Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Principal dancer at the Royal Ballet for 26 years, nicknamed the Queen of Covent Garden.
On the island
Eight records
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. 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.
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. 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 [want to].
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.
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 an intense moment, and you could feel quite vulnerable. 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.
Rose Adagio (from The Sleeping Beauty)Favourite
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
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. I've gone for the Rosadagro. And so which character is this for, for Princess Aurora? This is Princess Aurora. 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 performing this this body, this round.
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
I could say that probably Giselle was a role that I had always wanted to do since I started my ballot training. I think it's a very significant role for every vallerina. Every vallerina wants to do this ballet. Recently another dream of mine was to guess with the Paris Opera Ballet. 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.
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... 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.
I always loved this song. 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. Looking forward to a brighter day. It's a good thought for the island.
In conversation
Presenter asks
3:16In your job, shoes are everything. Tell me about yours, because I read that you sew them and prepare them yourself. 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. 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. 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.
Presenter asks
8:43Tell me about your Argentinian roots. You were born in Buenos Aires, 1982, the younger sister to three older brothers. Your parents are Norberto and Elena. Were either of them dancers?
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.
The keepsakes
The book
The Complete Works of Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
I know that I will learn a lot. It will be probably one of the most exquisite companions you could have.
The luxury
a blanket that I share with my cats
I do have this gorgeous blanket that I share with my cats... I will take that blanket with me because that will give me all the comfort I need thinking of them and being with them.
Presenter asks
13:48Talk me through your typical day back then, because from what I've heard, it was pretty gruelling.
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. 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. 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. 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. So you've already been, what, three hours on the road by this point? By this point. 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.
Presenter asks
18:00Tell me 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 quinceañera 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. 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.
Presenter asks
24:08You 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?
Brau. So, again, bumpy and emotional and scary. Because I knew what I had in me, I knew if I had the chance to work. 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. 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. 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. It made me question myself. 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.
Presenter asks
31:09You'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 Soares 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. 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. 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? 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. 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.
“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.”
“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. And she will do my bun, she will do my hairstyle when I was still sleeping.”
“Correct. And it wasn't very difficult. I mean, when my parents told me, it was like, 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.”
“I don't think that ever happened. It was quite hard. I mean, it's impossible. Even the people that say that they do it, mm, I don't know, questionable.”
“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.”