Taylor Swift pushed herself harder than ever to master more than three hours of choreography for the Eras Tour — a challenge she admits didn’t come naturally.
“Everybody has their strengths, and it’s taken me a really long time to even be OK at choreography,” Swift, 35, says in episode two of her docuseries The End of an Era, which premiered on Disney+ on Friday, December 12. She added that choreographer Mandy Moore understands how to teach her movement “from a lyrical perspective,” which made the process easier.
Swift partnered with Emmy-winning choreographer Mandy Moore, 49 — known for her work on Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, and La La Land — to design each routine on the Eras Tour. Moore, who is not related to the actress of the same name, also reunited with Swift for the pop star’s October release, “The Fate of Ophelia,” featured on her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl. Swift wrote the album in the midst of her global Eras Tour dates in 2024.
As Swift launched the tour, cameras captured every rehearsal, backstage moment, and creative decision for The End of an Era, giving fans an inside look at the entire journey.
Inside Taylor Swift’s Process: How She Mastered Eras Tour Dance Routines Without Traditional Counts
Taylor Swift revealed that she approaches choreography very differently from most performers, relying on lyrics rather than traditional eight-count patterns to learn her movements. “I don’t do eight counts,” she explained in The End of an Era docuseries. “I memorize choreography based on the syllables of the lyrics I’m attaching each move to. I’ve tried learning other ways, but this is the only method that makes sense to me.” Swift added that each step feels intentional because it ties into the story she’s telling onstage, not just a dance move for the sake of performing one.
She also shared how working alongside a team of top-tier professionals motivated her to stay focused during the massive Eras Tour. “This is a team of experts,” she said. “And being around people who are so good at what they do keeps me locked in. It’s the kind of pressure that feels like a privilege — they’re not messing up, so it definitely can’t be me!”
Before even diving into Mandy Moore’s choreography, Swift spent months building her stamina to handle the physically demanding show, ensuring she could perform at full intensity night after night.
Taylor Swift Reveals the Grueling Training That Built Her Stamina for the Eras Tour
Taylor Swift shared that preparing for the Eras Tour meant approaching her training with the discipline of a professional athlete. “Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud,” she told TIME in December 2023. She adjusted her pace to match each song—running fast for upbeat tracks and slowing to a jog or brisk walk for ballads. After building her cardio base, Swift spent three months in dance rehearsals to ingrain the choreography so deeply that she could interact freely with fans without losing focus.
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Swift explained that her regular gym, Dogpound, developed a custom training program to support the physical demands of the tour. The regimen mixed strength training, conditioning, and weighted workouts to help her build stamina for the three-hour shows.
Her trainer, Kirk Myers, echoed her dedication in an interview with Vogue in April 2024. “Her work ethic is incredible,” Myers said. “Most people would have to stop or lie down if they trained like her. We approached her Eras Tour preparation the same way we would train a professional athlete, with an off-season and in-season schedule. When she’s not touring, she’s in the gym up to six days a week for as long as two hours.”
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