Alison Jiear

Alison Jiear (born 6 May 1965) is a popular cabaret artist and musical theatre performer on the London cabaret circuit. Jiear was trained at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Australia.

Life and career

Jiear was one of The Fabulous Singlettes, an Australian girl trio specialising in Motown girl group covers. They appeared at London's Piccadilly Theatre in 1988.

Her West End musical theatre credits include Shoes at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, On the Town at the English National Opera & Theater Du Chatelet, Paris, Hot Mikado, Jerry Springer: The Opera at the Royal National Theatre and Sydney Opera House and Grease. She was also featured in the motion picture Being Julia.

Jiear was nominated for the 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Jerry Springer: The Opera, in which she played the character of Shawntel, a woman who dreams of becoming a pole dancer. Though never paid for the project, a remixed version of her rendition of "I Just Wanna Dance" from the musical became a popular dance track in nightclubs in the U.S., Europe and Australia.

Just Wanna Dance

"Just Wanna Dance" is a single by American singer La Toya Jackson. It is taken from her EP Startin' Over released in 2011. It peaked at #13 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, making it her highest charting single.

Song information

After six years in seclusion after escaping an abusive relationship with late former husband and manager Jack Gordon, La Toya Jackson returned to the studio to record an autobiographical album entitled Startin' Over. "Just Wanna Dance" was recorded in 2002, but it wasn't until 2004 that it was released as Startin' Over's lead single.

Jackson began work on the song by visiting night clubs to hear what sort of music people were dancing to. To accomplish this, Jackson disguised herself as a male alter-ego named "Toy." As a result, the song's sexually ambiguous lyrics describe a ribald night out at a club where the party-goers "don’t know if I’m a he or a she".

The single was initially released under Jackson's nickname Toy, so disc jockeys would give the record a fair chance before tossing it aside. To Jackson's satisfaction, the strategy worked. Jackson phoned DJs who had played her track to reveal "Toy's" true identity saying, “One phone call at a time, I am letting them know all about Toy. While some of them knew that Toy was me, others were surprised. The overall response has been rewarding and encouraging.”

Just Wanna Dance (Todd Terry Project song)

"Just Wanna Dance" is 1988 release by influential, New York, DJ/producer known as Todd Terry Project. Along with the track, "Weekend", "Just Wanna Dance" made it to number one on the dance charts for one week. Terry's single did not place on any other charts.

References