukrainian project "Maidan's", showing himself as an ideological inspirer.
- In 2012, Miguel took on the role of director and host of the ShowSthowon project.
- In 2014, the TNT channel launched the famous show “Dancing,” where he was invited as a judge along with Yegor Druzhinin. This project became so popular that the 6th season was released in 2020. Miguel held an honorable place on the jury throughout all 6 seasons. He was loved by the audience and many participants, most of whom only wanted to join his team.
This photo shoot gave fans reason to think about the possible wedding of the famous choreographer
Work in the show “Dancing” on TNT
Our hero began working in the “Dancing” project, which aired on the TNT channel in 2014. He, like Yegor Druzhinin, was a mentor to the participants and a permanent member of the jury. The third invited member of the judging committee was the artist and TV presenter Sergei Svetlakov, who was later replaced by Pavel Volya, Garik Martirosyan, Olga Buzova, Elka and other artists.
Based on the results of the selection of contestants, two teams were formed to compete with each other in the subsequent part of the project. The winner in the first season was Druzhinin's ward Ilshat Shabaev, and in the second season - a member of Miguel's team - Maxim Nesterovich.
The television project caused a stir and high ratings, so it continued in the following years. In season 4 of the program, Tatyana Denisova took the place of Yegor Druzhinin. In August 2020, the 5th edition of the project started, which is unlikely to be the last, given the growing public interest in modern dance. There are already three mentors here, since Druzhinin has returned to work.
A loud scandal was also associated with the “Dancing” project, when Sergei’s double was detained, who conducted a false casting for the project. The swindler’s accomplice was a man similar to Druzhinin. The criminals were detained.
Personal life
Miguel carefully hides his personal life. It is reliably known that the man is single. He is not seen in any dubious relationships, and his entire behavior does not provide any food for gossip regarding love affairs. One day a photo appeared in which Miguel was captured with Ukrainian singer Natalya Gordienko in wedding dresses. However, it soon became known that this was just a still from a joint video of the artists.
Miguel with Natalia Gordienko, photo shoot partner
Recently, on his Instagram , Miguel began posting joint photos with some girl. The stranger's face is hidden in all frames. The man does not give any comments regarding his possible passion. He even likes to relax alone, especially in the Maldives.
Miguel with a dog named Barium
Dancing Miguel
Participating in the television project “Dancing”, Miguel cannot remain only in the role of a mentor and member of the jury. He is inseparable from the dance, so in several numbers he acts as a partner and direct performer. One of the memorable numbers of season 4 was the duet with Yulia Gafarova. A charismatic and spectacular performance was achieved in season 5 with Alexandra Smirnova.
One of the most in demand in the world of dance and show business today is Miguel. The artist’s personal life is of interest to numerous fans, and especially female fans, since Sergei is single, but he is in no hurry to start a family, since choreography takes a lot of time. In addition, the artist tries his hand at other areas, leads a busy life, and on vacation prefers solitude with nature.
Sergey Migelevich Shesteperov is the actual name of the mentor of the “Dancing on TNT” project. He took his creative pseudonym in honor of his father, whose full name is Miguel Fernando Chamblen Mesa. Now Miguel’s father lives in his homeland, Cuba, and sees his son extremely rarely. The boy was raised by his mother, Tatyana Sergeevna Shesteperova. Miguel has two half-sisters - they live in Moscow. Three more sisters and three brothers on my father’s side live in Cuba.
Miguel was born on July 21, 1982 in the Moscow region (Khimki). He fell in love with dancing from early childhood, and the future star was especially attracted to ballet. At the age of 4, Miguel staged his first play. "Swan Lake", 4 acts. And his friend and first love Masha Ryzhkova helped him in this difficult matter. For 3 whole hours the young talents danced in front of their parents against the backdrop of curtains and chairs. From the age of 6, Sergei Shesteperov, accompanied by his mother, attended various theatrical performances. But a truly indelible impression on him was made by the performance of Michael Jackson, which Seryozha’s grandmother showed on TV. Jackson became Miguel's idol, and subsequently had a significant influence on his dance development.
Miguel went to school in Zelenograd, and in the third grade he transferred from a regular high school to the Harmony gymnasium. After fifth grade, Sergei entered the Fuete school-studio - where he also studied for only 3 years. As a result, he graduated from high school as an external student.
After moving to Moscow, Miguel entered the choreographic school at the Bolshoi Theater, where he studied for 6 years. It was during this period that he became a dancer with his own individual style.
Miguel's professional career began in 1999. It was then that he was accepted into the ballet of the popular musical “Metro,” which enjoyed great success in Russia. Miguel danced at Metro for 3 years - from 1999 to 2003. At the same time, he took part in the musical Notre Damme de Paris (2002 - 2004) - already as one of the soloists, and in 2004 - in Romeo and Juliet " Miguel calls the latter the most significant in his career. At this time, our hero met Alexei Karpenko, with whom he danced together in the musical “Metro” and with Ilshat while working together in “Notre Dame de Paris”. In the same “Metro”, Miguel was noticed by Egor Druzhinin and invited to work in “Old Songs about the Main Thing,” where Egor was a choreographer. Miguel and Druzhinin had another joint work, but even Miguel himself does not remember which one, which he honestly admitted in one of his interviews.
The year 2004 was marked by one of the most important events in Miguel’s creative career. He took part in the 5th season of “Star Factory” under the leadership of Alla Borisovna Pugacheva herself. This season opened the Russian stage to Victoria Daineko, Natalya Podolskaya, Alexandra Balakireva. Against the backdrop of such strong competitors, Miguel, nevertheless, made it to the finals, although he did not take the prize. However, he never seriously intended to make a career as a singer, and participation in this project was more of a creative experiment. But at the reporting concerts of the “Factory”, Miguel was involved as a choreographer to stage numbers for other participants. By the way, one of the choreographers of “Star Factory-5” was Garik Rudnik!
This is what Miguel looked like during the Star Factory:
And this is one of his numbers:
The next significant year in Miguel’s career is 2008. By this time, he is becoming a famous choreographer and working in more and more famous projects. So, in 2008, Miguel was invited as a choreographer in Murius Weisberg’s film “Hitler Kaput!” He also choreographed the popular group "Guests from the Future" for the video "I'm not for you." Miguel was also invited to various shows and presentations. He was the director of the Playboy Playmate of the Year ceremony, the director of Masha Tsigal's show as part of Russian Fashion Week in Moscow, and the director, choreographer and sound producer of Kira Plastinina's "Love" show.
By the way, Miguel’s personal life is a sealed secret. Nobody knows anything about her =)
In 2009, Miguel choreographed the film “Merry Men” directed by Felix Mikhailov, as well as the performance of the performer Inga & Anush at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.
In 2010, he was invited to be a choreographer in the theatrical circus show “The Secret of the Giant Elephants” at the Fontanka Circus (dir. Taisiya Kornilova). This project was nominated for the state prize of Russia and St. Petersburg. In the same year, Miguel became the director of the presentation of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in Russia. Marius Weisberg again invited him to choreograph in his film “Rzhevsky against Napoleon”.
2011 turned out to be a very productive and eventful year for Miguel. One of the most important episodes in his entire career was his work as a choreographer with the great Lyudmila Gurchenko in the film “I am Legend. Lyudmila Gurchenko."
In the spring of 2011, a grandiose dance project “Maidan's” took place in Ukraine. One of his ideological inspirers was Miguel. On the project, he acted as the main choreographer, and also served as a music producer, and was one of the jury members. The Maidan's project was officially included in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest dance show in the world. Miguel himself says that before this he had to arrange rooms for 20 people, but here - for 500. In several regional centers, and only 3 days for preparation. 4 cities per week. Miguel's assistant in the Maidan's project was Alexey Karpenko.
Also in 2011, Miguel took part in another project in Ukraine. He produced and choreographed numbers for the group “Unreal Boys” as part of the talent show “Show No. 1” on the Inter TV channel. And it was his team that became the winner of “Show No. 1”. After the end of the project, Miguel decided to continue producing the group, including filming videos for the guys, in one of which he also involved Lena Golovan. In February 2012, “Unreal” became a participant in the national selection for Eurovision 2012, taking 4th place in the final with the song “Just a Dream”. The director and choreographer of the performance was Miguel.
Performance by the group “Unreal”:
In 2011, Miguel begins to work closely with the famous director and music video director Alan Badoev. The result of their collaboration is Max Barskikh’s music video for the song “Student,” where Miguel acted as a choreographer. This was followed by work on the videos of Diana Diez & Kostas Markakis - “Sex Indigo”, Valery Meladze - “Stay with Me”, Alina Artz - “Beautiful Lie”, Zara and Alexander Rosenbaum - “Encore Love” and many others.
In 2012, Miguel was the director of the 3rd day of the International Music Festival "Crimea Music Fest" 2012, held in Yalta. Stars of Ukrainian and Russian show business performed at the festival. At the same festival, Yulia Samoilenko also danced in show ballet. And, perhaps, Vitaly Savchenko - but I don’t have exact information about him.
In the fall of 2012, a new show of the Endemol format “ShowaStgown” was launched on the Ukrainian TV channel “New Channel”, where 8 artists transformed into stage idols of all times and peoples - from Lady Gaga and Freddie Mercury to Valery Leontyev and Sofia Rotaru. Participants presented the most complex and unexpected images: much younger or older than themselves, including those of the opposite sex. The directors of the TV show were Miguel and Oleg Bondarchuk, dividing between them 4 performers on each broadcast.
In 2012, Miguel also choreographed the circus show of the Diamond Circus of Yakutia for performances at the Royal Circus (Brussels, Belgium) and at the Circus. Nikulina (Moscow). He also directed a flash mob for the BOSCO company in honor of the presentation of the new uniform of the Russian Olympic team, directed and choreographed the concert of the soloist of the Alibi group Angelina Zavalskaya “Revelation”, choreographed the performance of Max Barskikh at the show Star Factory: Russia - Ukraine.
In 2013, Miguel was the choreographer and director of numbers for the musical reality show “I WANT V VIA GRU”.
Miguel has achieved a lot in his career. And his dream was to participate in a good, professional dance project in Russia. Miguel wanted to improve the dance culture of his country, develop good taste in the viewer, and meet professional dancers not only on stage, but also on the streets of the city. And he succeeded in the DANCING project on TNT.
Let's see what heights Miguel will conquer in 2020!
Creative activity
From 1999 to 2004
Miguel performed in musicals as a ballet dancer. In 2004, he took part in the “Star Factory (Russia)” project.
In 2011, Miguel begins to work closely with Ukrainian director and music video director Alan Badoev. The result of their collaboration is Max Barskikh’s music video for the song “Student,” where Miguel acted as a choreographer. This was followed by work on the music video Diana Diez & Kostas Martakis - “Sex Indigo”, Valery Meladze - “Stay with Me”, Alina Artz - “Beautiful Lie”, Zara and Alexander Rosenbaum - “Encore Love” and many others.
Miguel was the director of the 3rd day of the International Music Festival "Crimea Music Fest" 2012, held in Yalta. Stars of Ukrainian and Russian show business performed at the festival.
The beginning of the journey: musicals
The biography and personal life of Miguel (“Dancing” on TNT) began on the big stage, namely with dancing in a musical called “Metro.” Before reaching adulthood, the guy took part in a colorful production, which served as his ticket to the big world. By the way, many famous people played in “Metro” with Miguel. Showing his best side, the guy was able to take part in no less large productions, such as Notre Dame de Paris and Romeo and Juliet.
Interesting fact: classical dance, which Miguel mastered, is the basis of choreographic art. The guy learned to convey grace, beauty, elegance with his movements. This gave the young man the opportunity to become a soloist in a ballet troupe and lay the foundation for his career growth. The artist himself has repeatedly stated that he was able to become famous only thanks to one incident. The thing is that the guy was once late for a rehearsal, as a result of which he was expelled from the troupe. This situation did not at all affect either self-esteem or Miguel’s internal state. He proudly moved on and was able to achieve greater success than in the world of ballet and musicals.
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Participation in "Dancing"
The biography of Miguel from the show “Dancing” includes an important turning point. The guy’s creative potential was noticed by the producers of the TNT channel, which is why the extraordinary choreographer was invited to become a member of the jury in the new show. The first season premiered in 2014 (August 23) and immediately gained millions of fans. Today, the popular show is produced on the same grand scale, and Miguel is still an indispensable co-producer and member of the jury.
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Participants and spectators have repeatedly noted that the guy is a serious and willful mentor who can really teach, criticize, and praise. Thanks to his experience and knowledge, Miguel was able to bring to life the most complex productions and put previously unknown participants on the pedestal.
We can safely say that the artist’s contribution to the “Dancing” show on TNT is irreplaceable, because it was thanks to him that the Russian audience became acquainted with the work of Jonte, an American choreographer who has repeatedly worked with popular singers (for example, Britney Spears).
