1
00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,720
Let's appreciate the power of 
style. 

2
00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:09,280
Style is about working out what 
works for you to allow you to be

3
00:00:09,280 --> 00:00:13,400
the best version of yourself, 
whatever form that takes the 

4
00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:16,640
food we eat can profoundly 
influence our well-being and 

5
00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,840
self perception. 
After all, who doesn't want to 

6
00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,560
feel the best version of 
themselves? 

7
00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,080
In 2022, the science and 
nutrition company Zoe 

8
00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:29,600
commissioned a randomized 
controlled trial, the most 

9
00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:31,640
rigorous test science has to 
offer. 

10
00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:35,160
The results were published in 
Nature Medicine, which is 

11
00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:37,280
basically the Oscars of the 
science world. 

12
00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,920
It showed Zoe to be more 
effective in improving health 

13
00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,920
than government advice. 
Participants saw reductions in 

14
00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:47,960
blood fat, body weight and waist
size. 

15
00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,440
They had better blood sugar 
control and saw an increase in 

16
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,200
their good gut bacteria. 
Crucially, those doing Zoe also 

17
00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,760
felt better. 
They were twice as likely to 

18
00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:02,920
report improved mood and feeling
less hungry, and four times more

19
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:05,319
likely to report better sleep 
and more energy. 

20
00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:09,560
Zoe has helped its participants 
to feel like the best version of

21
00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,560
themselves. 
If you're curious about aligning

22
00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,320
your nutrition with your 
lifestyle, you should give Zoe's

23
00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:17,520
personalized nutrition program a
try. 

24
00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,800
The first step is easy. 
Go to zoe.com and take the free 

25
00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,280
quiz. 
Use the Code Style 10 to get 10%

26
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,800
off. 
That's zoe.com and use Code 

27
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:32,240
Style 10 for your special style 
DNA discount. 

28
00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,360
Today I'm going on a style 
journey with the retired 

29
00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:40,360
ballerina, the president of the 
Royal Academy of Dance, 

30
00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,120
presenter, judge and classical 
ballet coach at the Royal Ballet

31
00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:50,880
Company, the dazzling and divine
Dame Darcy Bussell DBE. 

32
00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:54,960
Hello and welcome, Darcy. 
Thank you. 

33
00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:58,920
It's such a privilege to have 
you here, such a treat. 

34
00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,080
And I have to say you have been 
this is real fangirl stuff. 

35
00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:08,440
You've been my all time favorite
ballerina because not only we 

36
00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:13,080
unbelievably technical, but you 
danced with such a musicality 

37
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:18,120
and flair and sheer joy. 
And, and in fact, my nephew 

38
00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:23,000
reminded me the other night, he 
said that his father ABS my 

39
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:28,160
brother absolutely loved you, 
had a complete crush on you. 

40
00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:29,400
So how lovely. 
Thank you there. 

41
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:35,720
You go, I have to say, coming to
watch you very sweetly. 

42
00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:40,120
You invited me to watch you 
coach two of the the principles 

43
00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,680
for Cinderella at the Royal 
Opera House last week was so 

44
00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,360
magical. 
It was proper bucket list stuff 

45
00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:50,920
for me. 
How much time does the Royal 

46
00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:53,080
Ballet Company take up for you 
now? 

47
00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:58,120
Well, it it's not a full time 
job, which is, is is lucky and I

48
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,960
can dab in and out. 
So I come in for intensive 

49
00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,360
periods of about two to three 
months for a production and I'll

50
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:10,800
work with two to three couples, 
principals, young principals. 

51
00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,800
And so it's kind of getting 
probably the best bit of the job

52
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,720
really. 
I mean, I remember my coach 

53
00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,360
being very dear to me for 20 
years, so I just hope that I'm 

54
00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,440
giving them the same sort of 
knowledge and kind of those 

55
00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,640
golden Nuggets that I remember 
getting from my coach. 

56
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,800
Well, it seemed to me it really 
was golden Nuggets. 

57
00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:37,920
It was just the tilt of a head 
or the, you know, just a tiny 

58
00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,160
element of the hands or it was 
just tweaks. 

59
00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,080
And I it was absolutely 
beautiful to watch and they were

60
00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,360
just like sponges soaking it. 
Up. 

61
00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:50,880
Well, I mean, it's so lovely. 
I mean, we've got such an 

62
00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,160
amazing repertoire in the Royal 
Ballet Company, we have such 

63
00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,200
diversity. 
But when you come back to some 

64
00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,960
of the classics like Sir 
Frederick Ashton's, which he was

65
00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:07,880
our founder choreographer, 
there's pieces to really tune to

66
00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,240
the style that was Ashton. 
And sort of what you say is 

67
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,320
British ballet is incredibly 
important. 

68
00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:19,240
So to get those finer details 
right. 

69
00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:21,560
So so we don't look like every 
other company. 

70
00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,800
We all have to have our 
distinctive style and and that's

71
00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:27,440
important that we hold on to 
that. 

72
00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,040
And so I'm really always looking
for that. 

73
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,680
But it was often not just, as 
you say, a tilt of a head or a 

74
00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:35,720
mannerism. 
It's it's very much through the 

75
00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,680
musical side of it as well. 
Yeah. 

76
00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:44,840
So Frederick Ashton being our 
founding choreographer, just to 

77
00:04:44,840 --> 00:04:49,680
emphasize his style and what he 
was about with all his ballets 

78
00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,280
is so important that we hold 
onto because that's our unique 

79
00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:55,880
style of British ballet. 
That's what we, I suppose, what 

80
00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,400
we stand for. 
And how would you define that? 

81
00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:06,000
Gosh, few musicality, definitely
so how he emphasized things. 

82
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,000
The movement in the upper body? 
Incredibly important. 

83
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,600
How he bends from the waist 
using the torso a lot, the 

84
00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:18,720
Porter bra and then the kind of 
the detail in the footwork. 

85
00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,400
It was quite intricate, but it 
his timing. 

86
00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,560
I think he was, you know, a 
great choreographer, obviously 

87
00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,880
and genius of a choreographer, 
but he was very clever with 

88
00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,320
comedy as well and keeping 
things light and, and those 

89
00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:38,840
pauses and those emphasis or in 
the music really help accentuate

90
00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:44,000
the how brilliant the step can 
be or how soft it can be. 

91
00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,160
He, he's very clever in those. 
So you don't need a language. 

92
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:49,880
You know, the language is the 
movement. 

93
00:05:49,880 --> 00:05:53,680
You don't need to say any words 
to understand what's going on. 

94
00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:57,680
And he was brilliant at that. 
That that's a lovely 

95
00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,440
description, and it always 
strikes me that there's a lot of

96
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,480
acting in ballet. 
Yes, I, I mean, obviously 

97
00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,960
there's quite a lot of abstract 
works, but we are probably very 

98
00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,240
famous for our narrative 
ballets. 

99
00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:16,520
And it does make a big 
difference if those dancers can 

100
00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:20,360
really fall into the role and 
feel like they're encompassing 

101
00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:24,000
that character. 
And it's not too difficult in 

102
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:25,560
the big classics because of the 
Princess. 

103
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:29,320
But you are telling a lot of 
story in a very short time. 

104
00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,600
So you do have to be a little 
bit more obvious sometimes. 

105
00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,240
But we don't want it to be 
pantomime. 

106
00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,120
Of course, it's got to still be 
subtle, but it's also got to 

107
00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,440
travel across, you know, the 
orchestra pit right into the 

108
00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,600
auditorium. 
And so to get those subtleties 

109
00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,640
right, a lot of dancers love to 
look at the floor and feel like 

110
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,640
they're being really into 
themselves and feeling 

111
00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:52,000
something. 
But actually, if you don't 

112
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,520
project and look up and, and 
give the audience, you know, 

113
00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:57,840
your eyes and the whites of your
eyes, it's. 

114
00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,560
Yeah, we sometimes miss a lot. 
Lovely. 

115
00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:04,760
I mean, I know you're passionate
about dance and the importance 

116
00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,080
of the creative industries in in
general. 

117
00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,640
I mean, let's just talk about 
that for a moment because I know

118
00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:16,360
you've doing dance academies and
all that, and I'd love to hear a

119
00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,000
little bit more. 
Thank you, Amanda. 

120
00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,800
Yes. 
I mean, I could boy you 

121
00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,320
senseless with all the kind of 
journeys I've gone down since 

122
00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:28,160
I've retired as a ballerina. 
I've realized that the 

123
00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:32,440
attributes of dance are 
incredibly large, you know, 

124
00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:34,800
besides our physical and our 
mental health. 

125
00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:40,040
But just how they change how 
people react to you in society, 

126
00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,160
how you read body language, when
you understand your body and how

127
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,120
it moves and the emotional 
ranges, you learn that from the 

128
00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:51,760
arts and especially from dance. 
And so to find that out when I 

129
00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:57,400
left how I was missing that from
my own life, I really felt that 

130
00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,960
my daughter's growing up in, in 
physical education at school, 

131
00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,840
that they needed a lot more 
diversity to be able to feel, I 

132
00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:09,840
suppose what you say, present 
and alive, all their senses 

133
00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:12,160
awakened. 
And you know, physical activity 

134
00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:15,680
is such an important part, but 
if we can go that bit further 

135
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,800
and say how it can help our 
emotional state as well. 

136
00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,920
And I think dance has that. 
So I set up one charity where 

137
00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,760
it's called Diverse Dance Mix, 
where we're just celebrating 10 

138
00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:31,880
years where we put dance fitness
into state schools, but primary 

139
00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,600
mainly. 
And then also I've started 

140
00:08:34,600 --> 00:08:39,760
another kind of company, which 
is called Move Ashore, which 

141
00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:43,280
I've with a professor Peter 
Lover, Doctor Peter Lovett, and 

142
00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:45,840
all his work is around movement 
and dance. 

143
00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:51,240
And it's as a social 
prescription so that you can do 

144
00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:57,840
a program over 20 weeks, 60 
sessions over that time where it

145
00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:00,560
can help you just with your 
everyday activities, you know, 

146
00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:02,240
just helping you build a 
structure. 

147
00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:05,200
You know, it's not just about 
fitness that we always think how

148
00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,640
dances for fitness, you know, 
this is what we're doing, but 

149
00:09:07,640 --> 00:09:10,800
it's not actually, it's just for
our, our mental health as well. 

150
00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:13,600
And we forget how brilliant it 
is. 

151
00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:17,800
So uplifting. 
So uplifting, but also and just 

152
00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:21,360
how we communicate with people, 
how we interact with people, we 

153
00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,440
learn that from dance. 
We have this bond when we dance 

154
00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:28,160
together, you know, we kind of 
laugh, but it does make you look

155
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,400
at the good in people instead of
the negative. 

156
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:34,600
And I think that's really 
important that we keep 

157
00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,360
recognizing that and noticed 
what the attributes of dance can

158
00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:39,960
help. 
How? 

159
00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:46,520
How lovely. 
How have you detuned your body 

160
00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,800
post 8 hours a day? 
I think that's a. 

161
00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:54,120
Really good way of saying. 
But I mean you must have been 

162
00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,160
training for 8 hours a day at 
times. 

163
00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,800
Yeah, very much. 
I mean it was always, it was 

164
00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,480
very hard to have any time off 
because it's a short career. 

165
00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:04,800
So it was always very 
concentrated and you're right, 

166
00:10:05,040 --> 00:10:08,360
it was very intense and it was 
probably to an extreme as well. 

167
00:10:08,360 --> 00:10:12,480
It's not any old dance style 
classical ballet. 

168
00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:14,040
How are those toes? 
Yeah, the toes. 

169
00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:15,600
The toes are still working, 
luckily. 

170
00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,000
But yeah, it was a hard thing to
wind down from. 

171
00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:22,520
I, I think I, I was very 
fortunate. 

172
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:27,160
By the end of my career, I had 
had 222 children, so two 

173
00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,720
daughters. 
And that kind of gave me that 

174
00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:35,000
distance where I was able to 
step back and look at it from 

175
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:39,400
afar because I had another life 
where I had to focus on as well 

176
00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,520
with my kids. 
And so it gave me a bit of 

177
00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:48,120
perspective of how I was going 
to do that job and and step away

178
00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,120
from being a full time classical
ballerina. 

179
00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:55,440
And it's really odd when I say 
it like that because it is you 

180
00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,880
just live and breathe it and 
it's very the high thing was 

181
00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:01,120
very hard. 
I thought I was so ready, you 

182
00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,200
know, I'd given myself a 
Goodyear or two to adjust to the

183
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,560
idea that I was going to stop 
and how I was going to stop. 

184
00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:14,320
And I was recommended that I 
should maybe go into another 

185
00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,560
project. 
As soon as I finished that it 

186
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,480
wasn't that total kind of close 
the door. 

187
00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,080
So I went into a kind of 
commercial project with 

188
00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:26,360
Katherine Jenkins actually. 
Yeah, called Viva La Diva. 

189
00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,640
Yeah, well done, Viva La Diva. 
And that was really exciting 

190
00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:35,080
actually to focus on something 
more commercial and totally our 

191
00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:36,760
idea as well, which was really 
exciting. 

192
00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:41,360
So that was very helpful. 
But it was the family. 

193
00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:43,960
I think the people you work 
with, you know, it's that kind 

194
00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,480
of bond you've created for years
and years. 

195
00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:50,000
And this is, we're so close to 
those people because we come 

196
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,400
through school together, going 
to the company together, and you

197
00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,880
live and breathe the ups and 
downs together. 

198
00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,520
You know, we're very open. 
You know, dancers are very 

199
00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:03,160
expressive. 
We tell each other everything we

200
00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:05,520
don't, you know? 
And so it's really hard when you

201
00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,760
don't have those people around 
you 24. 

202
00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,160
Yes. 
I mean, do do does sort of a 

203
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:19,720
company like the Royal Ballet 
Company, does it help ballerinas

204
00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,600
and dancers as they retire? 
Does it give them guidance? 

205
00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,640
Because it's, it's a huge sort 
of step off the diving board, 

206
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:29,720
isn't it? 
I mean, I don't believe it's 

207
00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,200
their job to give us guidance at
all. 

208
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,160
I think that is up to us. 
I mean, we're adults and we had 

209
00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:37,800
a really long career. 
I was very fortunate and I did 

210
00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,320
an awful lot and I worked with a
lot of people. 

211
00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:44,600
I think, you know, everybody 
warns you that it's going to be 

212
00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,560
tough. 
And I think, you know, from 

213
00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:49,360
stepping away from such some a 
passion that you've loved so 

214
00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:53,680
much and you've dedicated so 
much to, you know, it is going 

215
00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:55,720
to hit you. 
I don't think you realize how 

216
00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:57,240
much it's going to hit you. 
Yeah. 

217
00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:00,360
I thought there was a death in 
the family that that kind of 

218
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,040
feeling, but. 
You are grieving something. 

219
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:04,920
Yes, really. 
It is really odd sort. 

220
00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,360
Of appreciating that and saying 
that's fine, I will grieve it. 

221
00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,880
Exactly, exactly that. 
You have to take it on and go, 

222
00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:17,520
OK, I didn't know I was going to
feel as traumatise as I am. 

223
00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:21,560
Yeah, but let's focus that 
energy into something else and, 

224
00:13:21,560 --> 00:13:24,840
and work the problem. 
And I then I, that's when I 

225
00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:27,080
realized I couldn't not be in 
the studio. 

226
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,280
So I had to go back and do 
something, even if it was Zumba 

227
00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:33,880
or my own dance fitness or 
something, to keep my body 

228
00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:37,840
moving or to have that still, 
that stimulation because very 

229
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,760
weird not to move your body 
anymore when that's all you've 

230
00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,840
done. 
Darcy, I've never seen you not 

231
00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,520
move your body. 
It's it, yeah. 

232
00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:47,240
It's, it's hard for me to keep 
still. 

233
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:51,040
So it's a natural in me. 
I know I can't escape that. 

234
00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:56,640
But of course I had to back off 
because my, I had worn it tough,

235
00:13:56,680 --> 00:14:00,320
you know, it had worn down. 
So I could never do anything to 

236
00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,960
the extreme that I had. 
And that was that was very 

237
00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:05,640
important that I understood 
that. 

238
00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:09,720
And then I stepped back and I 
didn't expect my body to do more

239
00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,760
or my mind to be that intense, 
but something. 

240
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,520
But is it quite difficult to 
literally go from 8 hours to 

241
00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:22,120
maybe an hour or two a day? 
Do you have to literally sort of

242
00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:23,880
detune your body? 
I didn't. 

243
00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:28,120
I didn't think of it like that, 
but I suppose you feel those 

244
00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:32,720
moments where you're not being 
as active with other activities,

245
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,760
then they're not the intense, 
you know, training. 

246
00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,520
I mean, a lot of dancers in 
retirement still do their ballet

247
00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,640
class every day, and I really 
didn't want to do that. 

248
00:14:43,800 --> 00:14:46,560
You've done enough. 
I really, yeah, I kind of like, 

249
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,120
no, I'm not going to be happy 
doing that. 

250
00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:51,640
I know I didn't want to push my 
turn out because everything is 

251
00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,880
obviously in rotation and turn 
out, which is incredibly 

252
00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,320
important for our lines and why 
we're classical dancers. 

253
00:14:57,320 --> 00:14:59,880
That why we're not contemporary 
dancers or why we're not, you 

254
00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,520
know, ballroom or anything else 
because of the turn out. 

255
00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,280
So all our lines. 
So to relax, that was really 

256
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:10,640
important for me. 
So I love doing dance fitness. 

257
00:15:10,640 --> 00:15:13,200
I thought that was great fun and
I tried lots of different 

258
00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:17,240
things. 
And so that kept me ticking I 

259
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,920
suppose and kept my, what was 
really important that I found 

260
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:24,880
out very quickly is that joints 
had to be oiled constantly. 

261
00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:27,720
That doesn't stop. 
And how do you oil them? 

262
00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:29,640
Top tips. 
Top tips. 

263
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:35,160
Well, I mean, I love reading so 
much about how we keep our body 

264
00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:36,480
strong and supple and things 
like that. 

265
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,040
But I think, you know, there's 
the natural things, you know, 

266
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:44,120
with yoga and those gurus where 
every joint has to be rotated 

267
00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,040
every day. 
And so doing a circle of your 

268
00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,960
wrist, doing your elbows, doing 
your knees, doing your ankles 

269
00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:54,560
every day, it's probably one of 
the best things you could do the

270
00:15:54,560 --> 00:15:59,040
whole kind of shake off, awaken 
the body, the torso, keeping the

271
00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,400
rotation and the torso. 
How important that is because 

272
00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,560
you think our jobs now or our 
lives, not our jobs, but our 

273
00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:09,440
lives are on a laptop. 
And, and that is so bad for our 

274
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:12,200
frame and our our physique and 
our posture and everything. 

275
00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:15,920
So I'm very aware of that, but 
maybe I'm overly sensitive 

276
00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:20,760
because I was a doctor and I'm 
coach and I'm watching them all 

277
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:25,840
the time moving. 
Was it very hard coming back to 

278
00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:30,880
do because you performed at the 
2012 closing ceremony, which was

279
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,560
amazing, I have to say. 
Yeah, that was a shock. 

280
00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:36,720
Was it a shock to the to the 
body? 

281
00:16:36,720 --> 00:16:40,640
Well, I think just to my head as
well to kind of go, wow, I've 

282
00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:44,920
got to get back on that stage 
and prove that I can still do it

283
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,560
and that that's a willpower and 
a confidence that you. 

284
00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,320
Yeah, that's a tough one. 
And so I did give myself at 

285
00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,920
least six to eight months, 
probably about eight months to 

286
00:16:56,920 --> 00:17:00,440
get myself into proper shape 
because I I'd been moving, but I

287
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:04,640
hadn't been in a dancer's shape,
as we call it, a classical 

288
00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:06,560
dancer shape. 
And also just to get back on 

289
00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:11,599
point, and Christopher Wilden, 
who was choreographing our piece

290
00:17:11,599 --> 00:17:13,480
for the closing ceremony 
Olympics. 

291
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,440
So I had 4, four men to work 
with, which obviously was very 

292
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,560
nice. 
So being partnered by them and 

293
00:17:20,560 --> 00:17:23,079
they were all people I knew 
incredibly well from my career. 

294
00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:27,359
So that confidence was great, 
but it was just knowing that it 

295
00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:31,520
was going to be live, I was only
going to have one chance, and 

296
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,040
that it was going to go across 
thousands and thousands of 

297
00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:36,600
people that were going to see 
it. 

298
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:38,400
Billions probably. 
Yeah. 

299
00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:40,960
And you have to kind of delete 
that from your mind. 

300
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:45,040
And that's the weird one. 
And then the kind of other crazy

301
00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:49,080
things of coming off a wire at 
the top of the stadium, you 

302
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:51,280
know, it's like, I can't, I'll 
dance, but do I have to do that 

303
00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:54,240
as well? 
Live, I know. 

304
00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:55,480
Live as well. 
Who knows? 

305
00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,880
So you posted you practice. 
That yeah, well, not not enough,

306
00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,720
I don't think. 
We, we only could get in the 

307
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:07,960
stadium basically in the middle 
of the night, so around 3:00 in 

308
00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,720
the morning because of the 
activities that were going 

309
00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:13,320
during the Olympics. 
And that was the only time 

310
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:15,880
everything was going to be set 
up and ready to work on. 

311
00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:19,080
So trying it then. 
But we never did it with the 

312
00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,280
pyrotechnics. 
So I was on a wire with 

313
00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:25,080
pyrotechnics attached. 
Oh my God, to my frame, not to 

314
00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,400
my body, but to the frame. 
And I was just, you know, all 

315
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:28,960
those strange things that go for
your head. 

316
00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,720
Like I think I've got a lot of 
Hairspray in my head. 

317
00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,880
Does that catch light with 
pyotechnics, You know, just 

318
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,240
stupid things. 
I was like, you know, you just 

319
00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,520
have to put all that trust in 
all the extraordinary people 

320
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,360
that are there to put on that 
production. 

321
00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:46,480
And, and it was an amazing thing
to be part of. 

322
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:49,560
I still kind of pinch myself to 
believe that I was really part 

323
00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:51,880
of that closing ceremony. 
I mean, the opening ceremony was

324
00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,600
already phenomenal, but then to 
be part of the closing and 

325
00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:57,760
putting the flame out, I think 
that's what was fun. 

326
00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:00,680
Very, very special. 
Now today we're going on a style

327
00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:01,480
journey. 
Yes. 

328
00:19:01,760 --> 00:19:05,400
Can you describe what you have 
put on this morning? 

329
00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:07,280
Oh well. 
I wouldn't even want to mention 

330
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:11,040
what I put on this morning. 
I did a dog walk and then I got 

331
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:15,000
on a bicycle and cycled here and
it was you cycled here. 

332
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,440
Josie, you didn't tell me that 
as you walk through, that's all.

333
00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,560
So cold, no, so and also sort 
of, I mean, I do change when I 

334
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,360
get to the Opera House and 
change my clothes. 

335
00:19:25,360 --> 00:19:28,880
So I'm not in, I'm probably in a
pair of black Zara trousers, 

336
00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:32,840
which are kind of my staple pair
of trousers that I have quite a 

337
00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,360
few of them where I work in 
those when I'm coaching. 

338
00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:40,880
And and then I have a thermal 
top on because it was so cold. 

339
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,440
And then I have a very, very 
overly fluffy, very, very pink 

340
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,280
top, which I don't know where 
it's come from. 

341
00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:51,280
Is it, I want to say Boden, but 
I don't think it's Boden. 

342
00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:53,440
It's one of those brands, just a
cozy. 

343
00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:57,160
Short sleeved mohair. 
Yes, mohair, that's what you 

344
00:19:57,240 --> 00:19:58,840
say. 
Yes, and I've got very large 

345
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:01,120
chunky boots on. 
You do, I hope. 

346
00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:03,640
You've warmed up. 
I'm very warm now, thank 

347
00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,000
goodness. 
Yes, I don't feel very chic. 

348
00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,000
The nice thing is working in the
Opera House and when you go to a

349
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:13,080
show, you get that opportunity 
to dress up, so it's really 

350
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:14,320
nice. 
I really enjoy that. 

351
00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,240
Well, we'll come on to that in a
minute, but you grew up between 

352
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,240
London and Australia. 
Mainly London, but yes, we did 

353
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,440
go to Australia a lot. 
But I I lived in London all my 

354
00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,240
life, yeah. 
And were you very aware of your 

355
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,480
mother's style? 
My mother was very eccentric and

356
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,520
a fashion designer herself in 
the 60s and had her own shop in 

357
00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:36,920
the King's Road, I don't know 
how long for. 

358
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,480
So she was immersed in it, in 
it. 

359
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:43,920
And I do remember, I suppose I 
didn't notice as a young kid, 

360
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:49,680
but I always had like a purple 
Jean jacket with studs or suede 

361
00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,360
patchwork miniskirt with studs. 
And I always had a pair of 

362
00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:55,960
cowboy boots. 
So everything was really out 

363
00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:57,400
there and I was just like, 
great. 

364
00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,240
And was that very much her 
style? 

365
00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:03,160
I don't know, I think not 
really. 

366
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,400
Oh, these were your choices. 
I think they were my choices, 

367
00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:11,840
but I had an eccentric palette 
to choose from and that probably

368
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,160
came from my mother. 
So and, and she gave me that 

369
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,400
freedom until I got a bit older 
and then it kind of turned into 

370
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,600
the kind of French long socks 
and loafers. 

371
00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:23,520
And I was like, I don't want to 
wear long socks and loafers. 

372
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,760
You're like, no, very stylish. 
You should wear, you know. 

373
00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:30,640
And it was really then I think 
as I got matured as a, as a 

374
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:35,720
young girl, then it was very 
much you don't do this and you 

375
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,360
do this and this is how you wear
clothes and stuff. 

376
00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,160
And were you obedient, or did 
you have any rebellious? 

377
00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:43,720
Moments. 
No, I was, I, I thought I was 

378
00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:45,360
obedient. 
I think she, my mum would 

379
00:21:45,360 --> 00:21:50,680
probably say quite the opposite.
I, I did enjoy the whole 

380
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,080
costume, putting on the outfit 
every morning, but I was 

381
00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,720
desperate to fit in as well. 
So at school, you know, I so 

382
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,360
badly wanted, I think when I was
in the 70s, there was these 

383
00:22:00,360 --> 00:22:03,160
wonderful kind of folded over 
ankle boots. 

384
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,160
Do you remember the suede little
boots? 

385
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,480
And gosh, I love those. 
And my mum said, Oh no, your, 

386
00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:12,040
your legs are too skinny and 
knobbly for those boots. 

387
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,720
And I was like. 
Those have now become the most 

388
00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:18,440
famous legs in the world. 
I remember I was saying that now

389
00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,920
you're done and your legs don't 
suit those funny little ankle 

390
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,440
boots and back. 
They said they're so gorgeous, 

391
00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,800
you know, and you can get them 
in different colours, you know, 

392
00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,640
like that. 
And yeah, I remember being quite

393
00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:29,800
devastated. 
So I didn't get a pair of. 

394
00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:31,280
Those. 
And how old would you have been 

395
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,760
then? 
I suppose about 9-8 or nine when

396
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:37,960
that was kind of really 
important that I wanted to be 

397
00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,920
like my friends, you know? 
Did you wear a school uniform? 

398
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:45,160
Not until I went to our 
performing arts school. 

399
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,800
And that was interesting because
we had to, oh, not a very nicer.

400
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,480
And and any sort of hangover 
from that you know well. 

401
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,240
That was two years. 
Yeah, the textures, you're so 

402
00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,120
right. 
It wasn't a nice texture. 

403
00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:05,600
It felt very nylon E so didn't 
feel comfortable and also that 

404
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:10,160
when you got wet in your uniform
it it smelled strange because of

405
00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,000
the nylon. 
I don't know why that was so 

406
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,280
important when I was young, but.
Is that still important to you 

407
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,040
now? 
Are you sort of particularly 

408
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,560
aware of the smell of the? 
Feel, definitely. 

409
00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:26,920
I love to feel comfortable. 
But it's funny, I suppose, being

410
00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,880
brought up wearing costumes in 
the theatre, it's amazing what 

411
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,800
pain you do go through in an 
outfit as well. 

412
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,480
So but no, the the texture and 
as long as it wasn't itchy, I 

413
00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:38,680
hated that. 
And it's funny. 

414
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:42,080
My girls really are the same 
anything even though if you 

415
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,960
wanted to wear a pair of glitter
tights, remember, and they'd be 

416
00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:46,400
itchy and they'll I'm not 
wearing them. 

417
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,600
I suspect they look great and 
they're like, no, I'm not 

418
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:53,000
wearing glitter tights. 
But do you have one standout 

419
00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:58,280
childhood outfit that you sort 
of remember that really made an 

420
00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:02,400
impact on you? 
I think my dad, he bought me a 

421
00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:07,080
pair of trainers from America. 
They were kind of those added as

422
00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:11,400
kind of 70s running once with 
the rubber on the bottom with 

423
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,680
the stripes, and I thought those
were the best things ever. 

424
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,600
They also helped me run fast. 
And I thought, wow, and they're 

425
00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:20,400
from America. 
How cool, you know? 

426
00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:23,840
But I think that's, you know, 
when you didn't get everything 

427
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:27,200
internationally. 
So those trainers were really 

428
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,720
important. 
And I think he got me a jacket 

429
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:33,400
as well, which was some cool 
brand as well. 

430
00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,440
And I remember that jacket. 
But I do have a very funny 

431
00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:41,120
outfit that my mom framed of me 
when I was a probably about 5 or

432
00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:47,680
6 where I'm in a Tutu. 
But I have my little Jean jacket

433
00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:52,040
on with my cowboy boots and I'm 
being really grumpy and annoying

434
00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:55,040
and I'm in this picture and I've
got my hands crossed and she 

435
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:56,480
just thinks that's the best 
picture ever. 

436
00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,640
And do you remember the first 
time that dance just you, you 

437
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:03,800
had a light bulb moment with 
Dance I? 

438
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:07,920
Mean it came. 
It came late to me because my 

439
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,320
mom sent me to ballet class 
every Saturday because I had 

440
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,520
really knocked knees and she 
knew it would strengthen out my 

441
00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:17,320
posture and my legs because I 
was quite bendy and flexible. 

442
00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,240
And so I didn't, it wasn't my 
love, it wasn't what I wanted to

443
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,120
do. 
She just knew it would be 

444
00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:27,120
helpful. 
And it took me, I suppose 

445
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,600
probably about 3 or 4 years 
until I had that moment and it 

446
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:33,160
sort of happened that stage 
school. 

447
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:39,120
So I went to arts Ed, arts 
educational in the Barbican and 

448
00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:41,440
I was there for two years. 
And when I was there, I was 

449
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:43,560
like, this is what I've got to 
do. 

450
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,680
I've got to go into ballet 
properly. 

451
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:51,840
I can't just do this as one of 
the interests in for the stage. 

452
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,960
I want to do it really well. 
Fantastic, fantastic. 

453
00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:01,040
So any rebellious years in, you 
know, sort of teenage with 

454
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:06,040
clothing, hair, makeup? 
I well, apparently I was always 

455
00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:11,920
rebellious, but I, I, I felt 
quite square. 

456
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:14,720
Believe it. 
I did. 

457
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:18,200
I felt, yeah. 
I, I think because my mom said, 

458
00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,240
you know, if you're going to 
wear a mini skirt, you can't 

459
00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,640
then have anything else showing 
upstairs. 

460
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:32,840
Not that I had anything to show 
upstairs, but so it was either 

461
00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,280
one or the other legs or 
cleavage. 

462
00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,080
Yeah, boobs. 
And, and she said that was 

463
00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:43,280
really, really important. 
You come across really clean, 

464
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:47,160
classy, but you can have fun 
with your wardrobe, but just 

465
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:48,920
make sure you don't push those 
boundaries. 

466
00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,240
And, and actually I felt it was 
a great lesson and you kind of 

467
00:26:52,240 --> 00:26:54,560
use everything. 
I always felt more comfortable 

468
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:59,840
in tailored clothes. 
I wasn't great in things, I 

469
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:03,320
suppose feeling sloppy and I 
felt better. 

470
00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:04,760
But maybe that was for my 
dancing. 

471
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,680
Obviously leotards are 
incredibly revealing. 

472
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:12,000
They don't leave much to the 
imagination. 

473
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:16,920
And I've always felt that you 
had such a healthy attitude 

474
00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:23,160
towards your body and food and 
your shape. 

475
00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:29,000
But I mean, you must get driven 
very hard in ballet school to be

476
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:35,440
a certain way. 
At ballet school and nobody is 

477
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:39,000
driving you to be a certain way 
at all. 

478
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:45,040
We are driving ourselves and I 
think because of the the image 

479
00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,720
of the perfect ballerina and I 
think now it's even harder 

480
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,440
because the image is on your 
phone every two seconds. 

481
00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,800
So they can flick, flick, flick,
flick at all these dancers 

482
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,560
around the world. 
And what watch is praise or 

483
00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:01,400
whatever you want to say. 
But As for me as a dancer, it 

484
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:05,760
was how you moved. 
And I think because I was given 

485
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,840
quite big roles as soon as I 
joined the company. 

486
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:13,680
And so the ability to get 
through those roles was 

487
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:15,560
incredibly important and how 
well I did it. 

488
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:20,960
So for me to keep my body 
healthy and strong, I knew when 

489
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:24,560
I wasn't eating enough or I 
hadn't had enough protein or 

490
00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:29,400
carbs, or I felt it instantly 
and I felt weak and I felt 

491
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,000
incapable of getting through a 
work. 

492
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:38,520
And so I studied very quickly to
understand how I could help my 

493
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:44,680
body maintain a healthy weight. 
But also, you know, because our 

494
00:28:44,760 --> 00:28:49,000
seasons are very long and very 
strenuous and as you say, tough 

495
00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:51,920
on the body. 
So it was trying to keep that 

496
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:57,840
healthy body and also the 
stamina and lack of injuries. 

497
00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,760
And you know, all of those 
things you have to take into 

498
00:28:59,760 --> 00:29:03,320
account because if if a dancer 
doesn't eat and they're not 

499
00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,080
giving themselves the right 
nutrition, they're not going to 

500
00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,280
get through a season, they're 
not they're going to get a lot 

501
00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:11,600
of injuries. 
So it's very obvious. 

502
00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:16,600
What I think is hard for the 
public to see is so they look at

503
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:21,320
these dancers and see these kind
of sinewy bodies or long muscles

504
00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:26,600
and is that we don't see the 
distances that we travel. 

505
00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,840
So if you're looking at a 
marathon rather, you accept that

506
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:33,880
totally why their body looks the
way it does because you see the 

507
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:38,320
distances they go where it's a 
classical dancer or any dancer 

508
00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:42,840
when they're that sinewy and 
their bodies being pushed, 

509
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:47,880
stretching and strength, it's 
hard for people to understand. 

510
00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:50,760
So they, oh, they must be 
starving themselves to look like

511
00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,320
that. 
But not we're in that studio, as

512
00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:59,000
you say, more than 8 hours a 
day, like a marathon runner, but

513
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,360
you just don't see the distance.
Yeah, I mean, you're an elite 

514
00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,040
athlete. 
Yeah, very much. 

515
00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,240
I mean, they, they like to say, 
no, no, we're an artist first. 

516
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,280
We're not an athlete, but of 
course we're an athlete. 

517
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:12,640
Yeah, the body is being pushed 
to that extreme and, and if 

518
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,240
anything, you know, those 
dancers, they eat incredibly 

519
00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:16,960
well. 
I mean, it's very obvious when 

520
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,360
the ones that don't, and that is
tough to see. 

521
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:23,440
And, and because you lose that 
flexibility in the muscle, the 

522
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,960
dryness and, and the strength, 
it's it's very clear that you 

523
00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,200
suddenly can't push. 
Yeah. 

524
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:33,320
Fascinating. 
Now, we've talked about leotard.

525
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:38,120
Then in the rehearsal room, I 
noticed that, you know, and I've

526
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:42,240
seen this many times, it's more 
about functionality, 

527
00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,880
practicality, keeping joints 
warm. 

528
00:30:45,480 --> 00:30:49,440
But were you very conscious of 
that, Your rehearsal room look? 

529
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,640
Yeah, there there was. 
I came in that time. 

530
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,080
It was, it was so lovely. 
Late 80s, into the Royal Ballet,

531
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:03,000
where Ashton's, you know, he was
still alive and he loved all his

532
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:07,360
dances and pastels and it was 
really obvious and it was 

533
00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,640
lovely. 
So all the girls would be in 

534
00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,520
these pale Blues, pale pinks, 
pale yellows, all these lovely 

535
00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,400
peachy colors and all different.
And, and then the men, you know,

536
00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,200
they wouldn't, they'd be in 
their normal colors, you know, 

537
00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,640
it wasn't important. 
But for the women, yeah, in 

538
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:23,480
black or Navy or stuff, but or 
white. 

539
00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:25,640
The guys used to wear sometimes 
white tights. 

540
00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:31,440
But you know, then suddenly into
the 90s that disappeared and so 

541
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:35,800
then it was very kind of black. 
I remember just wearing black 

542
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:40,000
all in ones and Navy all in ones
and Gray all in ones. 

543
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,760
No color at all actually. 
And then we all had our own 

544
00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,000
personalized kind of leg warmers
and everything. 

545
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:50,840
I used to only wear one for some
reason for a long time over 1 

546
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:53,440
hamstring and everybody's go, 
why are you only wearing one 

547
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:54,680
hat? 
You know, one leg warm. 

548
00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:56,920
And I was like, well, because 
I've got 1 hamstring that always

549
00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:58,040
bothers me or something like 
that. 

550
00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:03,080
But we did have these quirky, 
you know, personalized outfits 

551
00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:05,880
and in and I think it came from 
things like fame. 

552
00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:08,880
And were you inspired by each 
other? 

553
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:13,400
Was it a was there a sort of 
competitiveness in the rehearsal

554
00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,360
room look? 
I think if you had a great 

555
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:19,280
skirt, you know, if the ballet 
needed a good skirt and you had 

556
00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:21,680
a good practice skirt and 
everybody, everybody would go, 

557
00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:25,120
oh, you've got a lovely skirt 
on, you know, and it would kind 

558
00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:27,520
of be funny how smart you could 
look. 

559
00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:29,640
But actually it wasn't that 
trendy to look too smart. 

560
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:33,960
And where now how they have 
really designer leotards and 

561
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,400
very stylish with little lace 
underneath and things like that,

562
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,240
all different types. 
And it's much more fashionable 

563
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:44,640
to look chic in the studio. 
And they've all got the right 

564
00:32:44,640 --> 00:32:46,480
skirts. 
I mean, they had like an 

565
00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,880
incredible collection of skirts.
Mine were horrible or ripped or 

566
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:55,440
torn or you know, and so I'm 
always really impressed with how

567
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,920
good they look now the the, the 
dances in the company. 

568
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:02,360
Can we just talk about men and 
tights for a second? 

569
00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:07,720
How, how did that all start? 
What's the history of it? 

570
00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,160
Because sometimes I'll look at a
ballet and think, you know, if 

571
00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:14,480
you look at it from a distance 
or with your eyes sort of half 

572
00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:18,160
closed, you sort of, my God, 
he's naked from the waist down. 

573
00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:20,920
Yeah, I suppose it's that 
silhouette, isn't it? 

574
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,240
And the physicality that you 
want to see in a male dancer. 

575
00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,240
And so those type. 
Modesty. 

576
00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:30,760
Well, why? 
Why do we need modesty? 

577
00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:32,840
You know, really, we're dancers 
and we're speaking with our 

578
00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:35,520
body. 
I mean, for us, it doesn't seem 

579
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:39,000
a strange thing at all. 
I mean, society puts a lot of 

580
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:41,240
these boundaries upon us. 
So true. 

581
00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:43,680
You know, if you go to some 
countries, they're quite happy 

582
00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:48,520
to walk around naked, you know. 
But, you know, I think there is 

583
00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:53,160
some dignity in covering up, you
know, especially on going to the

584
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:54,960
supermarket, things like that, 
of course. 

585
00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:00,120
But if you're on the beach, you 
know, for us as a dancer, we 

586
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:04,240
have to dress away so that we 
can be handled and we can move. 

587
00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:09,560
So to have too much stuff on is 
ridiculous or try and cover up 

588
00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,360
is ridiculous. 
I mean, I've often looked at 

589
00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:17,360
those ballet costumes and they 
are absolutely exquisite. 

590
00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:22,600
Were they all comfortable? 
No, no, I mean we were, we were 

591
00:34:22,600 --> 00:34:26,560
very lucky in our company where 
we had incredible designers that

592
00:34:26,560 --> 00:34:28,199
made things look incredibly 
real. 

593
00:34:28,199 --> 00:34:31,360
So we had a lot of ballets like 
the Man On and the millings of 

594
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,080
Ken Mcmillan's and a lot of 
Ashtons where the bodices would 

595
00:34:35,159 --> 00:34:38,400
would be boned just like they 
would have been traditionally if

596
00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,520
it was a period piece or they 
would be laced up, you know. 

597
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:45,960
So they were things that had to 
feel and look real from a 

598
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:50,120
distance and you had to move in 
them so that it was part of that

599
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:53,159
period in the style and that was
important. 

600
00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:57,400
But that came with its problems 
because a bone down the side 

601
00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:01,080
would start bending because you 
have to bend in that bodice. 

602
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,560
And of course these things 
buckle and they crack or break. 

603
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:07,000
And so suddenly you've got a 
broken bone on the side of your 

604
00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,960
I say, no, it's a bone in the 
bodice of the costumes. 

605
00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:13,280
Yes, exactly my bone and my my 
body. 

606
00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:17,080
And so that things like that 
would happen quite regularly 

607
00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:19,280
where so they had to replace 
these things all the time. 

608
00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:22,200
I mean, I think they got clever 
and clever where they didn't 

609
00:35:22,200 --> 00:35:25,240
have to use the real stuff 
because also it made a costume 

610
00:35:25,240 --> 00:35:28,920
very heavy and you didn't want 
to, you know, dance in a costume

611
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,560
that was heavy either. 
So to use different materials 

612
00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:35,360
that maybe look like the more 
traditional was really helpful. 

613
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:37,680
I always used to ask in my 
tutus. 

614
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:40,640
So the a ballerina Tutu, we 
always have a bodice. 

615
00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:44,840
Again, it would be boned, but 
what I found really hard because

616
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:48,520
I had a rib cage that I had to 
breathe in or if the roles I did

617
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,680
were very exhausting. 
So I had a stretchy panel put in

618
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:53,680
the back. 
And I remember asking a 

619
00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:57,160
designer, I'd really love just a
pit of lycra put in the back. 

620
00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,000
And if you can match, you know, 
if you match the color, that's 

621
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,720
brilliant. 
And oh, I'd be devastated like 

622
00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:03,160
that. 
And I said, but it will make all

623
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:04,880
the difference. 
I will be a very, very happy. 

624
00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,840
I won't complain and whinge at 
all about your costume at all. 

625
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,520
And I'm like, OK, I think we can
allow this because your 

626
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,120
diaphragm, well, exactly, you 
have to breathe. 

627
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,160
If you know, there was that 
whole thing, well, don't move. 

628
00:36:15,320 --> 00:36:17,280
You don't know, don't move your 
ribs, don't move your ribs. 

629
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,920
But if you're physically putting
everything into it, you need to 

630
00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:23,160
be able to breathe. 
And I really noticed that. 

631
00:36:23,160 --> 00:36:27,040
And I had quite a long body for 
a classical dancer, which which 

632
00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,680
was good, you know, it showed 
off the hips or the waist or the

633
00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:33,400
the rib. 
But you do need to know that you

634
00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,600
can move in those costumes. 
So having a little extra panel 

635
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,680
put in made such difference. 
And I always suggest it to a lot

636
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:41,120
of the dancers if they're 
struggling. 

637
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:42,840
I say, have you asked for a 
stretchy pal? 

638
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:45,280
Good for you. 
Go on. 

639
00:36:45,280 --> 00:36:47,280
If you don't ask, you don't get.
Did you? 

640
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,320
Do you have one stand out 
costume? 

641
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:53,880
Gosh. 
I mean, I, I, I like the 

642
00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:56,640
costumes where they weren't, 
there wasn't much to it really. 

643
00:36:56,640 --> 00:37:01,040
I mean, you know, a great 
flowing skirt was fabulous. 

644
00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:04,640
I mean, I suppose the Romeo and 
Juliet costumes where they come 

645
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,400
under what you call that the. 
The SO Princess. 

646
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:12,320
Line, Princess line. 
They were beautiful and you felt

647
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:16,960
you could move so you have a 
full on body underneath leotard 

648
00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:20,640
and it would be attached to the 
chiffon and that felt the best 

649
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:22,640
and the freedom of a costume 
like that. 

650
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,200
But you felt the flow at the 
same time because you always 

651
00:37:25,200 --> 00:37:28,680
want that ability where you move
into something and then it keeps

652
00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:30,320
going even though you've 
stopped. 

653
00:37:30,320 --> 00:37:32,800
And that, that is a joy when 
you're dancing. 

654
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:34,520
Were you ever sewn into a 
costume? 

655
00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,240
Always actually always sewn in 
actually. 

656
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,600
So no. 
Last minute dashes to the loo, 

657
00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:41,840
no. 
No, I mean, there's tricks, 

658
00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:46,560
aren't there? 
But yes, no, no, you it's weird 

659
00:37:46,560 --> 00:37:49,880
because nerves obviously make 
you want to go salute last 

660
00:37:49,880 --> 00:37:54,080
minute as well before a show. 
And you just have to get into a 

661
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:57,360
routine where I'm I'm getting 
sewed in the last last minute. 

662
00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,360
OK, let's go for it. 
And then you just have to hold 

663
00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:04,720
everything in. 
I mean, so many years of being 

664
00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:09,520
in leotards and sort of a 
uniform of sorts, how, when 

665
00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:14,040
would you say that you really 
discovered your personal style 

666
00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:17,040
DNA? 
Well, I, I think I've said, I 

667
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,160
don't think I have. 
I think the sad thing is I've 

668
00:38:20,160 --> 00:38:25,080
been a chameleon because of my 
life in the theatre and just 

669
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,040
always adapted for what 
somebody, you know, the look 

670
00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:32,360
they want of you because you're 
just wanting to be that muse all

671
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:38,240
the time and to be accepted. 
So I always wanted to fall into 

672
00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:42,720
their image that they wanted to 
see of me and and that was felt 

673
00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:46,200
good actually, that I could keep
changing because I never wanted 

674
00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:49,920
to be boxed into being a certain
type of dancer. 

675
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:54,600
So to have that flexibility with
your outfits made you feel like 

676
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,040
you can always be a different 
dancer. 

677
00:38:57,560 --> 00:39:05,600
And what makes you feel you? 
Now I suppose I like to feel 

678
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:10,000
confident. 
So my clothes, I, you know, a 

679
00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:12,840
lot of people say, oh, you wear 
trousers a lot, Darcy and I and.

680
00:39:13,240 --> 00:39:14,840
On your beautiful legs are 
hidden. 

681
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:19,320
And I, I don't know, I think 
because I like to step out, I 

682
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:24,080
don't like to be restricted. 
I have noticed that that I used 

683
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:25,960
to love wearing pencil skirts 
when they were really 

684
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:29,480
fashionable at one stage. 
And and now I'm like, I couldn't

685
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:33,320
even, you know, really go with 
that because I want to be able 

686
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:37,440
to be able to stretch when I 
want to stretch or step out or, 

687
00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:41,360
you know, sit how I want to sit,
not to be restricted by my 

688
00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,040
outfit. 
So I think that's feeling 

689
00:39:44,040 --> 00:39:46,280
confident in how I'm wearing 
something. 

690
00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:49,440
I love wearing jackets. 
I am a bit obsessed. 

691
00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:51,840
I've got too many jackets of 
every style. 

692
00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:58,680
If I asked Angus, your husband, 
to describe your style DNA in 

693
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:02,760
three words, what 3 words do you
think he'd use? 

694
00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:09,800
He probably, I don't know 
actually, because I don't think 

695
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:13,720
he's that In Sync with what my 
style is anyway. 

696
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:20,080
I think something that I can 
move in. 

697
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:24,040
So it will probably have to be 
flexible, a flexible outfit. 

698
00:40:27,200 --> 00:40:32,760
He likes more preppy outfits. 
So he if I'm wearing a shirt and

699
00:40:32,760 --> 00:40:38,320
a belt on my dress or my skirt 
or my trousers, he's like great 

700
00:40:38,760 --> 00:40:41,640
like that. 
So that would be his image of 

701
00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:46,080
me. 
So, but I'm as I said, I change 

702
00:40:46,520 --> 00:40:50,560
my style will look a lot. 
But but 3 words that are really 

703
00:40:50,560 --> 00:40:53,120
fundamental to you. 
So comfort. 

704
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:59,640
Comfort, but something that can 
be chic if it had to be. 

705
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:04,080
And he, I think he does joke 
about about how many times I 

706
00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:06,840
changed my earrings. 
And that's probably come from 

707
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,040
strictly. 
I'm bling. 

708
00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:11,720
Yeah, yeah. 
A bit blingy, a bit too blingy 

709
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:13,720
with the earrings. 
So I yeah, I get a little 

710
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:16,400
obsessed with earrings, but 
that's about it. 

711
00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:21,440
Fantastic. 
Let's talk about Strictly for a 

712
00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:22,960
moment. 
Because you were a judge on 

713
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,600
there for seven years, yes. 
Amazing. 

714
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:29,120
Yeah. 
And were you very much in 

715
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,800
control of what you wore as a 
judge? 

716
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,800
Yes, I mean I, I was very lucky 
I had my own stylist so I didn't

717
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,880
have to rely on the in house. 
They were busy enough anyway, so

718
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,480
that was nice. 
And so I knew what I felt 

719
00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:45,160
comfortable in. 
And of course you have to keep 

720
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,840
remembering you're behind a desk
so you didn't always get seen. 

721
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:52,760
So just what that looked like 
and and I knew what suited 

722
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:55,960
because I was very broad 
shouldered and it's always nice 

723
00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,480
to be able to see the waist, but
very difficult when you're 

724
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,040
behind a desk. 
So I was very conscious of those

725
00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:07,040
sorts of things and what what I 
was happy in, but I also needed 

726
00:42:07,040 --> 00:42:10,000
to feel if I could move in it. 
So I didn't want get, Oh my 

727
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:12,600
gosh, sit here for, you know, 
holding my breath. 

728
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:14,960
So that was not the way I was 
going to work. 

729
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,840
And were they very much in 
control of your hair and makeup?

730
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:22,800
Well, it was. 
It had to be part of the whole 

731
00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:26,440
production, Yeah. 
So if you weren't getting 

732
00:42:26,440 --> 00:42:31,200
involved and being lazy, then 
they would tell you they wanted,

733
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,400
OK, you've got to wear a bit 
more colour here today, this 

734
00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:34,880
weekend. 
You know, if you think about 

735
00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:37,080
some sparkle, we'd really like 
some sparkle this weekend or 

736
00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:40,200
something like that. 
So it was always something you 

737
00:42:40,200 --> 00:42:44,360
know, and, and they would 
actually say they would be the 

738
00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:49,160
odd outfit, they'd say no. 
And that was really weird 

739
00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:53,520
because you'd want to know what 
was the reason for the note, but

740
00:42:53,520 --> 00:42:57,000
it would be often what the other
presenters were wearing and the 

741
00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:00,080
other judges. 
So I then you kind of understood

742
00:43:00,240 --> 00:43:02,280
and like, oh, OK, I understand 
and. 

743
00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:05,520
Was your stylist with you when 
you were having your hair and 

744
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:10,480
makeup planned? 
So gosh, we would do a couple of

745
00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:15,800
weeks about probably 5 weeks 
before the show would start and 

746
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:21,200
go through nearly every season, 
every weekend, which was hard 

747
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,440
work. 
And I wasn't very patient there 

748
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,680
where we'd go to a fitting and 
we'd be there and I would try 

749
00:43:26,680 --> 00:43:29,480
about 30 outfits on. 
But you loved that. 

750
00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:31,440
Yeah. 
And that was tough. 

751
00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:34,520
And then I'd go and maybe 4 
weeks later and then I'd do 

752
00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:38,560
another one of those because of 
course, if they were, if outfits

753
00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:41,000
weren't going to fit with 
everybody else, you have to 

754
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:44,040
always have plan AI, mean plan 
B&C&D. 

755
00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:48,600
So, yeah, the stylist had to 
always be there because if they 

756
00:43:48,600 --> 00:43:51,320
said, oh, no, no, it's not going
to work because Tess is wearing 

757
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:53,240
so and so Claudia is wearing 
this or soon. 

758
00:43:53,240 --> 00:43:55,960
So Judge, you know, so it was 
like, OK, we can do that. 

759
00:43:55,960 --> 00:43:58,400
We can change. 
I had some relationships. 

760
00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:03,200
We have some lovely designers 
like yourself, but very hard to 

761
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:07,800
ask for these outfits only 
because working on the BBC, you 

762
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,640
know, you're not allowed to 
publicize what you're wearing. 

763
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:15,440
And, and, and I understood that,
but it didn't seem fair to 

764
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:19,520
think, well, I'm going down this
route and asking a lot of these 

765
00:44:19,520 --> 00:44:23,040
designers, you know, if I could 
be seen in that, but I suppose 

766
00:44:23,080 --> 00:44:25,920
they could publicize well. 
Yes, I was going to say, you 

767
00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:28,600
know, I remember we publicized 
when you were looking. 

768
00:44:28,600 --> 00:44:30,360
Yeah, gorgeous and. 
Yeah. 

769
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:34,120
And the nice thing is they would
often appear in a, in a magazine

770
00:44:34,120 --> 00:44:37,520
anyway. 
So I've been very fortunate to 

771
00:44:37,520 --> 00:44:42,720
work with, you know, Bruce 
Oldfield or yourself, Amanda or 

772
00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:46,840
Jasper Conran or Katherine 
Walker. 

773
00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:53,280
And so really superb clothes 
that you felt $1,000,000 in. 

774
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:56,320
And that of course, might made 
such a difference with going on 

775
00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,240
live television and having that 
confidence that you needed. 

776
00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:03,040
Yes, I mean, I often talk about 
clothes being our armor and we 

777
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:06,920
how we message through clothes, 
but they they're very empowering

778
00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:10,200
when you know, and I don't care 
what it is, whether it's just a 

779
00:45:10,200 --> 00:45:13,600
gorgeous sweater or a fabulous 
evening dress. 

780
00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:17,640
It, it, the total feeling you 
change instantly. 

781
00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:22,200
And I loved the very simple 
lines and, and, and simple 

782
00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:23,840
silhouettes. 
Beautiful. 

783
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:29,480
I, it just so enjoyable. 
It was like being back in my job

784
00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:33,160
as a dancer and wearing those 
costumes and, and that's how I 

785
00:45:33,160 --> 00:45:36,880
kind of approached it and, and I
felt incredibly fortunate that I

786
00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:41,120
could do that every weekend. 
Now, so dressing up for 

787
00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:44,560
Strictly, what about I mean, 
you've been photographed 

788
00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:50,160
thousands of times, have you? 
Do you feel you're sort of in 

789
00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:53,960
control of your image? 
Have you ever been taken out of 

790
00:45:53,960 --> 00:45:57,640
your comfort zone when when 
you're being photographed for a 

791
00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:01,360
spread in a magazine? 
I lost the time actually and and

792
00:46:01,360 --> 00:46:06,200
I think because of my job as a 
dancer, I was really comfortable

793
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:09,000
with that. 
I wanted to constantly come out 

794
00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:12,000
of my comfort zone and test my 
look. 

795
00:46:12,240 --> 00:46:16,960
And obviously I'm not always 
pleased with it, but it was, it 

796
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:20,360
was part of the experiment of 
being an artist, I think. 

797
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,840
And I didn't want to be safe. 
I hated being safe. 

798
00:46:23,920 --> 00:46:26,760
That's a very refreshing 
attitude towards what would you 

799
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:30,120
say was your worst fashion? 
There was plenty. 

800
00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:32,160
There was so many. 
Oh my gosh. 

801
00:46:32,200 --> 00:46:35,280
I think, well, it's when the 
whole thing is done, isn't it? 

802
00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:41,040
When they permed my hair for a 
photo shoot, gosh, it was not 

803
00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:43,920
good. 
Permed well, literally, I don't 

804
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:45,680
know how they curled it so 
tight. 

805
00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:48,960
It looked totally permed. 
And I have quite a lot of hair. 

806
00:46:48,960 --> 00:46:50,520
That's why I think I tie it up 
all the time. 

807
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:55,200
So to have it down and to have 
that amount of curl in it that 

808
00:46:55,200 --> 00:46:58,760
was tight. 
I kind of looked like a triangle

809
00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:02,600
and in it, it, it wasn't great. 
And it's I think it's only 

810
00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:05,560
because you're just your face, 
what you're used to seeing your 

811
00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:09,280
face look like with a certain 
hairstyle and outfit. 

812
00:47:09,480 --> 00:47:13,160
And I think because the hair was
just too busy for then the out 

813
00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:15,000
the dress. 
And so when you've got a busy 

814
00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:17,840
dress and busy hair, you know 
it. 

815
00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:20,920
It's so true, isn't it? 
You've got to calm that down or 

816
00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:22,720
flourish that up or the other 
way around. 

817
00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:25,520
You can't have both. 
And I just remember wearing this

818
00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:29,040
ginormous dress that had a 
little bit too much frill and 

819
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:30,640
and my hair. 
Was big. 

820
00:47:30,640 --> 00:47:32,440
Do you remember who the dress 
was by? 

821
00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:34,040
No, I don't. 
I can't say that. 

822
00:47:35,480 --> 00:47:38,320
Well, you could say who the 
magazine was. 

823
00:47:39,800 --> 00:47:42,320
I, I I there. 
You're so polite. 

824
00:47:42,320 --> 00:47:43,320
No, I can't. 
I can't. 

825
00:47:43,560 --> 00:47:47,360
I mean, you know, I get so 
inspired by those photographers.

826
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,360
That was the joy. 
And I have to say I think their 

827
00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:56,920
style probably was very 
inspiring to my own feel and 

828
00:47:56,920 --> 00:47:59,760
look. 
So working with those certain 

829
00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:03,600
photographers really made a 
difference to how I felt when I 

830
00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:06,120
went out again in the real 
world. 

831
00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:10,040
And it was that inspiration that
they gave me. 

832
00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:14,040
So it's not always the just the 
designer that you expect to make

833
00:48:14,040 --> 00:48:17,200
the influence on you, but very 
much the photographer and how 

834
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:21,400
they set the whole image of how 
they wanted to capture you. 

835
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:25,320
And that was, that was a really 
exciting part of being a dancer 

836
00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:27,720
because photographers wanted to 
work with you. 

837
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:30,120
And I felt like, wow, this is 
the best thing ever. 

838
00:48:30,120 --> 00:48:31,920
It's like having another 
choreographer, I suppose. 

839
00:48:31,960 --> 00:48:36,240
Yeah, I mean, talking 
photographers, you don't have 

840
00:48:36,240 --> 00:48:38,960
one portrait in the National 
Portrait Gallery. 

841
00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:42,480
You've got 9. 
Not necessarily have I? 

842
00:48:42,680 --> 00:48:48,000
You do, apparently. 
Do you have a favorite image of 

843
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,880
you? 
Not really. 

844
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:55,960
I I got you. 
Must have a favorite picture. 

845
00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:57,480
Not really. 
Every. 

846
00:48:57,600 --> 00:48:59,920
Everything's so different. 
I couldn't really say, I 

847
00:48:59,920 --> 00:49:02,280
suppose. 
Not really. 

848
00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:06,240
I have a lovely picture that 
Bryan Adams gave of me because 

849
00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:11,040
obviously he's incredibly 
talented photographer and he did

850
00:49:11,040 --> 00:49:18,880
a picture of me, I think for an 
exhibition of women that he that

851
00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:22,280
were inspiring to him for 
certain reason. 

852
00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:25,320
And he wanted to raise money 
doing this collection. 

853
00:49:25,680 --> 00:49:28,800
And he gave me this picture and 
it's very large and I put it 

854
00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,280
away somewhere not many people 
can see, but it I'm wearing an 

855
00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:37,040
Alexander McQueen dress, which 
is transparent, comes right up 

856
00:49:37,040 --> 00:49:40,200
to my neck and to my ankle, my 
wrists. 

857
00:49:40,560 --> 00:49:44,640
And it's long, but it's see 
through and it has the moon on 

858
00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:49,320
it and and it's just that I 
suppose it's kind of like it's 

859
00:49:49,320 --> 00:49:53,760
like Greek image, like a statue 
that he got. 

860
00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:55,800
I don't know. 
It's just very cool. 

861
00:49:55,800 --> 00:49:58,240
I didn't think I had very high 
heel shoes on. 

862
00:49:58,240 --> 00:50:00,600
I do remember that. 
And I'm sort of in a dancing 

863
00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:03,960
position. 
So yeah, it's just feels very 

864
00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:05,560
cool. 
I for the first time I felt 

865
00:50:05,560 --> 00:50:07,880
cool. 
And you naked underneath. 

866
00:50:08,320 --> 00:50:12,160
Basically yes. 
I mean yes, not. 

867
00:50:12,480 --> 00:50:15,640
Actually, yes. 
Talking heels. 

868
00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:19,440
Can you wear heels? 
Do you wear heels? 

869
00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:21,120
Yeah. 
Nor are your feet just. 

870
00:50:21,120 --> 00:50:24,920
No, no, I'm very happy in heels.
I choose not to wear them. 

871
00:50:24,920 --> 00:50:28,760
I mean, I wore them a lot on 
Strictly and I've danced in 

872
00:50:28,760 --> 00:50:31,920
heels, which I never used to. 
But I suppose from wearing a 

873
00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:35,800
Pointe shoe, which is what the 
classical dancer wears, it's not

874
00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:36,840
that different. 
Yeah. 

875
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,360
So that pain is not as bad as 
wearing a point shoe either. 

876
00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:44,120
So lucky you. 
Yeah, a lot of people don't feel

877
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:46,240
like that. 
But, yeah, I wouldn't choose to 

878
00:50:46,240 --> 00:50:50,080
wear them for too long. 
Now I know the change they make.

879
00:50:50,360 --> 00:50:55,560
I worked with Alan Jones, the 
artist, pop artist, and he did a

880
00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:58,840
portrait Earth National Portrait
Gallery, and he was fascinated 

881
00:50:58,840 --> 00:51:04,480
with that look of the leg and 
the line of the high heel shoe. 

882
00:51:04,720 --> 00:51:07,880
And so when I went on point, he 
was like, Oh my gosh, it's even 

883
00:51:07,880 --> 00:51:09,600
more extreme. 
How is that possible? 

884
00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:13,160
So he was fascinated with that 
line and I love those. 

885
00:51:13,160 --> 00:51:15,640
And that is the kind of the 
silhouette looks, isn't it, 

886
00:51:15,640 --> 00:51:18,680
where you can see photographers 
and artists trying to get that 

887
00:51:18,680 --> 00:51:22,200
silhouette and what they're how 
different it is for them to see 

888
00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:24,880
your image in different 
silhouettes. 

889
00:51:24,880 --> 00:51:28,360
So it's very cool. 
What did you wear to get married

890
00:51:28,360 --> 00:51:36,360
to Angus in back in 1997? 
And Neil Cunningham, So yes, I 

891
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:40,160
was very fortunate to work with 
Neil for quite a few years and 

892
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:45,600
he had his shop, gosh, right 
near Piccadilly it was. 

893
00:51:46,520 --> 00:51:51,040
And I wore his clothes for many 
different events. 

894
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:56,000
I just love that kind of he had 
that era of the Audrey Hepburn 

895
00:51:56,320 --> 00:52:02,320
of the 1940s thirties as well. 
And everything was very simple 

896
00:52:02,320 --> 00:52:06,720
and clean, beautiful, nothing, 
no affectations to his detail. 

897
00:52:07,120 --> 00:52:09,520
And so I felt really comfortable
in them just. 

898
00:52:09,520 --> 00:52:12,120
Describe it to me. 
Well, my dress. 

899
00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:14,560
Oh, my wedding dress. 
Well, it was really weird. 

900
00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:20,760
It it was a high neck, so it had
a bodice, a very simple bodice. 

901
00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:25,040
And I had a big full skirt that 
was flat at the front and big at

902
00:52:25,040 --> 00:52:25,840
the back. 
Is that right? 

903
00:52:26,280 --> 00:52:27,720
Yeah. 
Is that how you describe them 

904
00:52:27,760 --> 00:52:29,280
when they're flat and then they 
go out? 

905
00:52:30,000 --> 00:52:32,720
So I had a small trail, but not 
too much. 

906
00:52:33,600 --> 00:52:37,280
And I had a kind of that see 
through all ganzer over the top.

907
00:52:37,560 --> 00:52:42,840
Then that covered me up to here.
And I had a big kind of, it 

908
00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:48,440
wasn't a ruffle, but it was a 
soft WAVY neck frill. 

909
00:52:48,960 --> 00:52:52,000
Sounds horrendous, doesn't it? 
But then lovely long sleeve that

910
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:57,120
had the same on the sleeve. 
It was really simple but sounds 

911
00:52:57,120 --> 00:52:59,520
very detailed. 
And then I had small, tiny 

912
00:52:59,520 --> 00:53:04,600
little daisies stitched over the
whole thing that of course you 

913
00:53:04,600 --> 00:53:07,280
couldn't tell at first what they
were. 

914
00:53:07,440 --> 00:53:09,560
They probably just looked like 
little spots, but they were 

915
00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:12,400
little white daisies. 
Do you have a style icon? 

916
00:53:14,040 --> 00:53:16,720
Yeah, I suppose Audrey Hepburn 
has always been. 

917
00:53:16,720 --> 00:53:21,320
I mean, I know she's style 
uncommon for so many, but I 

918
00:53:21,320 --> 00:53:23,120
suppose it was her as a person 
as well. 

919
00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:27,440
You know, I did a documentary on
her and and knew that she was 

920
00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:29,280
desperate to be a professional 
dancer. 

921
00:53:29,880 --> 00:53:35,360
Yeah, that's she came to London 
and came to the ROM Bear, which 

922
00:53:35,360 --> 00:53:38,560
was the British ballet where and
wanted to be a professional 

923
00:53:38,560 --> 00:53:44,040
dancer and trained with a lot of
people that coached me and and I

924
00:53:44,040 --> 00:53:46,880
suppose her style and I love the
things she always said. 

925
00:53:46,880 --> 00:53:49,560
She said well before I would 
leave the house, I would take at

926
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:54,480
least two to three things off. 
I love that yes, I and I do try 

927
00:53:54,480 --> 00:53:57,360
and abide by. 
That, and it's such a good rule,

928
00:53:57,360 --> 00:53:59,560
isn't it? 
Great advice it really because. 

929
00:53:59,560 --> 00:54:01,320
Of course you get a bit carried 
away and like, oh, we're going 

930
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:05,440
out, will this be fun? 
And then you're like, no, no, 

931
00:54:05,760 --> 00:54:07,080
definitely not those. 
Yeah. 

932
00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:11,760
And it's so healthy. 
And I and I totally see her, you

933
00:54:11,760 --> 00:54:14,280
know, and I've always watched 
all her films and loved 

934
00:54:14,280 --> 00:54:18,080
everything she's done. 
So I suppose that obsession with

935
00:54:18,080 --> 00:54:21,280
how she looked in films, but 
also somebody like Katharine 

936
00:54:21,280 --> 00:54:25,200
Hepburn as well because she had 
that where she wear the the kind

937
00:54:25,200 --> 00:54:28,880
of man suit but look incredibly 
feminine. 

938
00:54:29,080 --> 00:54:32,400
Even though she was this strong 
outspoken woman. 

939
00:54:32,800 --> 00:54:35,960
I love her as well for those 
contrasts, you know, and 

940
00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:39,840
incredibly sexy, actually 
empower, yes, incredibly sexy 

941
00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:43,400
for somebody who you know, for 
the her time would have been 

942
00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:47,000
very unfavored to be so 
outspoken as a woman and kind of

943
00:54:47,000 --> 00:54:49,160
opinionated, which is just so 
cool. 

944
00:54:51,120 --> 00:54:57,440
Now you were appointed OBE in 
1995, ACBE in 2006 and an 

945
00:54:57,600 --> 00:55:03,200
incredible DBE in 2018, all for 
services to ballet and dance. 

946
00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:06,200
I mean congratulations so well 
deserved. 

947
00:55:07,120 --> 00:55:09,120
These are really important 
moments. 

948
00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:13,160
What did you wear in 2018 when 
you became a Dame? 

949
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:18,040
Wow, I do, I do remember my 
outfit. 

950
00:55:18,040 --> 00:55:21,040
I'm trying to remember the 
final, can't remember the 

951
00:55:21,040 --> 00:55:23,000
Steiner. 
Describe describe the outfit to 

952
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:28,000
me. 
Well, it was, it was a bit last 

953
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,120
minute I have to say. 
Now why? 

954
00:55:31,200 --> 00:55:34,160
I can't, I can't remember why I 
ran out of time. 

955
00:55:34,280 --> 00:55:37,520
You know, you should never run 
out of time for an opportunity 

956
00:55:37,520 --> 00:55:43,200
like that and the whole, you 
know, fun and honor of it all. 

957
00:55:44,160 --> 00:55:46,160
But you've been there twice 
before. 

958
00:55:46,160 --> 00:55:50,360
No, it wasn't that at all. 
It was I just I with the kids 

959
00:55:50,360 --> 00:55:53,680
and, and, and work and 
everything. 

960
00:55:53,680 --> 00:55:59,040
And I did feel rushed and I 
remember being very lucky and 

961
00:55:59,040 --> 00:56:03,760
being given everything to wear. 
And I suppose that also changed 

962
00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:07,400
everything. 
So I remember going to the the 

963
00:56:07,400 --> 00:56:13,000
Milliner and that was in the 
King's Road and saying these are

964
00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:17,040
my colors, but I'd like 
something small and just leaving

965
00:56:17,040 --> 00:56:19,160
it with her. 
I know, crazy. 

966
00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:23,240
So I don't think I really 
planned that very well, but I 

967
00:56:23,240 --> 00:56:26,000
enjoyed it. 
I had a dress on that had big 

968
00:56:26,000 --> 00:56:30,120
flowers on it. 
My dad didn't like it, but I I 

969
00:56:30,120 --> 00:56:34,120
actually felt really fun in it. 
And I had a little pink jacket 

970
00:56:34,240 --> 00:56:37,560
which if anything I probably 
should have worn that the whole 

971
00:56:37,560 --> 00:56:41,000
time, but it was a really hot 
day so I didn't get to wear the 

972
00:56:41,000 --> 00:56:42,880
little pink jacket which I was 
really upset about. 

973
00:56:45,680 --> 00:56:48,800
So that would probably would 
balanced it all out a bit. 

974
00:56:50,240 --> 00:56:54,760
So yes, that. 
Have you presented you the 

975
00:56:54,760 --> 00:56:55,600
Queen? 
The Queen? 

976
00:56:55,880 --> 00:57:02,760
I know I was so fortunate for 
all my honours I was had the 

977
00:57:02,760 --> 00:57:05,000
Queen and of course you don't 
know it's gonna be the Queen. 

978
00:57:05,120 --> 00:57:07,080
No, you don't know until the 
morning of. 

979
00:57:07,400 --> 00:57:09,000
Do you? 
Well, not yeah. 

980
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:12,880
I mean, they literally tell you 
as soon as you walk in so that 

981
00:57:12,880 --> 00:57:15,000
that is the joy. 
And they expect the bit of 

982
00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:18,400
excitement of it all is who? 
Who, who's gonna give you or 

983
00:57:18,400 --> 00:57:19,040
not. 
Yeah. 

984
00:57:19,680 --> 00:57:24,000
We talk about hair, makeup, and 
manicures, just for one. 

985
00:57:24,160 --> 00:57:25,440
Moment. 
Look at my hands. 

986
00:57:25,480 --> 00:57:28,520
But we can talk about hair and 
makeup then actually in the 

987
00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:30,960
ballet. 
Do you always have your makeup 

988
00:57:30,960 --> 00:57:35,280
and hair done for you? 
Your makeup, usually yourself, 

989
00:57:35,840 --> 00:57:38,160
yeah. 
I mean, things have slightly 

990
00:57:38,160 --> 00:57:42,640
changed, but it was only 
normally hair that was always 

991
00:57:42,640 --> 00:57:46,200
done. 
And that's also because it has 

992
00:57:46,200 --> 00:57:50,000
to be a certain way or a certain
style for the certain ballet. 

993
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:54,040
But also it, it mustn't fall 
out. 

994
00:57:56,120 --> 00:57:57,520
As you can imagine. 
We've got a. 

995
00:57:57,520 --> 00:57:58,360
Lot of. 
Hair. 

996
00:57:58,360 --> 00:58:00,360
I've got a lot of hair. 
I always, I was actually told 

997
00:58:00,360 --> 00:58:02,240
when I was at school maybe I 
should have it thinned. 

998
00:58:02,240 --> 00:58:04,720
And I was like, you know, no, 
no, you can't do that. 

999
00:58:04,720 --> 00:58:10,240
And thank goodness I never did. 
But yeah, it's certain styles 

1000
00:58:10,240 --> 00:58:12,280
were difficult, so we wouldn't 
do those ourselves. 

1001
00:58:12,280 --> 00:58:15,720
It would only be occasionally, 
but makeup, it was so much more 

1002
00:58:15,720 --> 00:58:19,560
efficient to do it ourselves. 
I mean, the principals do have 

1003
00:58:19,560 --> 00:58:23,160
makeup artists now. 
So before a show that they can 

1004
00:58:23,160 --> 00:58:26,480
get ready and, and book 
themselves in and, and that 

1005
00:58:26,480 --> 00:58:29,360
whole schedule before you 
prepare for a show is incredibly

1006
00:58:29,360 --> 00:58:32,160
important. 
How you plan that so that you're

1007
00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:35,120
not ready too early and you know
all that are not too late. 

1008
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:40,520
So that was very important, but 
I kind of got mine down to an 

1009
00:58:40,520 --> 00:58:44,760
efficient time that we always 
spent about two hours to prepare

1010
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:46,600
for a show. 
And I know that sounds probably 

1011
00:58:46,600 --> 00:58:49,840
ridiculously too long, but we'd 
have to fit in a warm up as 

1012
00:58:49,840 --> 00:58:52,720
well. 
Then the girls, of course, our 

1013
00:58:52,720 --> 00:58:56,800
point shoes, how many shoes we 
wanted were ready and prepared 

1014
00:58:57,000 --> 00:59:00,080
for a performance would depend 
on the show as well. 

1015
00:59:00,080 --> 00:59:04,760
And, and then the whole costumes
or other things that you'd want 

1016
00:59:04,760 --> 00:59:07,240
to go through to make sure 
everything felt right. 

1017
00:59:07,240 --> 00:59:08,640
Didn't matter how many times 
you've done that. 

1018
00:59:08,640 --> 00:59:12,280
Show you you would do the same 
prep every time. 

1019
00:59:12,880 --> 00:59:16,120
And so a Pointe shoe wouldn't 
last you an entire show. 

1020
00:59:17,120 --> 00:59:21,440
It's so dependent because if 
you, I suppose, yeah, the role, 

1021
00:59:21,520 --> 00:59:23,520
I mean you couldn't if it was a 
three out ballet. 

1022
00:59:23,680 --> 00:59:26,280
I mean, some dancers can wear 
one pair of Pointe shoes for 

1023
00:59:26,280 --> 00:59:31,120
three acts, but be pretty rare 
only because you want them at a 

1024
00:59:31,520 --> 00:59:33,560
you don't want the rock hard to 
start with. 

1025
00:59:34,000 --> 00:59:37,240
They have to be quiet and that's
really important because nobody 

1026
00:59:37,240 --> 00:59:40,040
wants to hear clogs going across
the stage. 

1027
00:59:41,120 --> 00:59:44,440
So they have to be quiet. 
And so that preparing them for 

1028
00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:47,680
that role, and especially if 
it's more jumps or it's more 

1029
00:59:47,680 --> 00:59:50,360
turns or it's more balances, 
every role is slightly 

1030
00:59:50,360 --> 00:59:52,280
different. 
So the shoe also has to be 

1031
00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:57,080
adapted for that role. 
What is in a Pointe? 

1032
00:59:57,080 --> 00:59:58,200
Shoe, yes. 
What is in? 

1033
00:59:58,280 --> 01:00:02,200
So there's no block where 
they're called blocks or some 

1034
01:00:02,200 --> 01:00:06,320
brands they call them block, but
there it is only glue and paper 

1035
01:00:06,320 --> 01:00:09,760
mache and canvas with a Saturn 
edge. 

1036
01:00:10,200 --> 01:00:13,440
So uncomfortable. 
Yeah, it does. 

1037
01:00:13,440 --> 01:00:15,560
But weirdly. 
Yes. 

1038
01:00:15,800 --> 01:00:19,200
I mean you do it for so many 
years and also the build up of 

1039
01:00:19,200 --> 01:00:21,680
getting used to being on point 
because it's so unusual. 

1040
01:00:21,880 --> 01:00:24,520
I mean, health and safety would 
never even dream of putting 

1041
01:00:24,520 --> 01:00:28,680
anybody in a point shoe anymore.
But hopefully they never take us

1042
01:00:28,720 --> 01:00:30,320
out of them because that's our 
uniqueness. 

1043
01:00:30,320 --> 01:00:32,640
That's what makes us different, 
that's what's special. 

1044
01:00:33,400 --> 01:00:37,280
And also the technique in the 
point shoe is unique, What we 

1045
01:00:37,280 --> 01:00:42,120
can do in a point shoe and how 
that creates something piece of 

1046
01:00:42,120 --> 01:00:46,440
magic, you know, and the quality
and everything about it and that

1047
01:00:46,440 --> 01:00:48,960
history. 
So it, it is an unusual thing. 

1048
01:00:48,960 --> 01:00:52,280
And the strength of the actual 
foot and the ankle is incredibly

1049
01:00:52,280 --> 01:00:54,800
important before you ever work 
in a point shoe. 

1050
01:00:54,960 --> 01:00:56,320
And the toe. 
Toe. 

1051
01:00:56,320 --> 01:01:00,120
Toe, well, obviously toes that 
are more the same length. 

1052
01:01:00,400 --> 01:01:03,240
Yeah, it sounds really weird. 
No, but I can. 

1053
01:01:03,280 --> 01:01:05,440
I can really. 
See that 100 times better for 

1054
01:01:05,440 --> 01:01:09,000
longevity and less injuries or 
stress fractures or anything 

1055
01:01:09,000 --> 01:01:12,680
like that through the feet. 
But if you're got very angled 

1056
01:01:12,960 --> 01:01:16,680
toes then you have more problems
counting. 

1057
01:01:16,720 --> 01:01:19,520
Your wardrobe, silly. 
My wardrobe. 

1058
01:01:19,680 --> 01:01:24,200
Is it phenomenally organized? 
I feel it's organized. 

1059
01:01:24,200 --> 01:01:25,200
A lot of other people wouldn't 
say. 

1060
01:01:25,880 --> 01:01:28,120
That Do you have a stylist? 
Do you still work? 

1061
01:01:28,120 --> 01:01:31,560
With a no, I don't. 
I do it all myself and so I make

1062
01:01:31,560 --> 01:01:35,000
still plenty of mistakes. 
Do you have one item of clothing

1063
01:01:35,000 --> 01:01:37,960
that means the most to you? 
Well, that's a really nice 

1064
01:01:37,960 --> 01:01:42,800
question. 
I have a Ralph Lauren jacket 

1065
01:01:43,360 --> 01:01:45,760
that I don't think will ever go 
out to date. 

1066
01:01:46,080 --> 01:01:48,360
And it's something, isn't it, 
about that? 

1067
01:01:48,360 --> 01:01:51,520
Describe it to me. 
Well, I have one fun one, which 

1068
01:01:51,520 --> 01:01:54,800
is like a bomber jacket, which 
is red with the stripes on the 

1069
01:01:54,800 --> 01:01:58,680
shoulder, and it's got polo on 
the back or something, I don't 

1070
01:01:58,680 --> 01:02:00,640
know. 
And it's a real vintage piece 

1071
01:02:00,640 --> 01:02:02,520
now, and I'm so glad I've held 
on to it. 

1072
01:02:02,520 --> 01:02:07,160
And then I just have the classic
blazer, you know, and I don't 

1073
01:02:07,160 --> 01:02:09,800
know something. 
And I have a, an Armani one I 

1074
01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:13,640
remember getting in a sail which
is really sparkly. 

1075
01:02:14,680 --> 01:02:18,240
And that is a beautiful tailored
sparkly jacket. 

1076
01:02:18,240 --> 01:02:22,400
And it's weirdly as a brown 
sparkle and it's fitted to the 

1077
01:02:22,400 --> 01:02:24,440
waist. 
It crosses over and then it just

1078
01:02:24,440 --> 01:02:27,680
flares out on the hip. 
I get very attached because 

1079
01:02:27,680 --> 01:02:29,240
everything comes from a memory 
for me. 

1080
01:02:29,600 --> 01:02:30,800
And that's a real problem, isn't
it? 

1081
01:02:32,320 --> 01:02:33,280
Not. 
Not at all. 

1082
01:02:33,280 --> 01:02:35,760
I don't know. 
It's almost a diary I think 

1083
01:02:35,760 --> 01:02:40,000
sometimes, as long as you've got
the the space to hold onto that.

1084
01:02:40,040 --> 01:02:42,960
Well, I really admired my mum 
because she's hung on to an 

1085
01:02:42,960 --> 01:02:45,680
amazing like, Aussie Clark, 
close because she knew Aussie 

1086
01:02:45,680 --> 01:02:51,720
Clark and just these wonderful 
wardrobe of, you know, brilliant

1087
01:02:51,720 --> 01:02:53,160
outfits. 
Yeah. 

1088
01:02:53,480 --> 01:02:55,680
I mean, let's talk about 
sustainable fashion for a 

1089
01:02:55,680 --> 01:02:58,600
moment. 
What's your approach to that? 

1090
01:02:58,880 --> 01:03:00,400
I think that's incredibly 
important. 

1091
01:03:00,400 --> 01:03:04,840
I mean, my girls are very clear 
that they just want to buy 

1092
01:03:04,840 --> 01:03:07,080
secondhand good clothes. 
Lovely. 

1093
01:03:07,120 --> 01:03:10,680
And I'm like, wow, I'm so 
impressed because I get bored 

1094
01:03:10,680 --> 01:03:12,800
very quickly. 
So that's why my wardrobes are a

1095
01:03:12,800 --> 01:03:17,280
little bit big than it should be
because I do enjoy going out and

1096
01:03:17,280 --> 01:03:19,680
looking for new stuff. 
It's a bit of therapy for me. 

1097
01:03:19,680 --> 01:03:23,360
I don't always buy, but I do 
enjoy the whole search. 

1098
01:03:23,840 --> 01:03:26,640
That's why I'm not very good as 
an online shopper at all. 

1099
01:03:27,600 --> 01:03:33,080
But I do respect now that going 
out there and buying second hand

1100
01:03:33,080 --> 01:03:36,080
clothes is brilliant. 
I saw a brilliant dress of 

1101
01:03:36,080 --> 01:03:43,160
yours, a suede mini dress. 
Oh, it was like a Navy suede and

1102
01:03:43,160 --> 01:03:47,720
it was just cut away quite tight
under the armpits, like quite 

1103
01:03:48,160 --> 01:03:51,840
low and just short here in a 
second hand shop. 

1104
01:03:52,040 --> 01:03:55,200
And I was like, I don't think I 
can fit into that, sadly. 

1105
01:03:56,200 --> 01:03:57,880
Oh. 
But I did want to buy it for my 

1106
01:03:57,880 --> 01:04:00,640
daughter when one of my girls, 
because I thought, oh, she'll 

1107
01:04:00,640 --> 01:04:02,760
wear that. 
And I thought I won't buy it 

1108
01:04:02,760 --> 01:04:04,080
right now. 
I'll come back. 

1109
01:04:04,080 --> 01:04:06,480
And I think it went, they do 
funny that they do. 

1110
01:04:06,600 --> 01:04:08,160
I know. 
I was so impressed that I saw 

1111
01:04:08,240 --> 01:04:08,480
it. 
I was. 

1112
01:04:08,520 --> 01:04:10,800
Oh lovely. 
I love it. 

1113
01:04:10,800 --> 01:04:14,640
I love walking past a second 
hand shop and seeing a piece in 

1114
01:04:14,640 --> 01:04:18,040
the window and you just sort of 
think that's on it's a whole. 

1115
01:04:18,040 --> 01:04:20,240
But it's another journey and 
it's been loved. 

1116
01:04:20,240 --> 01:04:23,760
It's like, you know, moving into
a new house or flat or 

1117
01:04:23,760 --> 01:04:25,720
something. 
It's been loved by somebody else

1118
01:04:25,720 --> 01:04:27,880
and then and you're going to 
give it that love as well. 

1119
01:04:28,160 --> 01:04:31,240
Let's spin on to some quick fire
questions. 

1120
01:04:31,600 --> 01:04:35,240
What fashion advice would you 
give your 20 year old self? 

1121
01:04:37,320 --> 01:04:41,680
Keep it simple. 
Which fashion trend or era would

1122
01:04:41,680 --> 01:04:43,400
you most like to see make a 
comeback? 

1123
01:04:44,240 --> 01:04:49,040
The 30s fashion or beauty trend 
you would consign to room 101. 

1124
01:04:50,320 --> 01:04:57,200
The 80s. 
Last impulse buy Azara dress 

1125
01:04:58,680 --> 01:05:02,040
views on tattoos. 
No. 

1126
01:05:02,920 --> 01:05:04,400
Beauty treatment you couldn't 
give up. 

1127
01:05:04,800 --> 01:05:06,280
Hair. 
I couldn't give up hair. 

1128
01:05:06,600 --> 01:05:09,640
High end or High Street? 
I think it has to be high end 

1129
01:05:09,640 --> 01:05:11,960
because then you have a piece 
that lasts forever. 

1130
01:05:12,480 --> 01:05:15,240
Bling or bear? 
Bling. 

1131
01:05:15,640 --> 01:05:21,120
Minimalism or maximalism? 
Minimalism, Crocs, cute or puke?

1132
01:05:22,880 --> 01:05:25,680
Puke. 
Sneakers or stilettos? 

1133
01:05:26,240 --> 01:05:31,320
Sneakers. 
Boyfriends or wide legs, wide 

1134
01:05:31,320 --> 01:05:37,000
legs, body con O boho O boho 
sports lux or rock chick. 

1135
01:05:37,680 --> 01:05:40,480
Rock Chick. 
Red carpet or relax? 

1136
01:05:41,680 --> 01:05:44,040
Oh, I'm really mixed there. 
That's the weird one. 

1137
01:05:44,040 --> 01:05:46,880
That's two extremes. 
I I think red carpet. 

1138
01:05:47,320 --> 01:05:49,600
Trend or style? 
Trend. 

1139
01:05:49,800 --> 01:05:55,160
Color or monochrome? 
Color, experimental or uniform? 

1140
01:05:56,440 --> 01:05:58,600
Experimental. 
Cashmere or cotton? 

1141
01:05:59,160 --> 01:06:01,600
Cashmere. 
Beanie or Berry? 

1142
01:06:01,840 --> 01:06:03,800
Beanie. 
Hoarder or editor? 

1143
01:06:05,080 --> 01:06:10,440
Hoarder shapewear or lingerie? 
Lingerie. 

1144
01:06:11,080 --> 01:06:14,600
Tights or stockings? 
Tights, Bikini or one piece? 

1145
01:06:15,240 --> 01:06:18,200
One piece? 
Finally, traditional last 

1146
01:06:18,200 --> 01:06:20,720
question. 
At the end of the day, what do 

1147
01:06:20,720 --> 01:06:30,320
you or don't you wear in bed? 
I I wear a pair of shorts and 

1148
01:06:30,320 --> 01:06:33,560
sounds really weird like boxes. 
Anything on top? 

1149
01:06:33,920 --> 01:06:38,200
Depends how I'm feeling. 
I'm getting cold. 

1150
01:06:38,200 --> 01:06:40,920
I will wear a T-shirt but 
nothing too fancy. 

1151
01:06:41,360 --> 01:06:46,040
Darcy, thank you so much for 
your fun and insightful 

1152
01:06:46,280 --> 01:06:48,880
conversation. 
It's been brilliant to talk all 

1153
01:06:48,880 --> 01:06:51,680
things clothes and ballet now. 
Lots of fun. 

1154
01:06:51,680 --> 01:06:53,440
Thank. 
You so much enjoyed it.

