The Croatian Dancer Taking London by Storm

Six years ago she was dancing on local television shows in Croatia and in music videos for pop stars such as Nina Badrić, today 28-year-old Petra Hajduk is getting to rub shoulders with some big names…

Petra initially moved from Zagreb to London in 2008 to complete one year of study at Trinity Laban, the UK’s only conservatoire of music and contemporary dance. That one year has turned into 6, and plenty of doors have opened since for the Croatian.

“I intended to come back to Zagreb,” Petra told daily Jutarnji list, “but I fell completely in love with London. I was satisfied in Croatia because I was working a lot there, but I wanted more,” explains Petra, who has worked with some famous names in London, such as Franz Ferdinand, Cheryl Cole and Dita Von Teese, and danced at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

“I appeared in the Dita Von Teese show in one club as one of her assistants. It was my favourite job and Dita impressed me. She does not act like a star, she knows what she wants and precisely tells you,” said Hajduk.

Petra was one of the dancers in the Franz Ferdinand’s music video “Love Illumination”, and has danced in commercials for Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, H&M, and Jay Z. One of her last assignments was dancing side by side with Cheryl Cole on the popular show X-Factor when she performed her hit “I don’t care”.

“Cole is a really nice person. She hung out with us dancers, and wanted us to support her as she was really nervous before the performance. She came up to me and asked me where I was from and said that I have a nice face and that I look like a model. I simply couldn’t believe that such a beautiful woman, beautiful with hardly any make-up on her face, said that to me,” said Petra.

Petra, who received an offer recently to appear as a dancer in the Georgia version of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’, has also done a bit of modelling and acting, getting a small role in the new series “Episodes” featuring David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc from Friends fame.

Petra with ‘Joey’ from Friends

“I couldn’t believe that I talked to Joey from Friends, a series I watch for years,” Hajduk said, adding that London was an expensive place to live with a lot of competition making finding work everyday quiet stressful.

Although still connected to Zagreb, Petra looks like she is staying put in London for now.