Russian ballerina Natalia Osipova is in her second season as a principal with the company wowing audiences at sold out shows.
“Dramatic intelligence”, “on stage intensity” and dancing with a “natural feeling”.
Those are some of words of praise for the ballerina’s recent performances in the role of Tatiana in “Onegin” choreographed by John Cranko and performed at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Such roles she says demand more than acting talent.
“The roles that I perform on stage – I live them, I can’t just act them. I’m always telling my mother that I’m probably a poor actress. So when it doesn’t click for me and I don’t feel that I can really get into that role and live it on stage, then the performance for me doesn’t feel natural and it’s not like how I want it,” she said.
Her performance in “Giselle” in 2014 was critically acclaimed, landing her the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards prize for Outstanding Female Performance in the lead role.
The ballerina became a Principal at the Royal Ballet in 2013 accepting the invitation as she likes the varied repertoire despite its demands on the dancers. For all her experience her nerves still jangle before a performance.
“I have a feeling of fear before a performance starts, it’s just unbearable. In general people think that we don’t perhaps worry but I find, as I’m getting older, I worry even more. Sometimes I get to a point that I just want to jump into a taxi and run away before a performance starts. Of course I don’t do that in reality but this feeling really annoys me,” the ballerina explained.
Avoiding those taxi rides and at 28 the ballerina has ambitions now to focus on contemporary roles and work with new choreographers.
“Over the last ten years I have danced a variety of roles. Now, I want to focus on the things for which I have a special talent – psychological and dramatic roles or contemporary dance for which it seems to me I have a great ability. Right now, there are many interesting choreographers and there are so many things happening around and for me I really want to try it all and I think that I will gradually retreat further from classics,” she opined.
Natalia Osipova’s next role sees her perform in Frederick Ashton’s “La Fille Mal Gardee” – a romantic comedy ballet that follows the story of a country beauty who falls for a young farmer. The Royal Ballet production will be staged in Covent Garden on April 16
