Hull dancer to fulfil World Cup dream

[Honor James]

For every Rugby League player, to perform for their country in a World Cup on home soil would be the pinnacle of their sporting career.

At the age of 33, Jon Beney, a former Hull Kingston Rovers Academy player, will finally get that chance – but as a dance leader.

 

Beney will choreograph the exciting dance programme that forms part of the dramatic pre-match entertainment ahead of the Rugby League World Cup 2013 match, Papua New Guinea v France (at the Robins’ Craven Park stadium on Sunday at 4.00pm).

The journey from sporting hopeful to dance star may not be an orthodox career change, but Beney has taken it in his elegant stride. “It’s a question I get asked all the time,” he said. “But for me it was a really natural progression. With dance you’re also training your body to the limit, you’re performing in front of an audience and you’re getting the applause."

Beney was the 1998 BARLA Player of the Year at Under18 level and had a promising career ahead of him, only to see his dreams fade because of a head injury. “You are still looking for that adrenaline, so in terms of the physicality and pushing your body it actually made perfect sense.”

Beney is one of 10 dance practitioners leading the choreography for the Rugby League World Cup 2013 dance project. As part of the pre-match entertainment for all the World Cup games, local dance groups will take part in a viral dance on the pitch.

 

Beney happened upon the role of dance practitioner, having originally intended to be part of the opening ceremony in Cardiff. “I went to the audition to be part of the 50 that are performing in the opening ceremony,” he said. “But when I mentioned my background in teaching they didn’t offer me the performance job, they offered me the teaching job. And I think that having the Hull KR academy stuff on my CV appealed to them as well.”

Interestingly, this is not the first time Beney has linked Rugby League with dancing.

 

“With some funding from Hull City council to run summer schools a couple of years ago,” he said, “I went down to teach breakdance at my old Rugby club, but when I introduced myself to the lads I got the general response of ‘I’m not dancing.’  So I said, `I used to play Rugby here,' which they didn’t believe until I showed them a picture of me on the wall with the National Cup, League Cup and Yorkshire Cup.

 

"All of a sudden it became cooler for them to get involved in the dance side of things.”

Tickets for the RLWC2013 fixture Papua New Guinea v France at Craven Park,
Hull, on Sunday October 27 (4.00pm) in limited supply
from just £10 for adults and £5 concessions

Buy now at www.rlwc2013.com/tickets
or call the 24-hour Ticket Hotline on 0844 847 2013.