Ballet is a fickle master. It demands years of selfless dedication from its young and beautiful devotees, only to discard them the moment they pass their prime. Ballerinas rarely remain centerstage beyond their early 30s, so when Royal Ballet star Darcey Bussell became pregnant with her first child, at age 31, there were anxious murmurings whether she could return to her previous form.
But Bussell, 36, now a mother of two, says having children has given her dancing a new lease of life.
"I thought things would change, but instead I feel stronger than ever," Bussell told The Japan Times in a recent interview. The experience has also helped her to grow artistically, she says. "As a young dancer, it's easy to get too anxious and put too much into the performance and ruin it. But now I feel more comfortable with my body and with myself." Bussell will be sharing the spotlight in the Royal Ballet's upcoming tour of Japan -- its first since 1999 -- starting later this week, with a star-studded cast including Alina Cojocaru, Leanne Benjamin, Federico Bonelli and Jonathan Cope, and guest artists Anthony Dowell and Wayne Sleep.