Ballerina Lauren Cuthbertson: ‘There’s a saying that dancers die twice, the first time when they stop dancing’
The Royal Ballet principal on her late career debut, taking her daughters to work, and playing goodies and baddies
Born in Devon in 1984, Lauren Cuthbertson joined the Royal Ballet School aged 11 and the Royal Ballet in 2002, becoming a principal six years later. She has danced leading roles in all the great classical ballets including Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, has performed in works by Kenneth MacMillan and Frederick Ashton, and created many new ballets, particularly those by Christopher Wheeldon, who cast her as Alice in his three-act Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and as Hermione in The Winter’s Tale. She has recently become principal guest artist at the Royal Ballet and is taking a teaching diploma. She lives in west London with her boyfriend and their two daughters, aged four and two.
You’re about to make your debut as Tatiana in John Cranko’s Onegin, based on Pushkin’s classic verse-novel. How are you feeling?
It’s a funny sensation making such a significant debut so late in my career: it made me feel quite vulnerable, but also it was very thrilling. It’s been a lovely journey but it’s surprisingly physical. I did my first run through on stage at an 11am rehearsal and when I went to tear up Onegin’s letter at the end [as Tatiana sends him away], I had no strength in my arms. I hadn’t anticipated that. Mind you, an early call is always weird – it’s hard to eat properly. You might have a bit of breakfast, but suddenly you finish the rehearsal, and it’s 2pm. You can’t eat a sandwich in the middle of a three-act ballet.
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