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Tamara Rojo fears she will 'never perform again' as lockdown cuts ballet career short

Tamara Rojo has said she may never perform again because lockdown has stolen the end of her career.

The lead principal dancer and artistic director of English National Ballet has continued to dance into her 40s, but said time is running out.

“Right now, I don’t know if I will ever perform again. I’m at the end of my career and I’ve been thinking: ‘Was that my last performance and I didn’t even know it?’” Rojo, 47, told Radio Times.

Rojo said she was also concerned about the next generation of dancers, with the financial impact of Covid hitting smaller companies and grassroots organisations “where they learn their skills before they become stars”.

Her sentiment was echoed by Carlos Acosta, former principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, below, who took up a role as artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet in January 2020.

The company’s dancers have been furloughed, and are reduced to taking lessons at the kitchen counter over Zoom.

Acosta said he feared for dancers at their peak who have only a short window before retirement.

“I’ve had my career, I did my years, but those guys are in their prime, they’ve spent 30 years getting to this level and that could disappear,” he said.

“They shouldn’t be in their kitchen doing pliés, they should be stretching their body to achieve its maximum capacity. I’m in a different phase now, but if I was 35 it would be catastrophic.”

Acosta, 47, spent 17 years as principal dancer at the Royal Ballet. He hopes that dancers will be able to return to the studio in March, with restrictions in place, and resume live performances in summer.

“It’s the uncertainty that’s hardest. It’s very tiring, always having to have a contingency, plan B, plan C, and to try to get everybody to retain their enthusiasm and not get demoralised,” he said. “As artists, we belong on the stage.”

Source: msn.com
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