To The Pointe Meets Claire Calvert

Claire Calvert embodies the kind of straight talking down to earth person you wouldn’t necessarily expect to find behind the creative walls of the Royal Opera House. There’s no ego or artsy pretentious jargon coming out of her mouth and if it wasn’t for her sitting with her legs stretched way above her head during moments of our interview, I could have easily forgotten that I was talking to a First Soloist with the Royal Ballet. I mean this with the greatest praise. Calvert is funny, relaxed and easy to talk to. She seems more like someone you’d love to go for a drink with after work than a dedicated and serious ballerina. I suspect that this normality in her persona is what has kept her level headed during her career and why she is so successful. That, and the fact that she’s a very talented dancer. I meet Claire in the Royal Opera House cafe where rehearsals were taking place for Wayne McGregor’s Yugen. We were frequently interrupted by the sounds of opera singers on stage or tannoy announcements from the stage manager which led to me impatiently waiting to hear more from Claire. You want to hear what Claire has to say when she’s talking because as I realised pretty quickly her thoughts on life and ballet are not to be missed.

Claire as 'Chinese Gingerbread' in the Royal Ballet's 'The Nutcracker' Claire grew up in Bath and had quite a normal introduction into ballet. “I started dancing when I was two or three just at a local ballet school. My mum took me and then when I was about seven or eight I did an exam and the examiner wrote in my comments that I should audition for the Junior Associate programme at the Royal Ballet School. My mum thought maybe I should go for it so I auditioned and then was on the programme in Bath for three years.” It was clear from early on that Claire had all of the makings to dance with the Royal Ballet and she was quickly encouraged to audition for the Royal Ballet School. “My Junior Associate teacher was Karen Paisey who had been a dancer with the Royal Ballet. She suggested a few of us audition for the school and I guess that’s the point of the Junior Associate Programme – to get people from all over the country, not just people from London, to filter into the school.” Filter in she did. Claire is absolutely right, young dancers from all over the country can take part in the JA Programme with the hope that some of them will make it into the school. It provides a child who might be living in Newcastle with a dream of joining the Royal Ballet, the opportunity to get a flavour of what that life might be like. “I auditioned for White Lodge and was there from when I was eleven until sixteen and then I got into the Upper School and then when I was eighteen I joined the company.” Hearing Claire talk makes me realise how much time she spent preparing to join the Royal Ballet. When you’ve been working with programmes and schools so strongly connected to the Royal Ballet, would she have wanted to join any other company or were her sights always set on the Royal Ballet? “The company is very much a big influence on the school. I was dancing in The Nutcracker with the Royal Ballet when I was eleven and doing baby swans in Swan Lake so I’ve actually been working with the company for quite a few years. The school is geared towards being in the Royal Ballet but I was aware of English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet but probably not as aware of other companies in the world. I knew American Ballet Theatre and the Russian companies of course, but until you’re in the situation of getting a job you’re not always aware of how many companies there are out there and where you could potentially go. I definitely wanted to be in the Royal Ballet though.” So apart from being geared towards a life at the Royal Ballet, what was it about this company that drew Claire in? “The type of repertoire and the diversity that we have here is one of the biggest things for me. We are famous for MacMillan and Ashton and I wanted to be a part of that. Our versions of those ballets, and the classics like Giselle, are very much a part of the company’s heritage and in fact they are a part of my heritage as those are the versions that I grew up watching. So I aspire to dance in all of those ballets and I knew that I wanted to dance in the Royal’s versions of them.”

Claire as the 'Lilac Fairy' in the Royal Ballet's 'The Sleeping Beauty.' Photo by Johan Persson

For a dancer who had been at ballet school since the age of two, I wonder what the shift was like once Claire joined the company. “It’s a very big change! You have a lot of classes like pointe and pas de deux but once you are in the company it’s a very different lifestyle. You have class every day but you don’t necessarily have someone personally looking at you all the time so it’s very much more about self-motivation. You have to work hard at keeping your technique strong which can be a difficult change to adapt to as it’s something you need to focus on for yourself.” I’m always amazed whenever I talk to dancers about how much self-motivation is needed and at such a young age. When I was eighteen, I was preparing to start University. The only self-motivation I needed was to make sure I lined my stomach well enough in preparation for Freshers’ Week. I somehow doubt I would have ever have had what it took to be a ballerina. The determination, the steel and the grit, all of which I see in Claire, is something you don’t find in many teenagers. It’s fortunate that Claire was blessed with such a strong nature as this served her well when, after a good few years with the company, she was injured and was forced to undergo knee surgery. “I really had to go back to basics because I was non-weight bearing for three months so I had to slowly learn how to walk again and get to a point where I could balance on my feet again. I missed being on stage and performing but at the same time I was able to decide my schedule so if I wanted to spend eight hours in the gym rehabbing I had the freedom to do that. It was quite a positive thing for me in that I felt I was working towards a goal and I knew that I wanted to come back better, stronger and fitter.” Although Claire missed the stage, she remained positive throughout the entire length of her injury, always finding the silver lining to a situation that many dancers would struggle to get through. “I was off stage for a year but it was probably one of the most positive things that could have happened to me in a weird way. We spend so much time working, performing and rehearsing that we never really get that much time to really work on ourselves and on things we might want to improve. I was really able to take time for myself and I felt more confident when I came back because I had put the work in so I knew I was a stronger dancer than I had been.” I tell Claire how much it showed. I had never really taken much notice of her before but after her injury, she had a much stronger technique and seemed to be much more confident on the stage. She started to stand out, demanding the audience watch her when she was on stage. And watch we did. “It could have been the end of my career but I didn’t accept that. I came back towards the end of the season and danced Russian Girls in Serenade and then we went on tour and I danced Mercedes in Don Quixote.” I tell Claire how unusual it is to hear a dancer talk so positively about their time spent injured and off stage. It was clear how much the injury had made a positive effect on her because when she danced Gypsy Girl in the Royal Ballet’s production of Two Pigeons, she danced with such power and confidence, it was like watching someone reborn. “It was maybe a year and half after my surgery that I danced in Two Pigeons. I really enjoy dancing that role!”

Claire dancing the role of 'Myrtha' in the Royal Ballet's 'Giselle.' Photo by Helen Maybanks

Once Claire returned to the stage, she started dancing in more lead roles which led to a well-deserved promotion to First Soloist. “I loved getting my promotion. Of course I was very very happy!” I tell Claire how I’ve always thought the First Soloist rank to be the best as you dance more regularly than a Principal yet you always get to dance principal roles. In a way it’s the best of both worlds. “As a First Soloist you feel like you’re part of the company as a whole but you also get the opportunity to do a lot of different things like dancing principal roles.” A principal role that Claire can look forward to dancing next season will be Gamzatti, the sly and manipulative anti-heroine in La Bayadere which returns to the Royal Opera House stage after its hiatus. Claire had the opportunity to dance this recently, however, alongside Vadim Muntagirov and Sarah Lamb in Lithuania. “I’d never really done anything like that before and it was a difficult time because we were also doing The Nutcracker and I was rehearsing Myrtha in Giselle. It was something that I didn’t realise I could do – to get up and just do it. I danced Gamzatti the last time the Royal Ballet performed it but I haven’t done it for a very long time. I loved it and I love the role of Gamzatti. Doing something like that with Vadim is so exciting. He’s a legend!” I tell Claire how much I also love the role of Gamzatti and we coo over the beauty of the wedding pas de deux in La Bayadere. “I love all the evil ones! That’s why I also love dancing Myrtha so much.” Myrtha is also one of my favourite roles, in all of ballet’s repertoire. She is graced with some of the most beautiful ballet music and although the choreography is extremely demanding, when done right, it’s breathtaking to watch. I feel as though Claire has really shaped herself into the role, and makes it look as if she’s been doing it for years. “It’s extremely difficult. Monica Mason rehearses us for it and she always says that it will never get any easier! You just need to fully understand that you will have nothing left at the end of it because it’s that exhausting but it’s always a reward you feel once you’ve made it through!” Another role that is swiftly becoming career defining for Claire is The Queen of Hearts in Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, however, Claire tells me that it was one of the hardest roles to get into character for. “When a role is created on such an iconic person as Zenaida Yanowsky, it can be so hard to find your own way of doing it. I’m nothing like Zenaida and so to try and find my characterisation was quite difficult. Obviously you pick up things from watching the previous interpretations, but how you then make them look like your own is difficult. I think once you realise that you’re not going to do it the same way as everyone else and once everyone else accepts that, it’s easier to put your stamp on it. Doing comedy in ballet is quite difficult; it can look too forced and in something like Queen of Hearts, all of the comedy is already in the choreography. You don’t need to do much else, which can be very funny.” Claire nailed the comedy in Alice and she also put on a hilarious display in her ‘drunken’ pas de deux in Manon alongside Alexander Campbell. The two of them had the audience in stitches and had perfect comedy timing – something that you don’t often see in ballet.

Claire as 'The Queen of Hearts' in the Royal Ballet's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.' Photo by Bill Cooper

Claire’s career seems to be shadowing the type of career that Monica Mason had when she was with the company, and she coaches Claire quite regularly. Claire dances many of the roles that Monica danced, such as Myrtha, Calliope in Elite Syncopations and Mistress in Manon, and with a coach like Monica, it isn’t surprising that Claire is filling her shoes with the same fiery confidence. “To work with someone with as much experience as Monica is a real gift and I feel very lucky. I’ve worked with her on many roles and I’ve learnt so much from her. Take Mistress for example, which was created on her, she isn’t in the original story but Kenneth MacMillan told Monica to make a story for her. She has all of this knowledge and experience and you can only learn from someone like that.” Claire tells me that Mistress is one of her favourite roles to dance. As the current run of Manon draws to an end, I reminisce on how wonderful Claire really was in the role. Earthy, cunning and with her head screwed on, her characterisation of the role was spot on. “She was the first solo character that I got to dance so it’s one that I hold close to my heart. She’s a young character but she’s lived. She’s knowing and she’s seen things and she doesn’t seem afraid of anything. She knows the deal which is why I love to dance that role.” Claire tells me how she also loves to dance Hermione in Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale and I tell her that she often seems to be cast as strong female leads, rather than the innocent and helpless roles of, say, Giselle. “Obviously you don’t want to be pigeon holed into a certain category and I’m aware that I have a certain strong look, I’m not waif like! I’m aware that I might not be seen like that but I would love to have a go at Manon and Juliet. I just want to do it all!” I think to myself that although doomed characters, Manon and Juliet are still very strong characters and the fact that Claire names these two in particular, shows me that she probably won’t ever be a damsel in distress whether on stage or off it. I think she would be a great Manon, and I would love to see her have a go at Larisch or Mary Vetsera in Mayerling. I think she has a raw and sensual quality to her that belongs in MacMillan ballets. She tells me that although she loves MacMillan, dancing the lead in Swan Lake would be a dream come true for her. “Odette and Odile show both sides to a woman and that is something that I would love to do. It’s the epitome of being a ballerina to dance those roles and it shows the two different sides of classical technique. Odette is the pure adage style and then Odile is virtuoso and strong. For me that really does show the ultimate ballerina.”

Claire as 'The Mistress' in the Royal Ballet's 'Manon.' Photo by Alice Pennefather

I wonder whether Claire looks up to any ‘ultimate ballerinas’ and whether there are dancers in particular who inspire her. “There are a lot of people who inspire me, I think that Marianela Nunez has one of the strongest techniques in the world.” Although Claire admires Nunez’s technique, it is the ability to develop a character that is something which seems to inspire her. “I was supposed to do the general rehearsal of Giselle with Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg but then it swapped to Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell. To watch Frankie in Giselle was amazing. It wasn’t something that I thought would be her thing. I knew her Act One would be solid but I was blown away by her Act Two. She is someone who I watch and really admire. She has a natural ability to become a character and perform, and everything that she does looks like she’s done it for years and years. Everything is coordinated and in the right style and that for me is something very special. It’s very hard to teach that and so to watch someone who does it so naturally I always find so impressive.” I tell Claire how nice it is to hear that her inspiration comes from her peers and not from dancers from previous eras. There’s no cringey mention of Margot Fonteyn, instead she looks to those that she dances with in the now. “We are surrounded by these dancers all day so it makes sense that they are who inspire us” she tells me. Claire also seems to be inspired by those who coach her and cites Jackie Barrett in particular as helping her get into the role of Hermione in Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale. “She has such a good eye for making sure that feet are pointed and at the right angle!” Claire tells me. There is one coach in particular, however, who Claire holds very close to her heart. “I was coached by Darcey Bussell when I made my debut as the Sugar Plum Fairy.” Claire takes a pause here and then sighs with a big ‘wow’ as she reflects on the experience. “She’s a massive idol of mine, in fact she’s a real inspiration to lots of us because she’s British and came through the school. It was an amazing experience and I learnt a lot from her.”

Claire as 'Hermione' in the Royal Ballet's 'A Winter's Tale.' Photo by Bill Cooper

Although Claire hasn’t built up an established partnership with a particular dancer she has had the opportunity to dance alongside some of the Royal Ballet’s brightest Principals. “I’ve always been lucky that I’ve danced with quite experienced dancers like Thiago Soares, Ryoichi Hirano and Vadim Muntagirov so I’ve always been looked after quite well. I’ve done a lot of my big roles with Thiago; he’s a wonderful performer on stage. He’s always been very supportive of me and we’ve worked well together over the years. Ryo is also an amazing partner and I always feel very comfortable and safe dancing with him.” I’ve seen Claire dance with both Thiago and Ryo on stage but she has a natural rapport with Alexander Campbell who recently partnered her in Manon. “I hadn’t danced with him other than when he rode in my boat when I was the Lilac Fairy which I don’t think really counts! Working with someone who is so natural and confident on stage really helps me and brings something else out of me.” I ask Claire whether she thinks establishing strong partnerships is an important part of performing on stage. “It is important to have a strong partnership and connection. It’s important that you share the same idea of what you’re trying to achieve and how much you are going to work together to make it happen. When someone has been partnering for years it comes pretty naturally.”

Claire dancing with Ryoichi Hirano in the Royal Ballet's 'Aeternum.' Photo by Bill Cooper

As our interview draws to a close Claire and I get chatting about life outside of ballet and she tells me how much she loves food and coffee: “I love breakfast! I’m a big foody and I have a bit of a coffee obsession. I actually held my thirtieth birthday party in this coffee shop near by.” I wonder how reckless a party in a coffee shop could be but Claire quickly reassures me that in the evening it turns into a bar. I was really surprised to hear that she recently turned thirty. Her appearance on stage and the way she dances is so youthful and energetic. “I suppose I will need to start thinking about the future. You give a lot of yourself to a job like this and it’s very hard to think about other parts of your life. I might just want to do something different when it all ends!” Well it doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon for Claire. She has dedicated her whole life to her art and it shows on stage. She dances with authority and confidence and off stage she has the same demeanour. As we get up to leave I ask Claire whether she has any advice for younger dancers dreaming of a big career in ballet. She thinks for a moment and then gives some of the strongest advice I think an aspiring dancer will hear. “I think sometimes you can get caught up so much in trying to do what you think other people want you to do but it’s very hard to fool an audience that you’re not being true to yourself. You have to know and learn what your strengths and weaknesses are. Not everyone has everything that you’re supposed to need to be a ballerina but it doesn’t mean that you can’t find your way to get there.” Coming from a dancer who has found her way, I hope this advice does inspire those hoping to get into ballet. As Claire says, the only way to succeed on stage is if you remain true to yourself and they don’t come much more honest than Miss Calvert.

*Thank you to Claire Calvert, the Royal Opera House, the Royal Ballet, Ashley Woodfield and Katharine Morgan