Marianela N\u00fa\u00f1ez is talking about football. This is before the World Cup final, after England\u2019s game with Argentina. \u201cThat was a hard position for me!\u201d she says. N\u00fa\u00f1ez moved to England from Buenos Aires aged 15 and has danced with the Royal Ballet for 28 years. She\u2019s a British citizen, but her loyalties are clear: check out her Argentina-inspired leotard on Instagram or her cat named after Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n
In Argentina, they call her the Messi of ballet \u2013 although when it comes to who has the finest footwork, they should really be calling him the N\u00fa\u00f1ez of football. A principal dancer since the age of 20, N\u00fa\u00f1ez has been at the top of her game for so long you can forget what a remarkable dancer she is. When she faces the ballerina\u2019s equivalent of a penalty kick \u2013 Swan Lake\u2019s 32 fouett\u00e9s<\/a>, Sleeping Beauty\u2019s Rose Adagio<\/a> \u2013 you never doubt her, but it\u2019s her romantic spirit, the bright beaming energy, her vivacity in Don Quixote, the tragic yearning of her Odette, the way she breathes in ballet like oxygen, that make her special. She is deeply besotted with what she does.<\/p>\n double quotation markBallet doesn\u2019t have to be perfect to be beautiful<\/p>\n On this, she feels an affinity with her footballing counterpart. When she hears interviewers tell Messi how great he is: \u201cHe says, \u2018The thing is, I\u2019m just happy kicking the ball.\u2019 I can totally relate. Just give me my [ballet] shoes and I\u2019m in love.\u201d N\u00fa\u00f1ez decided at five that she wanted to take ballet seriously, and by 14 was dancing leading roles at Buenos Aires\u2019 Teatro Col\u00f3n. But after such a rocketing start, she didn\u2019t race to advance her career in the way some top principals do, with a frantic schedule of international guest appearances and solo productions. Only now, at 44, is she about to perform her own show, Timeless<\/a>.<\/p>\n The reason it hasn\u2019t happened sooner, she says, is because she doesn\u2019t have an agent. Many top dancers now do have agents, as well as personal PRs to promote their brands and side projects. N\u00fa\u00f1ez doesn\u2019t go in for that \u2013 the great Sylvie Guillem<\/a> never had an agent, she tells me, so that\u2019s good enough for her. So perhaps it has taken longer, but now she has five days at the Royal Opera House, with the orchestra and her pick of repertoire. \u201cSo actually it was the perfect way,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m glad that I had to wait this long.\u201d It\u2019s not the first time I\u2019ve heard N\u00fa\u00f1ez spin something others could see as a downside into a positive, a sign of resilience that must contribute to keeping herself at the top of a tough profession for so long.<\/p>\n Known for her sunny temperament \u2026 Marianela N\u00fa\u00f1ez and Reece Clarke rehearse Everywhere We Go by Justin Peck. Photograph: Tristram Kenton\/the Guardian<\/p>\n N\u00fa\u00f1ez is known for her sunny temperament. The morning we speak she\u2019s under the weather, she started feeling feverish doing yoga last night (she swears by yoga at the start and end of each day), but here she is first thing, laughing and smiling. A consummate ballerina, all the effort is hidden. When it comes to ballet though, for her, it\u2019s not effort, it\u2019s what gives her life, especially doing daily class.<\/p>\n \u201cClass, for me, is everything,\u201d she says. \u201cBallet class is where I can really feel the body, every little \u2026\u201d she gestures the tiniest atom. \u201cIt has that ritual feeling. You have your same spot at the barre that you had when you first joined the company.\u201d She calls it a safety net, and a kind of meditation. What\u2019s it like to have such an intense, lifelong love affair with something? \u201cIt\u2019s so strong, and it feels so good,\u201d she says. Even when it\u2019s not good, it\u2019s good. \u201cYou know, today I don\u2019t feel great, and I know I\u2019m not going to have a great rehearsal, but just being here, I\u2019m sure something will come out of that,\u201d she says. \u201cBallet doesn\u2019t have to be perfect to be beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n Age has brought N\u00fa\u00f1ez self-acceptance. She used to chastise herself for feeling nervous. Now, it\u2019s: \u201cOK, you\u2019ve done the work. Be nervous.\u201d Accept it and get on with the job. \u201cWith all the insecurities too: now I\u2019m like, well, yeah, you feel insecure. What are you gonna do?\u201d What does she feel insecure about? \u201cNo, I\u2019m not going to bore you with this,\u201d she says, closing that door.<\/p>\n For Timeless, N\u00fa\u00f1ez chose the programme based on who she wanted to dance with \u2013 Vadim Muntagirov<\/a>, Matthew Ball<\/a>, William Bracewell<\/a> and the Royal Ballet\u2019s new principal Patricio Rev\u00e9<\/a> \u2013 partners who have \u201cgiven me confidence, ways of going out of my comfort zone so I could take risks, have freedom on stage, be vulnerable,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd with these four guys I would just laugh the whole way though rehearsal. Each of them, maybe without knowing, helped me a lot through really hard times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Partners who give me confidence\u2019 \u2026 Marianela N\u00fa\u00f1ez (Odette\/Odile) and Vadim Muntagirov (Prince Siegfried) in Swan Lake. Photograph: Tristram Kenton\/the Guardian<\/p>\n Some of the programme remains a surprise, but she will be dancing Jerome Robbins\u2019 magical In the Night, set to Chopin nocturnes (\u201cIt\u2019s so simple yet has so much depth. It\u2019s very classy\u201d), and Frederick Ashton\u2019s Marguerite and Armand, the drama of an ageing courtesan and her young lover, created for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. Some retiring dancers choose it as their farewell piece, but N\u00fa\u00f1ez is nowhere near saying farewell. \u201cThere\u2019s no expiry date!\u201d she says. Unlike the rumours of retirement swirling round a certain footballer, N\u00fa\u00f1ez looks as strong and as winning as ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marianela N\u00fa\u00f1ez is talking about football. 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