Performing In Shows

Do you get nervous when you perform?

It depends what it is. I used to get really nervous. But, I'm older now and a bit more experienced, so I tend to try and enjoy it more than get overcome by nerves.

Do you get scared when you perform?

Yeah, I mean you might have something wrong with you; you might have a bad ankle or a bad knee or something. It automatically puts all your attention on something else rather than the show. But, no it's not worth being scared really. I mean a certain amount of adrenalin is good because it means you still enjoy it and it still gives you some, you know. But you don't want to be overcome by nerves; it's the worse feeling.

Do you wear something special when you perform?

Different costumes for different things. It might be a character costume, it might be like a long flowing thing; depends what you're doing.

Do you have a regular ballets that you perform in?

Swan Lake, I loved. I think I've done Swan Lake a few thousand times. I mean, it's good, it gets bums on seats and gets people in the theatre. So we always do that, and we always do Nutcracker. We've done a couple of different productions of Nutcracker. I think we're having another in a couple of years.

How long does it take to learn a new routine?

Well it depends on how long you've got really. You could learn one dance in a couple of hours. But you always have to go back and keep cleaning it to get all the details right and everything so it does depend on how long you've got with how detailed they can get with placing and which way your head is.

Where's the strangest place you've done a performance?

It wasn't me personally, but I thinks somebody had to go down to the chew and do stuff there in a tutu. So that was quite weird. I think we've done, I can't think of anything that's really strange. We've done parties. We've been on sort of podiums improvising twenty minutes of that which you don't normally do as a ballet dancer. I can't really think of anywhere that's really strange

Where's the most dangerous place you've done a performance?

We've performed on lakes before. But, I mean, that sounds worse than it is, really. I mean, it's actually really nice. I mean, it's quite dangerous with the stage at night. We went to Versailles, outside the palace, we had the stage on the lake, which is really nice, when the moon comes out and everything. But it's dangerous because of the condensation on the floor and we were all sort of tiptoeing around. If you ran too fast you'd be out, flat out on the floor. They nearly had to cancel it, I think, but we sort of worked around it. It can be dangerous, when you're outside.

Is performing on the stage different from TV work?

Well with TV you have to keep repeating it. Which is quite difficult when you're doing . . . we did Signet from “Swan Lake” for Blue Peter about four times in a row and its not an easy dance. Whereas on the stage you have got the one chance to do eight shows a week but you might be doing something important for one or two of those shows. You've just got that one chance to sort of give it your best shot. And that gives it a bit of an edge as well, you know. But have just got that one chance to make it look good instead of knowing that you have to keep doing it again and again and again.

Do you regularly perform with the same people?

Dancers? Yes. And there are sixty four of us in the company. It is like a big family really. Especially when we go on tour. I mean it is a little bit too close sometimes and everyone is staying together and working together, it gets a bit much. But yes, we generally work with the same people and it is people you sort of work with that are the same height. If a girl and a boy is well matched and things like that.

What is the best thing about performing?

I think it's the expression, personally I like telling stories on stage. I find it a lot easier when there is a story line and I'm in a character rather than classical, in a tutu. I like it, but it's just technique. I like something that has technique in a storyline. It's nice putting that out.