The dance teacher responsible for Beyoncé
(Credit: Wikimedia)

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The dance teacher responsible for Beyoncé

Beyoncé is one of the biggest pop stars in the world and is known for being one of the best entertainers of her generation. Rising to prominence in the early 1990s as part of the girl group Destiny’s Child, the group would go through various line-ups before they finally found commercial success as a trio.

Originally comprised of four, the group was managed by Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles. However, with Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland being lifelong friends since they were children, it is fair to say that Matthew had a vested interest in these two members and a lot of controversies arose surrounding how other members of the girl group were treated initially.

However, by 1999 the group had finally dwindled down to three members. Comprised of Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, the group would go on to achieve great success in the early noughties, but around 2003, Beyoncé, who had always been the leader of the group, decided she wanted to pursue a solo career as did Rowland.

Since her 2003 debut album, Dangerously In Love, Beyoncé has reached unbelievable heights and has become one of the best-selling pop stars of her generation, receiving all sorts of accolades. As of 2022, Beyoncé has released seven studio albums, five live albums, three compilation albums, five EPs and one soundtrack album.

However, Beyoncé’s parents didn’t always know that she could sing. As a child, Beyoncé was extremely shy. However, her mother, Tina enrolled her and her sister in a dance class. Taught by her teacher Ms Darlette, one day during the class, Beyoncé started singing along to a track they were rehearsing to. In shock and awe at her talent, Ms Darlette asked her to do it again, and she did.

When her mother and father came to pick their shy Beyoncé up from the class, Ms Darlette exclaimed, “She can sing! Your daughter can really sing, she’s amazing!” Completely bewildered and unaware that their quiet daughter had any singing capability Ms Darlette suggested they enter her in local talent shows. They did and through talent shows, she met other Houston-based singers and would go on to become part of the group Girl’s Tyme.

Girl’s Tyme would then morph into Destiny’s Child; the rest is history. Matthew Knowles never even knew his daughter could sing and most likely wouldn’t have had unless Ms Darlette brought it to his attention. Beyoncé fans should than Ms Darlette as even Beyoncé herself admitted in a 2008 interview with Ellen that she would not be where she is now if Ms Darlette had not shone a spotlight on her singing. Watch her talk about it in the interview below.