Bussell, Darcey Andrea

▪ 1996

      When the Royal Ballet's fall season began in London in October 1995, the star of the season opener, Swan Lake, was to have been Darcey Bussell. For the second year in a row, however, injury deprived her of that opportunity. It deprived the audience as well. In her few years with the company, she had come to be regarded as one of the finest ballerinas in the world, equally at home in such dramatic classical ballets as Giselle and Romeo and Juliet and the more modern works of George Balanchine. Her fame was not confined to the ballet stage, however. With the beauty, height, and long legs of a supermodel, Bussell found her way onto the pages of Vogue and Vanity Fair. In addition, she appeared on television with, for example, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (q.v.); her portrait was hung in the National Portrait Gallery; and she screen-tested with Harrison Ford for the remake of the classic movie Sabrina (though the part finally went to an actress believed to have greater name recognition).

      Bussell was born April 27, 1969, in London. When she began attending White Lodge, the Royal Ballet's lower school, at the age of 13, she had difficulty with the strenuous exercises and dance routines. Though she had been studying ballet since she was a small child, she had started her serious training later than most students at the school. She persevered nevertheless, and in 1986, when she was 17, she was chosen for the lead in a school performance at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House. She also won the Prix de Lausanne that year. After Bussell graduated in 1987, she was taken into the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (later Birmingham Royal Ballet). A year later she was back at the Royal Ballet as a soloist, having been selected to create the role of Princess Rose in Sir Kenneth MacMillan's new version of The Prince of the Pagodas. She was promoted to principal dancer the day after its premiere in 1989, and in 1990 she was named Dance & Dancers magazine's Dancer of the Year.

      Bussell went on to perform every major role in the Royal Ballet's repertoire and made frequent guest appearances with such companies as the New York City Ballet, the Paris Opéra Ballet, and the Frankfurt (Germany) Ballet. She was praised especially for the purity and radiance of her dancing, her strength and dynamism, and the intelligence and passion with which she portrayed her characters. Her intelligence was also evident in her attitude about injuries. Even after being sidelined for more than six months in 1994, Bussell felt that the time off had been valuable for her mental growth and had brought a new maturity and confidence to her work. Her audience was delighted when recovery from her latest injury enabled her to return to the stage late in the year.

      (BARBARA WHITNEY)

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