John Travolta was known for his dancing, but he reportedly hesitated when he was asked to take the floor with Princess Diana at a White House dinner in 1985.
The pair’s dance became one of the best-known moments from the evening, hosted by President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan. Diana wore a velvet gown designed by Victor Edelstein, now on display in an exhibition about her life at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
The exhibition, “Princess Diana: Love, Life, Legacy — A Life of Giving,” brings together more than 700 items connected to Diana. It was organized with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute and Renae Plant’s Princess Diana Museum.
Melissa Giller, a cultural programming executive at the Reagan foundation, said the Marine Band had been asked to rehearse music from Saturday Night Fever ahead of the dinner. The plan was for social secretary Gahl Burt to approach Travolta once the dancing began and encourage him to ask Diana for a dance.
Diana had already danced with Reagan, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck and other guests. When Burt tapped Travolta on the shoulder, though, he wasn’t sure whether he should approach the princess. After some encouragement, he went over and asked her to dance.
The two danced to music from Saturday Night Fever for about 15 minutes. The photograph of them together remains one of the most requested images in the Reagan library’s archives, Giller said.
Travolta later recalled feeling nervous about the invitation. He said he hadn’t expected to be asked, and wanted to lead the dance well and make sure Diana enjoyed herself. Greeting her and asking her to dance, he remembered, felt like the more difficult part.
He described the scene as almost dreamlike: the White House, midnight, and Diana turning to him with a smile before accepting his invitation. In a later interview, he said he had made a point of remembering the encounter as a special moment.
Travolta also recalled Nancy Reagan telling him that dancing with him was Diana’s wish. He said he approached her at midnight, tapped her shoulder and asked her to dance. Diana turned, gave a small nod, and they danced together for 15 minutes.
He said he would never forget the experience and felt honored to have shared it with her. In a 2016 interview, when asked what he would bring back from the 1980s, he said he would choose the chance to dance with Diana again, calling it one of the highlights of his life.
Giller said Diana and the Reagans had developed a close bond. Ronald Reagan missed Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles because he was recovering from an assassination attempt, so Nancy attended on his behalf. Giller said that helped bring Nancy and Diana closer, particularly after Diana became a mother.
The exhibition includes letters between Nancy and Diana, along with gifts the Reagans received from the Prince and Princess of Wales. It also aims to show Diana’s life beyond her royal role, including her concern for her family and people around the world.
The exhibition opened Nov. 7 and is scheduled to run through May 31, 2027.
