Marianela Núñez

Presenter0:01

BBC Sounds, Music, Radio Podcasts. Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne and this is the Desert Island Discs Podcast. Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island. And for rights reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast. I hope you enjoy listening.

Presenter0:44

My castaway this week is the dancer Marionella Núñez. One of the leading lights of her art form, she is principal dancer at the Royal Ballet Company, with whom she's spent a remarkable 26 years. She calls them her family. Her performances have earned her the nickname the Queen of Covent Garden. She started dancing when she was still a toddler, and by the age of five she'd set her heart on classical ballet. When she wasn't in the studio, she was watching VHS copies of Royal Ballet performances and dreaming of her chance to join the company.

Presenter1:15

She started dancing at home in Argentina when she was still a toddler. At fifteen years old she moved to London on her own to pursue that dream, and despite speaking no English quickly rose through the ranks to become principal dancer in two thousand two.

Presenter1:30

She's danced every heroine in the company repertoire and has won praise for her strength, athleticism and infectious joy. For more than 20 years she's cemented her reputation by showcasing her dramatic and emotional range and with guest appearances at the most prestigious theatres and galas around the world. She says, Ballet has given me a lot of happiness. Even in my darkest moments, when I come to class, grab the bar and start to listen to the music, everything makes sense. Marianella Nunez, welcome to Desert Island Discs. Hello, thank you so much for having me here. I'm already emotional. Just wanted to share these challenges. I'm not going to have a chance, do I?

Marianela Núñez2:04

Yeah.

Presenter2:09

A huge honour to be here, so thank you very much. Marion Elwood, delighted to have you. So you're currently playing Cinderella, and I'm talking to you just after opening night, so I'm not surprised that you're feeling emotional today. Talk me through the emotional journey that you go on when a new production is the curtains going up and it's all beginning. Every night is very special at the Royal Ballet and Opera. But obviously, an opening night gives an extra buzz. Must be a huge adrenaline rush too. When you come off stage, when you hang up your tutu, how long does it take to come down from that?

Marianela Núñez2:26

Beginner

Presenter2:41

Oh, it takes forever. You know, if it's a great show, you're buzzing and you could be two o'clock in the morning and I'm still around the house arranging the flowers that I got on the stage, having a captive. You can take them home on the first night. Absolutely. And, you know, I take the tube. I'll see you with all the bouquets. And a lot of people say, yeah, they're like, is it your birthday? I'm like.

Speaker 32:53

Having a message.

Speaker 32:57

So you have a

Marianela Núñez3:01

And what do people say?

Presenter3:04

Yes, it is. But I don't quite explain it. I I just go along with that. And then I get home and I have a little bit of dinner. You know, it's actually a very special time. I do love it just to take it all in. Think about the evening

Marianela Núñez3:15

Think about

Presenter3:16

Enjoy that feeling. And, you know, I arrange the flowers around the house with my cats and I put my pajamas and my cashmere socks. And it just, you know, it's a lovely moment to just calm down and reflect about the whole evening. Marionella, in your job, shoes are everything, understandably. So tell me about yours, because I read that you sew them and prepare them yourself, which surprised me. Is that how usual is that for a Prima ballerina? It's part of our lives, and I have done it since a very young age. At the beginning, my mum used to do it.

Presenter3:48

I'm very spoiled. I have great parents and my mom, again, we will talk about her later, so I don't want to spoil too much about it, but she will prepare the shoes for me. Now, when I moved to England, obviously mama wasn't around anymore, so I had to learn how to do that myself. And to prepare one pair of shoes, it probably takes me about half an hour. Like sewing the ribbons, the elastic, and then I do some darning the base of the shoes. And it's all very personal, so each ballerina will do something different. But it will take me, let's say, about 30 minutes. Now, if you think about it, I probably will wear about two pairs of shoes a day. A day? A day. So I'm constantly sewing. In fact, my toes, they're not the prettiest toes because of all the hard work, but actually, one of my fingers, actually, I guess I have like a little colours. You have like a tailor's little tailor's. You know, years and years of doing that. And is it part of a ritual for you? Are you a rituals person before you go on stage? Yeah, I have a lot of those. They are a big part of my life. So what do you do together? I am very lucky. I have my own dressing room.

Marianela Núñez4:38

Yeah, little tailor's finger.

Marianela Núñez4:46

Yeah.

Marianela Núñez4:50

So what do you do to get on

Presenter4:56

It's a very special place for me. I walk into that dressing room day after day and it's my safe space, you know, it's like home, really, it really is. And I prepare my shoes there or, you know, or taping my toes, you know, like I tape my toes every day in a specific way. And how do you like your dressing room to be? Super tidy. Okay.

Marianela Núñez5:16

Okay.

Presenter5:17

It's pre a neat place. Okay, so everything is under control. Yeah. Uh, let's say before I go on the stage w as dancers, uh, we like to keep warm. We need to keep warm. And so I have a lot of uh layers, like warmers and like a little shawl and

Marianela Núñez5:21

Yeah.

Marianela Núñez5:29

Yeah.

Presenter5:34

Most dancers will just take them off and then just like leave them. I fold each piece before I go on the stage. And it's a little bit like, you know, Rafael Nadal, who just retired, and I'm a huge fan. And you know how he places his bottles and like little soldiers. And I'm literally like him. It's interesting because I was just going to say, I've interviewed so many athletes and sports people who that for them, it's that meticulousness, that discipline is all part of what they're doing. It's part of that entire day and that approach to everything really. Absolutely. And it does something to me. It's like I feel better. Marianella, we're going to be hearing your eight tracks that you've chosen to take to the island today. What's disc number one?

Marianela Núñez5:44

I'm hooked.

Marianela Núñez5:46

Yeah.

Presenter6:17

So we are going to have Astopia Solas adios nonino. And why have you chosen it? I'm going to have to contain myself. So obviously it's thinking about my roots. I left home when I was 15 years old, which is a very young age. And it was a huge deal, obviously, to just cross the ocean, leave my family behind. In Buenos Aires, yes. In Buenos Aires. So I was born in Argentina, in Buenos Aires, the fourth child, so it's a big family. Three boys before me. My parents kept trying because they wanted the girl and finally I arrived. And then to get a ballerina, if that's what they were after. Exactly. Well, my mom kind of did. She wanted to be a dancer herself and her parents didn't let her do it. And so when I arrived, obviously my mom had enough of football and she was like, this is it. I've got the girl. I'm going to dress her in pink.

Marianela Núñez6:42

Yeah.

Marianela Núñez6:55

Yeah.

Marianela Núñez6:55

Hey, baby.

Presenter7:11

And send me to dance lessons. Now, what she didn't expect.

Presenter7:16

is what's happening now. So tell me about this piece of music. This obviously it's emotional for you because it takes you home. It makes me think of my roots. And you know, it was such a big deal when I arrived here. I was homesick big time.

Presenter7:32

And you know, this was 1997 where internet wasn't what it is now. No video calls. I remember I used to have to call my parents in a public phone and put coins. And I mean, it was so expensive. By the time I used the coins, I could have just said probably, hi, ma, and then that was it. And when I say I was homesick, I really was homesick. Piazzola is a huge part of our Argentine culture. His music is phenomenal. Even if you have ice in your veins, you will feel something. And it just really puts me in touch with my roots, with my family, with everything. The beginning. The beginning of everything.

Marianela Núñez7:58

Ain't you?

Presenter8:39

Adios Noninho Asto Piazzola.

Presenter8:43

So, Nella, tell me about your Argentinian roots. You were born in Buenos Aires, nineteen eighty two, and as you mentioned, you were the younger sister to three older brothers. Your parents are Noberto and Elena. Were either of them dancers?

Presenter8:57

Nobody danced at home, but my mom was the one that wanted to be a ballerina. Oh, I don't know if she wanted to be a ballerina, but definitely she would have liked to study ballet. So when I arrived, and my mom sent me to take some dance lessons and in a little studio close to my house, a few blocks away, and it was in a garage. So the teacher will take her car out before the lesson started. And it wasn't just ballet. But by the time I was five, I asked my mom that I just wanted to concentrate on ballet but properly. So she had to look for a proper studio. Had you seen a ballet at that hour?

Marianela Núñez9:33

Had you seen a ballet at that point?

Presenter9:35

That's the thing. Like, really, I hadn't. I saw my first Full Left Ballet, which was Swan Lake. And London Festival Ballet was on tour in Argentina at the Teatro Colón, which is our beautiful opera house over there. And that's when I saw ballet for the first time. But until then, I hadn't. You were five at that point? Yeah. So what was it about ballet that you liked? What is it about the idea of ballet? There wasn't an I mean a five-year-old child can't say, I want this and I want to do it for real if you haven't even seen it or at home nobody's spoken about ballet because it wasn't there. So really I can't explain it. And the reason why I asked my mom to take me to another studio is because

Presenter10:15

My other my my friends who will go to probably kindergarten with me, like they were there to play and I wanted to play too, but at some point I was like, No, I won't

Presenter10:23

To take this seriously. So, those things for a five-year-old, you really can't I can't explain it. Your mum, how did she react to all of that? She was obviously she loved the idea of you dancing and and wanted that for you, but this kind of seriousness, this drive, and your dad too, how did they respond to that? How lucky I have been to have parents like that that really listened. So, my mum found another studio where they just did ballet lessons. And as soon as I walked in, this teacher saw me and she told my mom she has all the physical conditions, like talent.

Marianela Núñez10:55

Take it.

Presenter10:56

But what's impressive as well is the focus and how hungry I was. So your parents took you seriously. Your mum was a stay-at-home mum, so she spent a lot of time, obviously, taking you to class and making sure you got where you needed to be. Your dad, meanwhile, he had a a serious job to do because he was a a policeman, which I imagine was very tough in the eighties in in Buenos Aires.

Marianela Núñez10:59

Mm-hmm.

Presenter11:17

Yeah, exactly. Huge job. So, my dad was a policeman, and it's not really what he wanted to do.

Presenter11:25

He needed to get a job because his parents couldn't support him to go to uni. What had he wanted to do? He then retired and then when he retired he said, Now I'm going to do what I wanted to do and he wanted to be a lawyer. So he went back to university when he was fifty years old.

Presenter11:40

Just to fulfil his dream. Not because he wanted to work as a lawyer, but just because he wanted to do it, like he wanted to fulfil his passion. So I'm very proud. And your eyes are shining. I don't think you'll mind me saying, you know, this is very emotional for you to talk about that. It is because even now when things are a bit shaky or I pick up the phone and with just a few words

Marianela Núñez11:55

Yeah.

Presenter12:05

He always makes me feel better and always makes me kind of have that extra energy to just go and get on with life in such a beautiful way. And I can hear where your discipline has come from as well and your absolute commitment to what you're doing. I think on that note, Marionella, we'd better have some more music. Your second choice today, what's it going to be and why are you taking it with you to the island? Talking about my dad, I've chosen Juan Manuel Serrat's Hoy Puedecer un Grandía. This could be a good day. This might be a good day. This could be a great day. He's a singer that my dad loved.

Marianela Núñez12:35

Do you think?

Presenter12:40

And every time we were in the car we would listen to him. I love him too actually. He's a beautiful, beautiful singer. And this song is So My Dad. Like it doesn't matter where you're at, he always says you could always have a great day if you Sorry.

Presenter12:58

Uh if you want to.

Speaker 313:00

Imrecible, how if you're not going to be able to do it.

Speaker 313:06

Is the weather.

Speaker 313:19

Which man is too grande?

Speaker 313:23

Come next.

Presenter13:29

Juan Manuel Serrat, hoy puedes ser un grandia. So, Nella, you took ballet seriously from a very young age, as we've heard, and you started at the Teatro Colón Ballet School in Buenos Aires, aged eight. Talk me through your typical day back then, because from what I've heard, it's it was pretty gruelling.

Presenter13:48

Yeah, when I think about it, I was like, Oh my God, how did I do it? How my family did it really. My home was about an hour and a half away from the main school, this Teatro Colon school. So it was in the center of the city and we just lived outside. The car journey took really long.

Presenter14:05

The first class at the Teatro Cologne school was at 8 a.m. So that will mean that by probably 5.30 I will have to wake up. I couldn't even open my eyes, so my mum will literally and I'm not just she will pick me up and take me to where we will have breakfast and I would literally put my head on the table.

Presenter14:26

And she will do my bun, she will do my hairstyle when I was still sleeping. And then I will suddenly open my eyes a little bit, and then I had a little bit of breakfast.

Marianela Núñez14:27

She was the one.

Presenter14:36

Then we will get into the car, and I had a little pillow and a duvet, and my grandma would have prepared lunch, and the car was ready to go. My mum will drive me to the Teatro Colón school. And then the lessons were from 8 a.m. till like probably 12:30. And my mum will be waiting for me. I will get back into the car, I will have lunch, and she will drive me back to my neighborhood because that's where I did my academic school. So that was in the afternoons? Yes, it's another an hour and a half drive.

Marianela Núñez15:06

Yeah.

Presenter15:09

So you've already been, what, three hours on the road by this point? By this point.

Marianela Núñez15:10

So,

Presenter15:13

And I will do my academic school and then my mum will pick me up again and we will do another hour at a bit because I will have my private lessons with my private teacher back in the center of the city. I will do another hour and a half of uh ballet lesson and then she will pick me up again and then we will walk back home. That is extraordinary. And I did this from eight until I came here, until I was fifteen. Extraordinary for a child.

Presenter15:42

That extraordinary for my mother. For your mum as well. Well, for the whole family,'cause then she's away from my brothers. Uh that's why the whole family

Marianela Núñez15:44

For your money.

Marianela Núñez15:45

Is that what

Marianela Núñez15:48

From my brothers.

Presenter15:51

Shifted and did everything they could offer me to fulfil my dreams. You know, they never doubted it. I never heard them, not even my brothers, complain like, oh my God. Everybody obviously was recognizing your talent and backing you. That must have been a bit of pressure, too. Now I'm becoming more and more aware of that.

Presenter16:11

That definitely was none of that. It was not the recognition, it was not the pressure of people saying, Oh my God, you got the talent, you got

Presenter16:19

It's literally, it's like I need to dance. It's my oxygen for real. There is no doubt. It's what I need. And what does that feel like? What does it feel like when you're dancing?

Presenter16:29

Any word I will choose, it won't even come close to describe what I feel. I it's like how I can't describe why I wanted to dance, I can't describe what it feels like, it's just it's too big, it's too good, it's too it's but the the closest it will be that is is my object and it's what I need to leave.

Presenter16:49

All right, let's have some more music. Your third choice today, if you wouldn't mind. What are we going to hear next, Nella, and why are you taking it with you?

Marianela Núñez16:53

What are we going to hear next?

Presenter16:55

This is who my mom and it's Ava's dancing queen. I'm not a huge fan of Ava myself, but my mom loves them. In those journeys back and forth, there was a lot of Ava in the car digital. And I had to because she loves it.

Speaker 317:30

Ooh, see that girl, watch that sea, digging the dancing queen.

Presenter17:44

ABBA and Dancing Queen for your mum. You must have spent a lot of time in the car, the two of you. You must have been very close because you can't avoid talking to each other in that kind of situation. My mum is a great friend, and the generosity that she has, I mean, to do that.

Marianela Núñez17:53

That shit

Presenter18:00

Hours and hours and hours. And some of those car journeys, there were a lot of tears because I felt something that wasn't working or insecure. And she was there supporting me all the way. So, Marianella Nunez, tell me then about the choice you had to make when you were 15 because you got the chance to audition for the Royal Ballet when they were on tour in LA. But you had to decide between having the customary quinceñera 15th birthday celebration, which is a big deal in Argentina, or getting that plane ticket and auditioning in LA. How difficult was it? Correct. And it wasn't very difficult.

Presenter18:39

I mean, when my parents told me, it was like, you know, you know, you can't have both, so what do you go? I mean, there was not even thirty seconds of yeah, it was like, I'm going to LA.

Marianela Núñez18:47

But yeah, was that

Presenter18:50

So I auditioned for five days. So I was doing class with the company every day and it was kind of making a little buzz because I was only fifteen. So nobody I mean

Presenter19:01

people still in the school. And there I was. And well I didn't tell you that I had joined the the main Argentine company at the Teatro Colón when I was fourteen. So you were already dancing professionally. So I was already dancing and and main roles and they couldn't understand how a child could be

Marianela Núñez19:11

Professionals.

Presenter19:17

Confident in a good way, yeah? Yes, and it was an interesting trajectory for you because, as you say, at home you were already dancing professionally, but being just fifteen, when you got a place with the Royal Ballet, you were too young to perform here. So you went back to the school for a year. Even though I had my contract, I couldn't work in England until I was sixteen.

Speaker 319:33

Frea

Presenter19:39

they offer me to go to the Royal Ballet school. So now for a fifteen year old child who has been dancing professionally and I had already started traveling and sharing the stage with some of the dancers actually from the Royal Ballet in some galas and doing main roles, suddenly to go back to school.

Presenter19:56

It was very confusing. And to also move here at fifteen on your own, not speaking the language, I mean, it must have been a major shock to the system. Emotionally, yeah. I was all over the place, and that's why at some point I had to start doing like some cutting survival mode. To cut the cord with your whole human family. And this is, again, where Ballet comes to.

Marianela Núñez20:12

Exactly in family.

Presenter20:17

My, you know, saving me all the time, like knowing what I wanted to do and focusing on that, and knowing that that was part of the process. Again, looking back, definitely the best thing that ever happened to me that I went back to school, it was the perfect way for me. It was, I was too young to be performing, so I needed to finish my studies. I had a chance to learn the language, I had a chance to understand the Royal Ballet style. How did you learn the language? Just 15, obviously, being at school would have helped, but I mean, it's not quite the same thing as just the way that people speak to each other to learn formally. Is different to learning how to actually, you know, live in a country and talk the way people talk. Yeah, I remember it was hard. So, a lot of tears. I remember going to a bank and I had to open a bank account as a student, but I couldn't tell. So, I was like miming in front of this. It was too long. You're miming opening with your hands. I need to open an account. It was crazy. So, Blockbuster was quite big at the time. Oh, the the video shop.

Marianela Núñez20:53

So

Marianela Núñez21:05

Yeah.

Marianela Núñez21:07

Yeah.

Presenter21:16

And every weekend I will start renting the Friends series in A H S. So you're watching videos of Friends? Yeah. I could watch them forever. I love them. And that's how I learned English, wa watching those videos. Thank you, Chandler Bing. Yes. It's a huge decision to make as such a young girl that, isn't it? How do you feel looking back at your fifteen year old self? How do you feel about her now?

Marianela Núñez21:31

Thank you, Chandra.

Presenter21:43

I am proud. I know it sounds probably a bit snobby to say that, or but for a fifteen year old child to be so brave to leave your family behind and just so focus and so determined and knowing at all times that, you know, I had this family on the other side of the world doing every I mean, it was hard for them to be, you know, that year in school, you know, to maintain me and not give up and just work hard and but always loving.

Presenter22:17

What I was doing. So, well done, Lil Nella. Yeah, well done, Lil Nella.

Marianela Núñez22:21

Yeah, well done little Nella.

Presenter22:24

Alright, time for some more music. Disc number four, what have you got for us?

Presenter22:28

So this is just for me and it's something that I listen to before like while I'm getting ready for shows. So before a show and it's Queen's Don't Stop Me Now. A few bars in and your energy levels just go up to the roof. It's phenomenal. Before a show, you know, it's quite

Presenter22:46

An intense moment, and you could feel quite vulnerable.

Presenter22:52

is a moment where I am doubting. I know some artists say you don't have to doubt and you know, once you then I do. I do have a lot of doubts. I get nervous and yeah, I feel vulnerable. And this is something that only with Ballet and oh with Marianella the ballerina, which is only just one part of me, obviously, I can deal with anything when I'm

Presenter23:17

doing ballet when I'm connected with, yeah, my ballerina side. This is a track that's always there because it just gives me some some extra energy and confidence and it just makes me feel good. Yeah, this is a dose of invincibility, this track, isn't it? Exactly.

Speaker 323:32

I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Goddiver. I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me. I'm burning through the sky. 200 degrees, you're smiling. Call me Mr. Fahrenheit. I'm traveling at the speed of light. I wanna make a supersonic man out of you.

Speaker 323:57

Stop me now! I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball.

Presenter24:03

Queen and don't stop me now.

Presenter24:08

So, Nella, you rose through the ranks pretty quickly. You were promoted to first soloist and then principal, but it was a while before you got those big solo roles. What was that period like for you? Because as you mentioned, you didn't have a conventional trajectory. You know, you'd been professional, then gone back to school, then gone back into the corps, the ballet, and then worked your way up. Brau. So, again, bumpy and emotional and scary.

Presenter24:33

Because I knew what I had in me, I knew if I had the chance to work.

Presenter24:38

A lot of things will come out, like I knew it. But somehow, even though I had had my promotions, there wasn't actually a place for me in the company, and I totally understood why. When I joined the company, we had huge stars. I mean, Darcy Bassell was there, Sylvie Yem, and then Alina Koshukaru joined, and Tamara and Viviana Durante was still there, and Liam Benjamin. I mean, beautiful, big stars.

Presenter25:04

I had had a few chances, and those chances gave me the promotions. So I could see that they were aware of my talent. But then I got my position, but then there wasn't actually enough room for me to fit in. And I understood again for being young, I had the maturity to understand that, but that didn't take away that feeling of being totally scared that maybe I will never have a space. Well, because at that point, you don't know how long your career is going to be. So you have this extra time pressure too. Exactly. And even though now I am having a long career, you can't do this forever. So you want to be on the stage. You want to try those roles. You want to be there. You don't want to waste any time.

Presenter25:47

So it was quite scary, and I felt very, very sad. Looking back, I could say it was the best thing that happened to me because what it did.

Presenter25:55

It made me question myself.

Presenter25:58

It made me work even harder in the things that I needed to work. It made me understand the art form and the institution better and respect everything much more. And now, you know, as I said, you've danced every major role in the canon and you know these pieces inside out. You've often played, as you say, multiple roles in different ballets, but you've often been called upon at the very last minute to perform. I mean, there have been numerous occasions, I think. I wonder what the closest curtain call you've had has been.

Presenter26:30

It's like in an emergency. In an emergency because you know the piece and you can do it. Many of those also have helped me to either get a promotion or to get, you know, things. And the closest I remember, we were in a run of Don Quixote.

Presenter26:44

And I had done the night before performance with Carlos Acosta. And then the following day, my ex husband was actually dancing Don Quixote with another ballerina in a company called Fumi Caneco. And so I was watching from the wings.

Speaker 326:58

Yeah.

Presenter26:58

And I remember we just had got our flat, so I was also like I will watch him dance and then when they will come out, I will just was choosing um home furniture.

Presenter27:09

So you were like, Do you like this coffee? Yeah, I was like, and as they were dancing, I could see the Fumi.

Marianela Núñez27:10

Yeah, I was

Presenter27:16

Suddenly does something quite strange and she injured her knee.

Presenter27:21

So they had to c bring the curtain down.

Presenter27:24

And I remember my incredible boss, who I love, Kevin O'Hare.

Presenter27:29

Walking to check on her and they were really worried. And but obviously those things are heartbreaking because the show has to go on. Yeah. So he turned around and he was like, Can you? And I was like, Yeah, of course. And of course you like, just let me check this basket. Yeah, let me just pay for this one and then we go.

Speaker 227:35

Yeah.

Speaker 327:40

Yeah.

Speaker 227:40

We like

Speaker 227:42

Yeah.

Speaker 327:42

Uh

Presenter27:46

And he was like, no, please be careful, but if you can, please go. So they did my hair. I only put red lipstick on.

Presenter27:55

Shoes on, and then I did the show. So, and how was it? You know, those shows where you just jump in at the last minute.

Marianela Núñez27:57

So

Presenter28:02

They're great because no pressure. You're not overthinking. You're saving and you're not overthinking. So it was actually a really great show.

Speaker 328:05

You know what I mean?

Marianela Núñez28:05

Yeah.

Presenter28:09

So Marianella Nunez, time for some more music I think. It's disc number five. What are we going to hear next? Ah, it has to be here. So Tchaikovsky, I can't imagine my ballerina life without Tchaikovsky. It was very hard to choose just one because I love all the Tchaikovsky scores. If one day I meet him, a huge hug for him. You're pointing at heaven when you say that. I'm pointing at heaven here, by the way.

Marianela Núñez28:35

I'm pointing at heaven, by the way.

Presenter28:37

I forget this is a radio program. But anyway, I've gone for the Rosadagro.

Presenter28:43

And so which character is this for, for Princess Aurora? This is Princess Aurora.

Marianela Núñez28:45

Princess

Presenter28:48

One of the most beautiful but hard ballets for a ballerina. I have and I'm not just saying it, seriously, I have total pleasure.

Presenter29:01

Performing this this body, this round.

Presenter30:02

The Rosadagio from Act One of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty, performed by the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by Mark Irmler. So, where did you go? You were completely absorbed by that music. You were transported. Where did it take you? I kind of want to put my Poinchers on, I can do it.

Presenter30:21

And seriously, probably this is one of the most scary parts of the ballet because you're dancing with four different princes and it's about ten minutes long. The whole Rosadash and the technical challenges are huge.

Presenter30:35

But wow, it's just too good. And I just get to dance with that and I get to do my job with it. So it's incredible.

Presenter30:42

So listen, let's talk about the collaborative aspect of what you do because you are principal dancer, but of course it is a creative relationship and you know you've danced with many wonderful partners in your career, a couple of whom you've been in relationships with. In 2011 you married fellow dancer Thiago Suarez and you had a very successful creative partnership too. How were you able to separate stage and home? To what extent could you do that? I don't think that ever happened. It was quite hard.

Marianela Núñez31:09

Yeah.

Presenter31:12

I mean, it's impossible. Even the people that say that they do it, mm, I don't know, questionable, unless they are really pff-I don't know.

Presenter31:20

They should give the tools for that. And why is that? Is that because of the discipline itself and the art form itself, or is it because of the personality of dancers?

Marianela Núñez31:23

You still use that?

Marianela Núñez31:29

Let it

Presenter31:29

I think all of it probably. Our jobs are very intense and we work ballet classes at 10.30 and we don't leave the theater until you know half past six. And then if where there is a show, it's until eleven o'clock at night. And so we leave there. And when you're dancing with the other person, you know, you you're literally sharing every single moment of your life with that person, which is beautiful.

Marianela Núñez31:48

Yeah.

Presenter31:51

And it's great because obviously you're both sharing your passions and you're working towards a goal and it's lovely. But obviously if you don't know how to separate, it could be very intense. And with Thiago it was really lovely. We were together for 13 years and we had a lot of our debuts together and then at some point it didn't work out. Remarkably, you kept dancing together throughout your breakup and after your divorce and while you were breaking up you you kept it

Marianela Núñez32:11

The remote

Presenter32:18

secret, private, from other dancers. So you were still performing together and nobody knew. Yeah, that was a huge especially for two Latin people. Very fiery, the two of us. Can you imagine? I mean.

Presenter32:31

And also in a ballet company where people know everything. I mean, we live on top of you know, so it was a challenge. After we got divorced, yeah, we carried on dancing together. So Thiago stayed in the company for about, I think probably I will say, two or three other years and and we were doing Romeo and Juliet together and Onyagin and we stayed really good friends.

Presenter32:51

Nella, you have had an extraordinary career. I wonder, do you have a favorite role, or is that too difficult to call? Because I have chosen a track with it. I could say that probably Giselle was a role

Presenter33:05

That I had always wanted to do since I started my ballot training.

Presenter33:11

I think it's a very significant role for every vallerina. Every vallerina wants to do this ballet.

Presenter33:18

Recently another dream of mine was to guess with the Paris Opera Ballet.

Presenter33:23

And I can't tell you. Like, seriously, it was probably one of the most special times of my career, but also of my life.

Presenter33:32

Because my family came.

Presenter33:34

Because they knew how much I had been waiting for that. Kevin, my director, was there.

Presenter33:39

I had about 15 friends that came to see me. The place was an incredible opera house. I mean, I wanted to hug every wall, the studios, the history. Part of my heart stayed there. You left the place. Yeah, and I waited over 20 years to happen. So it did. And it was with this wonderful ballet that means a lot to me.

Marianela Núñez33:52

You left it behind.

Presenter35:05

Part of the finale from Giselle by Adolphe Adam, played by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, conducted by Richard Bonning.

Presenter35:14

Marionella Nunez, I loved your description of getting lost in characters. You said that it doesn't feel like you're performing these roles. It's more than that. How does it feel? I mean, obviously.

Presenter35:26

Day after day I go back to the studio and I try to build these characters and some of them I have played for so many years and you will think, okay, then it's they're done and then when they come back in the repertoire you'll do them. But no, you're constantly reshaping them. And in that process of finding new layers, new things, they become part of you and you become part of them. And that's why I think I love them so much, all these roles that I have been portraying over the years and why I couldn't choose just the one because they're part of me now.

Marianela Núñez35:55

I know

Presenter35:58

And I wonder what you're like when you can't dance. You haven't suffered injuries in your career except for one quite recently, but you did live through the COVID pandemic, which was very difficult on all everyone in the performing arts. Theatres were closed.

Marianela Núñez36:05

Mm-hmm.

Presenter36:14

How did you manage that? That really was heartbreaking.

Presenter36:18

And also the fact that it was like, okay, they said a few weeks and then it just carried on and then it was months. And then when we finally were allowed to start working again, it was like with the masks and you know

Presenter36:29

Our jobs are is so much about seeing people's faces and emotions and suddenly we were there working with masks and it was just it it was petrifying.

Presenter36:39

With ballet.

Presenter36:41

It gives me such a strength, such a security that every morning, even we were not allowed to work in the theater and I was at home doing my classes, I went back to that, to that source of inspiration, which is ballet.

Presenter36:55

I did my class every day. I tried to do things. I tried to learn I invented things to do and that saved me to to not go crazy.

Presenter37:05

But I wanted to be obviously back on the stage. And it must have given you a lot of opportunity to think about, you know, and when you did go back to performing, what ballet means to people who come to the audiences, but also to our culture more broadly, because it is something that there's a fascination with. I mean, all sorts of depictions of ballet, positive and negative. Obviously, think about Black Swan not long ago in the movie, which is the dark side, but it's something that we're fascinated by, even people who don't go regularly or don't know much about it. Obviously, I'm passionate about my art form, which is ballet, but art in general, you know, is so is food for our souls and our hearts. And one, you know, can say it and it can sound cliche, but it actually isn't.

Presenter37:50

I think through COVID we saw that. What would we do without art? I don't know. Especially, I think, these days, the world feels pretty dark. There is a lot of cruelty. There is a lot of like really

Presenter38:03

unhuman and horrible things happening.

Presenter38:06

And I think that's why we need art that connects us with humanity.

Presenter38:13

and our souls and and and we need it. All right, Nella, I think we better have another track. Some more music, if you would, your penultimate choice today. What have you gone for? So he's uh Bruno Mars and is Count On Me.

Presenter38:26

And my female friends, I don't know what I will do without them. They are my everything. They are my security blanket. And these women are just a powerhouse. Recently there was something quite scary that happened at my house. There was a gas leak outside, not in my house, but outside the house, just right in front of my house.

Presenter38:48

And they came and they knocked on my door, it was Sunday, and I was like, Oh my god and they were like, You have to evacuate the house And I was like, Wait, what? and I started crying and because I have my two babies, my cats and I was like, I can't, I have two cats. Cats don't get out they're not like dogs and literally called my friends, they were there within minutes, they all live around me.

Presenter39:05

They took my cars, they go, they calmed me down. But they were there within seconds. They didn't even have to I didn't even have to finish the phrase and they were there. And they are there to celebrate all my great stuff and to pick up the pieces. I love them and I think this song is it's just perfect to celebrate them.

Speaker 339:25

Find out what we're made of

Speaker 339:29

When we are called to help our friends in need

Speaker 339:34

You can count on me like one, two, three, I'll be there

Speaker 339:43

And I know when I need it I can count on you Like four, three, two and you'll be there

Speaker 339:53

Cause that's what friends are supposed to do.

Presenter39:57

Bruno Mars and count on me for your girlfriends. Marianella Nunez.

Presenter40:02

So you've danced every major role in ballet and you can take your own place in dance history as one of the greats. What does that mean to you?

Presenter40:10

Now I'm gonna cut.

Presenter40:12

I love that while you're you're crying, you laugh at the same time. I've had many people crying with me here over the years, but I've never had anyone laugh and cry at the same time as much as you. This is a thing I do. I don't know how I do it, but

Marianela Núñez40:14

At the same time

Marianela Núñez40:18

But I've never had

Marianela Núñez40:21

Yeah.

Presenter40:25

I don't think it's something I think about. But obviously when people have said it in the past, it obviously has a huge meaning because

Presenter40:35

Mainly I'll go back to that because of how much ballet means to me and how much respect I have for the art form and the history of it and to have a little place in in that ballet history, it already means everything to me. And and it makes me think of it's not just me, oh, I'm part of that, but all the people that helped me to build this journey that come with me and I think they're also part of that ballet history. Yeah.

Presenter41:01

And I wonder what you would say to a young dancer listening to this, because I'm sure there will be many dreaming of a career on stage just like yours. Well, actually, I wouldn't even have to say it, because if it's your vocation, if it's your passion, you will you will feel like that anyway.

Presenter41:16

But just to give it all, like every day and and don't waste time in just negative stuff. Like if it's what you wanna do.

Presenter41:25

Don't save anything.

Presenter41:27

for anything of one j just give it all, work hard, be curious, allow yourself to literally find something to learn every day. But my main thing is just to be passionate about what you do. With passion you can go a long way.

Presenter41:44

It's time for me to cast you away to the island. So let's start with the practicalities, Nella. Do you think you'll be able to fend for yourself? Ooh, don't know. No, don't know. Doubt here.

Speaker 341:55

Yeah.

Presenter41:58

It's a fairly wild environment. You've talked about being a neat Fritch is wincing.

Presenter42:03

Aya ya ye

Presenter42:05

No, you know, I think I don't have faith in myself, but

Presenter42:09

Then when things happen.

Presenter42:11

There is a whole other side of me that I go, Whoa, hang on a minute. Okay. Yeah. So even though I don't have faith, I think I think I do good. It's like being called up onto the stage at the last moment. It arrives. Survival mode comes. Boom. Okay.

Marianela Núñez42:14

Okay.

Marianela Núñez42:21

Survival mode comes. Boom. Okay.

Presenter42:25

What will you be like with the isolation? You know, you're used to collaboration, to having all all of this wonderful support around you. You'll be entirely alone. Yeah, and also just tasting a little bit of that with COVID that we just talked about.

Presenter42:39

It's a thing, isn't it? I think as humans, you need people, you need your relationships, you need to be in touch with people, learn from people, connect, share your emotions, leave. So I think you will be

Presenter42:53

A difficult thing. I have a hectic life, a beautiful hectic life. I travel all over the world. And there are a lot of moments where I do that when I travel and I spend, you know,

Presenter43:05

I don't know. Now I was in Japan for a month and, you know, in my hotel room, and it can be quite lonely.

Presenter43:12

And I do enjoy it. I do enjoy my me time.

Presenter43:17

Will you dance on your island, do you think? Yeah.

Presenter43:21

I dance all the time. You just looked at me like I was I'd lost step.

Marianela Núñez43:24

Okay, I was I'd lost it.

Presenter43:28

That's not, yeah, I don't even question I could dance anywhere. I could yeah, no, 100%. 100%. Yeah, I'll do it at home. My cats sometimes they look at me like, What is going on? When you're dancing at home, is it full-on ballet or is it just like like more of a you know little kitchen disco like the rest of us might have? No, like it could be sometimes full-on ballet. I mean obviously it won't be like a whole performance, but if there is something, let's say that in a rehearsal it hasn't worked and I want to try it like

Marianela Núñez43:29

I don't even know.

Marianela Núñez43:47

The rest of us might have.

Presenter43:57

I don't know. I will be.

Presenter43:59

feeding my cats and then suddenly like a thought comes and I have to try to th

Presenter44:04

And I have to try it. Like the cat of first audience.

Marianela Núñez44:06

And I have to try it.

Presenter44:09

But they're the best audience. They love me.

Marianela Núñez44:10

Okay, I'm

Presenter44:12

All right, well we'll let you have one more disc before we cast you away, Nella. What's it gonna be? Your final choice to do? I'm going for Johnny Nash. I can see clear now.

Presenter44:23

I always loved this song.

Presenter44:25

It's about contemplating at problems and you know, but always looking forward to what's coming next. To you know, life doesn't stay still. So even in your worst moments, you know that there is a way out, even sometimes it's impossible to see it. But being at peace with it.

Presenter44:42

Looking forward to a brighter day.

Presenter44:45

It's a good thought for the island.

Speaker 344:47

I can see clearly now the rain is gone

Speaker 344:54

I can see all obstacles in my way.

Speaker 345:02

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.

Speaker 345:08

It's gonna be bright, bright

Speaker 345:11

Bright, bright, sunshiny day.

Speaker 345:16

Gonna be bright.

Presenter45:18

Johnny Nash, I can see clearly now. So, Marionella Nunez, the time has come. Before you depart for the island, I'm going to give you a couple more things to take with you. I will give you the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare, and you can choose another book that if you would like to. What will that be?

Presenter45:33

So I've been thinking about this and wow guys, this is hard.

Presenter45:40

Being from Argentina, Borges, genius. And even though I have read a few of his works, but not all of them, and there is a complete work of Borges, I think I'm gonna go for the Borges. I know that I will learn a lot. It will be probably one of the most exquisite companions you could have. Perfect. You can also have a luxury item, something to make you more comfortable or to give you solace in some way.

Presenter46:06

And I think I'm going to be a little bit cheeky about this because I really couldn't choose a thing. I will go for a peaceful mind. I don't know if I'm allowed. Peaceful mind. If a peaceful mind is not allowed, and I have to really choose. I do have this gorgeous blanket that I share with my cats.

Presenter46:29

And as everybody knows, I'm literally in love with these two gorgeous souls, and we share this blanket. So I will take that blanket with me because that will give me all the comfort I need thinking of them and being with them. And it was probably the closest to a peaceful mind that I can get.

Presenter46:48

Well, Nella, because a peaceful mind isn't actually an object, I'm going to give you your cat blanket, and that way you'll be able to think of your cats, and hopefully that will engender a peaceful state of mind for you.

Presenter47:02

And finally, Nella, perhaps the most difficult choice of all, which of these eight tracks would you rush to save from the waves if they were going to be washed away?

Presenter47:11

Oh if it was hard to make the list, just to choose the one

Presenter47:17

I'll say I will go for number five.

Presenter47:20

De Rosadajo, De Tchaikovsky.

Speaker 347:22

Mm.

Presenter47:22

Because

Presenter47:24

I think it will definitely um just encapsulate.

Presenter47:30

Literally the most wonderful life I had with ballet, uh me as a ballerina, it will definitely remind me of that.

Presenter47:39

But also I will take with me

Presenter47:42

all the wonderful people that helped me to achieve this. Starting with my parents and my family, my friends,

Presenter47:52

And all obviously my Royal Ballet family, you know, all my directors, my teachers, my physios, all the people that I have met through Ballet, the audiences, all the fans, all the people that day after day they give me so much love and I just wouldn't be here even talking to you today or doing I mean, I had a great life thanks to Ballet and I'm so grateful. So I think definitely this track will remind me of that and everything Ballet has given me.

Presenter48:28

Marionella Nunez, thank you so much for letting us hear your Desert Island discs. A huge, huge honor, I can't tell you. And thank you for this beautiful gift.

Presenter48:55

Hello. It was lovely chatting to Marionella and I hope she's happy on her island with that very special blanket and a very peaceful mind. There are more than 2,000 programmes in our archive and you can listen to them all. We've cast other ballerinas away including Dame Darcy Bussell, Dame Margot Fontaine and Tamara Rojo. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or on our own Desert Island Disc's website.

Presenter49:20

The studio manager for today's programme was Jackie Marjoram, the production coordinator was Susie Roylence, the assistant producer was Christine Pavlovsky and the producer was Sarah Taylor. Join me next time when my guest will be the composer Mark Anthony Turnage.

Speaker 349:53

I agree.

Speaker 249:54

Hi, Greg.

Speaker 349:54

Greg Foote here with a new series of Sliced Bread, the show where I scrutinize your suggestions of wonder products that promise to make you happier, healthier or greener. The wonder product is insulation hacks.

Speaker 250:06

Would you consider looking into health scales?

Speaker 350:08

Sometimes we go in unexpected directions. As part of this episode, I conducted a sniff test. But how good really are these wonder products? It's more than the best thing since last bred to lifesaver. It's not something I would invest in.

Marianela Núñez50:22

I'd certainly say you have to take it with a big pinch of salt.

Speaker 350:26

The new series of sliced bread with me, Greg Foote, on Radio 4 is available now on BBC Sounds.