My working life: Royal Ballet principal dancer Yasmine Naghdi
We all know that professional ballerinas need to be disciplined and driven – but the modern ingredient for success, says Royal Ballet’s Yasmine Naghdi, is a sense of humour. She talks to Muddy about the joy of the dance.
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What does it take to be a top ballerina? London-born Yasmine Naghdi, 30, a Principal ballerina with the Royal Ballet, reveals the highs and lows of dancing in one of the top artistic companies in this honest, uplifting interview with Muddy editor-in-chief Hero Brown. If you can’t make it into Covent Garden to see Naghdi in the coming months, catch her instead on the Royal Opera House’s streaming platform in The Dante Project (and don’t forget our special Muddy discount of three months’ streaming for just £1 each month).
So Yasmine, did you always want to be a professional ballet dancer?
It’s been my dream my entire life. I grew up watching videos of The Royal Ballet and auditioned for The Royal Ballet School for Year 7 (11 years old) but didn’t get in. The following year I was spotted in a performance by the director of the school and was asked why I wasn’t at The Royal Ballet School. My mum explained I hadn’t got in, and the response was, “Oh no, you need to be there!” So I joined in Year 8 instead.
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What’s it like being a professional ballerina?
There’s been a massive generational shift for sure. When I joined the main company 13 years ago, you didn’t look the principal dancers in the eye, the soloists didn’t hold doors open for younger dancers, and it literally took me six months to work out where the physio area was as no-one had shown me! Now it’s totally different. We’re encouraging of a positive work environment and I make a conscious effort to introduce myself to the young dancers who join. We’re all busy doing our thing, but it doesn’t take much to be kind.
Your current performance of Mayerling sees music by Liszt, choreography by Kenneth MacMillan and the true story of a suicide pact between Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria and his mistress. Sounds intense!
I’ve taken on two different roles for this ballet, both debuts for me, so it’s good fun – one is Countess Marie Larisch, Rudolph’s former lover, and the other is his 17-year old-mistress Mary Vetsera who he kills before shooting himself. The two women dance with each other during the performance so I have to remember which role I’m playing. It’s trickier than it sounds as professional dancers have ‘muscle memory’ which means that when we hear music our bodies naturally remember the movement. Given I have two different memories I have to let go of the muscle memory or I’ll very visibly get it wrong!
Have you ever had a dance disaster on stage?
Just recently, actually, in Mayerling and it was my debut performance as Mary Vetsara. My biggest fear is falling or slipping on stage as it’s basically losing control of your body and of course, dancers are control freaks – I definitely am! Plus of course you can hurt yourself and it can also look quite comical which is embarrassing.
I was ‘in’ the role, I was loving it and felt I could let go and indulge in the steps. The next moment I was down on the floor, and I tried to stand up to carry on dancing but then went straight down again. I felt like I was on a terrible loop. The scene before had been a taverna scene with people rolling around, and just a few beads of sweat on the floor beneath my pointe shoes took my balance. There was nothing I could have done to avoid it, but it can feel like the biggest thing in the moment to fall. Eventually of course it makes the best dinner conversations.
Dancers are perfectionists – is it possible to laugh at yourself?
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Time away from performing in COVID gave me a lot of time to think and reflect on the way I approach my work. I’m an extreme perfectionist, and I realised I was often in a negative headspace thinking about what went wrong in a performance instead of what went right. And I realised, “you know what, you need more of a sense of humour!”
As a dancer, you hold onto the embarrassment of a fall or a mistake, but actually everyone else gets on with their lives, so it’s better to accept “OK that was hilarious, it was a bad moment” but think about what you enjoyed from the performance, what you can learn and how you can grow. Having this outlook has taken so much weight off the shoulders and my performances. You have to be kind to yourself, and have a positive outlook, then everything will fall into place.
What’s it like dancing when you know a performance is being streamed or filmed?
It’s a completely different headspace and much more pressure, everyone feels it – it’s the difference between 2,200 in an opera house versus millions watching. There’s no second take on a live stream, it’s being beamed out to the world, so I just have to try and enjoy my performance and trust myself and hope the viewers are sympathetic if something doesn’t go to plan! Not everyone can come to the Royal Opera House and access performances so it’s amazing that we can offer them. The Dante Project (2021) which I danced in is streaming now and actually it’s a very cinematic experience, with incredible costumes and lighting and music.
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Who do you count on for support?
We have a sports psychologist at The Royal Ballet which is really helpful, but actually my mum has always been my rock and shoulder to cry on, and the person who’s always been there for support. I was a very shy child, very introverted, but I had a lot of energy as well and was artistic from a young age. I’m lucky that my parents trusted that ballet was right for me, I wouldn’t be where I am with their help and guidance. My mum has written a book, Tears of a Ballet Mum, to give other parents advice on the highs and lows of supporting a ballet dancer.
What’s your favourite ballet role?
Definitely Onegin. I feel so connected to the ballet as I’ve danced every female role in it from corps de ballet to soloist roles.The music is beautiful – it just runs through your veins – and the choreography is sublime. I love the drama of it.
What’s the best thing about being a ballerina
It’s the performances when you’re flying, you’re in the zone, everything works and you’re at one with your dance partner. They’re feelings of elation really, that all the work you’ve put in has come off, and you also sense that through the audience – you feel a sense of spiritual warmth when it’s roaring applause, or if it’s a bit thin you think “Oh, OK, I have to work a little harder!”
What would you love to change about your job?
Well, we are basically in-built to please – we’re constantly wanting the choreographers to want us for their ballets, the director to progress us, to be current and talked about and loved. You have to be able to take a step back, pat yourself on the back and say well done to yourself. I felt I had to do that with Mayerling as it’s very rare to debut two meaty roles in a single month. So Yasmine, well done!
How do you wind down after a performance?
It’s difficult to switch off. I come back to the dressing room, take off my makeup, meet fans which is lovely, then it’s the journey back home processing and coming out of the role and into reality. My fiancée, who’s not a dancer, always prepares a meal for me after a performance without fail. I’m very lucky! There’s water ready for my flowers and I’ll eat, and if he’s awake we’ll talk about the performance. Then I shower, freshen up, and lie in bed not being able to go to sleep. It often takes a few hours as the adrenaline is still running through the blood – it can be 3am or 4am before I drop off but that’s just how it is. I think that’s quite common for dancers.
What about your time off?
My fiancé’s Italian and a passionate foodie, so we like going for a walk to the local farmers’ market for a browse. He’s influenced me very positively about using good ingredients. It’s kind of unheard of for a couple to enjoy cooking together but we do! We make a lot of pastas, I love my mozzarella and burrata.
You’re having a dinner party – who do you invite?
I adore Meryl Streep so I’d love to talk to her. Coco Chanel. Frida Kahlo. Margot Fonteyn and of course Nureyev. I’d better invite my fiancé too.
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