BE A BALLET DANCER

BALLET is my idea of freedom: I go to forget about everything else. It’s all I do every day; I can’t imagine a day without dance. My earliest memory was when my family and I went to see the Nutcracker ballet one Christmas. I was only four or five, so I don’t remember it happening, but I cried at the end and wanted it to continue.

When I put the shoes on for the first time, I was in absolute pain. I remember crying – it was horrible, but my body got used to it. Discipline is important. I’m in second year at the Royal Conservatoire. First year was vocational and second year is hard because I’m developing into a professional dancer, which makes everything more demanding. Ballet is a lifestyle. It’s important to be fully committed to have a future in ballet or it’s impossible. If I have one day off, I get annoyed and it ruins my day, then it continues for a week and it becomes difficult to leave that mindset.

On stage, I feel every emotion; I’m just trying to do my absolute best and hide how nervous I am. I put on a pretty face and smile. That’s the beauty of ballet because everything looks easy and effortless when really my heart is pounding and I’m sweating.

Audiences look at my feet but people who understand ballet will look at my upper body and facial expressions. I never know who’s watching me so I take every opportunity to be seen. It’s important for dancers to make themselves visible in the ballet world. Competition is fierce, which makes it hard to build friendships with others on my course. There’s so many of us, fighting to stand out and be different; we’re all constantly trying to find work.

I have to take care of my body and avoid indulging, especially if I have a performance in the evening. I start the day with basic foods like porridge and avoid big lunches because I’ll usually be getting lifted into the air in the afternoon. I can have a bigger meal for dinner if I don’t have a class, but I still go to the gym and do personal training. It’s not about what I do as a dancer, it’s about what I do in my free time; I even stretch before bed. To train, compete