Taylor Swift’s Choreographer Gets Real About the Pop Star’s “Bad Rap” as a Dancer

Mandy Moore opens up about helping Swift shake off the insecurities and find her footing for the record-breaking Eras Tour.

It’s hard to imagine Taylor Swift being insecure about anything these days. She’s toppling chart records, selling out stadiums globally, and arguably running the music industry. But according to her choreographer, Mandy Moore, the pop titan had to overcome some serious mental hurdles regarding her dance skills before hitting the Eras Tour stage.

Moore, a heavyweight in the dance world known for her work on La La Land and Silver Linings Playbook, recently sat down with The New York Times to discuss her collaboration with Swift. She revealed that the internet's years of roasting Swift's moves took a toll on the singer's confidence.

"She Was Really in Her Head"

"She’d gotten a bad rap for a long time about her dancing, so she was really in her head," Moore explained.

For years, Swift's "awkward" dancing was a favorite punchline for trolls on social media. Moore's strategy wasn't to force Swift into becoming a different kind of performer, but to lean into what felt natural. "We shifted the focus to how movement was already manifesting in her body—the way she naturally wanted to move," Moore said.

The process involved less rigid instruction and more sculpting. "Then we fine-tuned that: ‘OK, that looks a little weird with your shoulders,’ or, ‘Let’s straighten your knee here.’"

The Tenacity of a Showgirl

Despite the initial nerves, Moore had nothing but praise for Swift’s work ethic. "I really admire Taylor’s tenacity. She works so hard," Moore noted. "Whatever I was putting down, she was picking up."

Moore also highlighted one of Swift's most defining traits: her intentionality. "She’s very clear about what she wants, which I love. I find I can’t create unless I have some parameters. The ‘do whatever you want’ thing, for me, it just feels like chaos."

That hard work is currently on display not just on the Eras Tour, but in the music video for "The Fate of Ophelia," the lead visual from Swift's twelfth studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl.

Embracing the Chaos

Swift herself has been vocal about making peace with public perception. Speaking to Apple Music recently, she addressed the mixed reactions to her new era with a level of zen that only comes from two decades in the spotlight.

"I welcome the chaos," Swift said. "The rule of show business is if it’s the first week of my album release, and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping."

She continued, describing her music as a mirror for her audience. "I have a lot of respect for people’s subjective opinions on art—I’m not the art police... Oftentimes an album is a really, really wild way to look at yourself—what you’re going through in your life is gonna affect whether you relate to the music I’m putting out at any given moment."

Whether you love her moves or hate them, it’s clear Swift is done letting the "bad rap" keep her from dancing like nobody's watching—even when millions are.