Jenna Dewan light-heartedly shared her 12-year-old daughter Everly Tatum’s preparation for an Irish dance competition.
The Step Up alum, 44, joked via her Instagram Story on Saturday, October 25, that one of the key steps in getting Everly ready for her performance was applying “instant tanner” at 7 a.m. That’s dedication!
The early morning preparation seemingly paid off as a later video on Dewan’s Instagram Story showcased Everly effortlessly performing her formal routine.
Of course, the mom of three — who shares Everly with ex-husband Channing Tatum, plus she shares son Callum, 5, and daughter Rhiannon, 1, with fiancé Steve Kazee — has a wealth of experience to rely on as she guides her young daughter’s foray into competitive dancing.
Dewan started her career as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, Celine Dion and Pink before putting her dance experience to excellent use in her 2006 breakthrough movie Step Up.
Surprisingly, the actress previously told Us Weekly that Everly initially wasn’t interested in dancing as she grew up, despite coming from two parents with strong performance backgrounds. (Tatum costarred with Dewan in Step Up and also appeared in the Magic Mike movies.)
“We’ve always had this joke that coming from two dance parents, she just had no interest at all,” she told Us in 2022. “Recently, she’s wanted to take up Irish dancing … on her own accord.”
Dewan explained that Everly’s interest in Irish dance caught both of her parents completely by surprise since it was such a far cry from their styles.
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“She was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I want to do that,” the Come Dance with Me judge explained. “And now she’s going to Irish dance classes. She is so serious about it. She loves it. We are in it to win it … in her own way. That’s very Evie. She wants to do things in her own unique way. It’s so cool.”
At the time, Dewan hinted to Us that her son Callum may be the next member of the family to try dancing, since he has “a little swag [and] a little bounce” like his dad. (Kazee has an extensive musical theater background, including winning a Tony Award for his leading performance in Once.)
“[Callum] already has a bit of an inclination for rhythm and music,” she teased. “So we’ll see. I’m very big on not pushing [my interests] on my kids because I want them to find what they’re uniquely interested in. But yeah, they’re finding it.”
Dewan and Tatum got together in 2006 after meeting on the set of Step Up and eventually tied the knot in 2009. Both have been reluctant to publicly discuss their 2018 separation and subsequent divorce, though Tatum, 45, admitted to Variety in September that he’d worked through any issues with his ex-wife in order to coparent Evie.
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“Jenna and I are good now, but it was a painful break to have that fall apart, especially being so young,” Tatum acknowledged. “We tried to keep it together, tried for a year and a half. … It’s in the past.”
Admitting that the divorce was “tough” on the whole family, he added: “It’s really tough not to have your daughter half the time. I wish I could just have her all the time.”
Tatum has moved with long-term relationships with Jessie J first and then with Zoë Kravitz — both of which have now ended — while Dewan announced her engagement to fiancé Kazee in February 2020. Kazee and Dewan went on to welcome son Callum in March 2020 and daughter Rhiannon in June 2024.
“From the moment you arrived, you have brought immense joy and love into our lives… your gentle grace, sweetness, and beauty have captivated our entire family,” the couple wrote in a 2024 birth announcement for Rhiannon. “Our hearts are overflowing with love, and we are truly blessed by your presence. Welcome to our world baby girl.”
