Channing Tatum is returning to his dancing roots. The Step Up actor, 41, revealed that he was “getting back on the saddle” and relearning how to dance again in a video shared on Instagram Story on October 14. The actor could be seen brushing up on his skills to “Essence” by WizKid and Tems in the clip he wrote he’d “probably regret” sharing in the morning.
“So here we go weekend one of exploring and getting back in the saddle,” Channing wrote atop the video. “I haven’t danced in years. And dance has moved on so much since then. I decided to document the exploration so I could see it as well, and some people just [think] you can dance, or you can’t.”
“I’m here to tell you that is not true,” he continued. “If you want to you can move and hear the music. This is gonna be a slow journey, but welcome.” Channing wrote atop a separate video, “Kids hear and feel the music so well today. I’ve been working at different things lately. So let’s go. Session one.”
“I’ll probably regrets in the morning,” he wrote in a final Instagram Story of the videos, adding, “But life always an exploration. Let’s go.” Given the myriad of projects that he’s starred in since, it’s easy to forget that the star’s breakout role was in the 2006 dance drama Step Up, which introduced him to ex-wife Jenna Dewan. The success of the film resulted in many sequels, including Step Up 2: The Streets.
Channing would return to his dancing roots once again in the 2012 film Magic Mike, where he starred as the title character, a male stripper who takes a younger performer under his wing and teaches him the ropes of the biz. The film was partially inspired by Channing’s real life past experiences as a stripper. The actor later reprised his role in the 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL.
In April, HBO Max announced that a Magic Mike reality competition series from the producers of the film, including Channing, was being developed at the streamer. Channing will serve as executive producer on the series, set to follow 10 men who will learn routines and “develop a new level of self-confidence” as they compete for a cash prize and spot in the Magic Mike Live show at Las Vegas. Perhaps a Channing dance cameo could be on the table given his latest video.