A Shaky Start Where Now? A New Muse The Modern Dancer

Darcey Andrea Bussell OBE was born in London on the 27th of April 1969. Her mother Andrea began training as a ballet dancer herself with the Royal Ballet School and later became a model, actress and owned a fashion store. Darcey was a keen sportsperson at school, playing football with the boys team and winning competitions for gymnastics and swimming -at one stage she even contemplated a career as a professional swimmer. Destined to be a performer, she attended the Arts Educational School at the Barbican, had a flair for dance and so auditioned for the Royal Ballet School at White Lodge. She won one of the eight places at the school that year at the relatively late age of thirteen. Darcey's first year at White Lodge was however far from easy.

Starting so late compared to the other girls meant that they were more technically advanced than her, as most of them had been at the school since they were eleven. Some of the teachers were less than supportive - Darcey was often sent out of sight at the back of the class or to the back row in productions or shouted at until she was in tears. Some of the more senior students would look at Darcey through the class window and laugh at her. As a boarder this was combined with the heartache of being away from home. Desperately unhappy, though incredible to think of now, Darcey contemplated giving up ballet. Fortunately for all of us, her tenacity and strength of spirit was to save the day.

Darcey began training in her free time and as other girls watched television after the school period was over, Darcey returned to the studio to practise and improve. She signed up for some lessons with the legendary Svetlana Beriosova during her summer holidays. Through commitment and hard work she achieved her goal and in 1985, aged sixteen Darcey was accepted at the Royal Ballet's Upper School based in Barons Court, West London.

The hard work continued and Darcey's career developed enormously at Barons Court, leading to her first role in a Kenneth Macmillan ballet whilst still at the school in 1986. Sir Kenneth, an undeniable choreographic genius, chose her to dance a solo in Concerto for the school performance. Darcey won the Prix de Lausanne in 1986 and used the prize money for lessons with the Monte Carlo Ballet attending classes with the great Rudolf Nureyev.

Towards the end of their final year, each student in the Royal Ballet School faces a very stressful period when their future within the art is decided upon - not because of any shortfalls as far as their talent goes, but because of the lack of contracts offered by dance companies; there are simply not enough places to go around. The Royal Ballet is certainly no exception with very few places on offer to students joining the corps. For Darcey the future was just as uncertain in her mind. Thankfully, she was offered a place with the Royal Ballet, specifically with the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (now the Birmingham Royal Ballet). The touring arm of the company, it was considered as the less glamorous and less successful sister of its Covent Garden sibling. Members of the Royal Ballet were considered as snobs by the SWRB and this was often reinforced by the attitude of some members of the Covent Garden company. Darcey initially felt let down and self-critical but her time with the SWRB is remembered as one of her happiest times. In the corps de ballet she made many friends and had some great times on and off stage.

Having completed a year at the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet the company director Peter Wright called Darcey into his office to tell her that Sir Kenneth Macmillan wanted her to create a lead role in his new ballet Prince of the Pagodas. She would have to leave the Sadler's Wells company and join the Royal Ballet -as a soloist -at 19 years of age! There is an accepted hierarchy of promotion within most companies in which you join as artist and are promoted to first artist, then soloist, first soloist and finally principal. Press interest was stirred and a slightly embarrassed Darcey gave her first interview outside Sadler's Wells Theatre. This rapid rise to Soloist caused some resentment to a few dancers in the Royal Ballet who had been waiting for promotion in the corps de ballet for some time.

Sir Kenneth Macmillan suffered a spell of illness during which Darcey created a solo role in David Bintley's Spirit of Fugue. In September 1989 she was promoted to First Soloist. When Sir Kenneth returned, work on Prince of the Pagodas was begun. Young, eager to please and keen to make the best impression, Darcey was pushed to her physical and mental limit by Sir Kenneth. He found ways of peeling away at her emotions to expose her deepest feelings whilst choreographing the piece, which at times made Darcey uncomfortable but ultimately proved essential in the her dramatic development as well as the development of the piece. Her co-star and partner in the ballet, the great Royal Ballet dancer Jonathan Cope recalls that Darcey would have done anything at the time to please Sir Kenneth, and indeed ended up doing some of the most challenging solos of any ballet. The world premiere of Prince of The Pagodas was on Thursday the 7th of December 1989 and when the curtain went down, she was approached by the director of the Royal Ballet and one of it's greatest ever dancers Sir Anthony Dowell who informed her that she was being promoted to Principal. Darcey was the youngest ever principal at just 19 years old.

Darcey Bussell is now a household name and accepted as the nation's favourite ballerina. It's quite astounding that at one point she contemplated giving up ballet. She has appeared on television on many occasions, in ballet performances such as Prince of The Pagodas, Winter Dreams, La Bayadere, Tchaikovsky Pas De Deux and the Queen Mother's 90th Birthday Tribute Gala. Darcey commemorated the closure of the old Royal Opera House by appearing as the Lilac Fairy from Sleeping Beauty and saw in its reopening in 1999 by performing the same role. She danced a piece especially choreographed by William Tuckett to Seguidilla from Carmen for Lesley Garrett's TV show and has appeared on a South Bank Show documentary with Viviana Durante. Darcey was the subject of a 1998 Omnibus documentary dedicated to her life as a principal dancer. Her other television appearances include publicity for the reopening of the Royal Opera House, French & Saunders, The Vicar of Dibley and a 'phenom' Celebrity Ready, Steady, Cook! In 1996 she appeared briefly as Annabel in True Blue, a film about the 1987 Oxford/Cambridge boat race.

The versatility and talent of Darcey Bussell to perform classical ballet and contemporary dance just as comfortably is partially evidenced by her comprehensive repertoire. This is however a small representation of her immense talent. Her technique like most principals with the Royal Ballet is excellent and well developed, but what makes Darcey stand out as such a marvellous dancer is her delicious line, her subtle musicality, her amazing attack and her well-developed dramatic ability. She has a sublime confidence on stage, and from the moment Darcey enters the stage she has complete command of your attention. And she just keeps on getting better each time you see her!

A Shaky Start Where Now? A New Muse The Modern Dancer

Home Biography Debuts & Repertoire On-Stage Gallery Off-Stage Gallery Future Performances Links

Comments or suggestions welcome