The Young Dancer

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Since 2012 Bussell has been the president of the Royal Academy of Dance [56] She is Artiste Laureate of The Royal Ballet School and is also a patron of the International Dance Teachers Association, London's Children's Ballet, Cecchetti UK, Cecchetti Australia, Dance Proms, Company Chameleon, Du Boisson Dance Foundation, National Youth Ballet and New English Ballet Theatre. [ citation needed] Bussell has been campaign president of the Birmingham Royal Ballet's fund raising campaign since 2012. [ citation needed] She is an ambassador for the giving programme of the New Zealand School of Dance and is on the board of the Margot Fonteyn Foundation. [ citation needed] She is the international patron of the Sydney Dance Company. [ citation needed] Bussell performed 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. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. Darcey’s extensive broadcast work includes being a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, many documentaries for the BBC and she has presented The Royal Ballet’s worldwide cinema relays since 2014. She remains a Guest principal coach at The Royal Ballet and is Artist Laureate of the Royal Ballet School.

Crompton, Sarah (17 May 2007). "An era ends in glittering glory". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 26 October 2019. Fab-u-lous! Dancing queen Darcey Bussell at 50 – in pictures". The Guardian. 27 April 2019. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 26 October 2019. Darcey Bussell and Natalie Davis honoured". University of Oxford. 18 July 2009. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012 . Retrieved 23 September 2011.In 2006, at the Chelsea Flower Show, David Austin Roses launched a new crimson rose called 'Darcey Bussell'. [46]

She was echoed by Kenneth Tharp, chief executive of The Place who will also sit on the judging panel. Tharp said: “I believe we are fast becoming a dancing nation. One of the wonderful things about dancing in the UK is its richness and diversity and by putting the four categories of dance – ballet, contemporary dance, hip hop and south Asian – on equal footing, the BBC is helping to raise the bar of how dance is seen and understood within the UK’s diverse cultural landscape. I hope this year will help us all to appreciate that lives without song and dance would be very, very dull indeed.”Cassian Harrison, channel editor of BBC Four, said he wanted this year to make a strong statement about the BBC’s commitment to the arts. Griffiths, Sian; McCall, Alistair. "Bussell's school dances up table". The Times . Retrieved 2 August 2017. Darcey Bussell's Wild Coasts of Scotland". channel4.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021 . Retrieved 14 February 2021. Reader, Jane (8 July 2018). "Strictly judge Dame Darcey honoured by Arts University Bournemouth". Bournemouth Echo . Retrieved 26 October 2019. Darcey Bussell to chair Plymouth Theatre Royal board". BBC News. 8 March 2023 . Retrieved 28 March 2023.Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, DBE (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; [1] 27 April 1969) is an English retired ballerina [2] and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest Strictly Come Dancing. At the University of Hertfordshire dancer turned scientist Dr Peter Lovatt is now at the cutting edge of dance research. He is part of a growing movement of practitioners using dance to help with mental health. Peter and his colleagues are researching to find out if the psychological benefits of social dance have a positive effect on people with degenerative conditions. They are focusing on Parkinson's and at the class they run Darcey finds their work is delivering some surprising results. Les Patineurs, Winter Dreams and The Concert review, Royal Ballet". The Independent. 19 December 2018 . Retrieved 26 October 2019.

She has presented the live cinema relays for The Royal Ballet from the 2013/14 season onwards. [ citation needed] I think the BBC has a really big role to play in bringing the arts to the general public, I think it is a really important part of what the BBC is about” he said. “Song and dance are possible two of the most democratic art forms, we can all, and we have all, had a go. But I don’t feel our mandate is to try to persuade or popularise particular modes of art. The BBC isn’t there to try to engineer social change and attitudes, what we are there to do is to provide things that people have a real passion and an interest in.” In 2004 Bussell was the subject of a documentary titled Britain's Ballerina. Bussell teamed up with Katherine Jenkins to stage a song and dance production titled Viva la Diva, to pay tribute to the stars who inspired them [28] who include Madonna and Judy Garland. [28] [29] Bussell and Jenkins performed a segment of Viva la Diva before the Queen at the 79th Royal Variety Performance which was televised on 9 December 2007. [30] Bussell joined the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing judging panel as a fifth judge in the final stages of the 2009 series. [31] On the semi-final show of the competition she danced a jive with the professional dancer Ian Waite. [32] She is a patron of the medical charities Borne, [57] Sight for All and the Henry Spink Foundation. [ citation needed] Personal life [ edit ]Her books include Darcey Bussell: Evolved, Darcey Bussell: A Life in Pictures, the ‘Magic Ballerina’ children’s series and her autobiography. In 2015 she founded DDMIX (diverse dance mix), a dance fitness charity, aimed at getting dance fitness to be part of PE in state schools. In 2012 Bussell returned to the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel for the 2012 series as a permanent judge and replacement for Alesha Dixon. [33] At the start of her first appearance as a judge she performed in a feature American Smooth, again partnered with Ian Waite. Retired ballerina, and current Strictly Come Dancing judge Darcey Bussell was announced as a co-presenter and dance expert on the show, while others on the judging panel will include ballet Star Carlos Acosta and acclaimed choreographer and dancer Matthew Bourne. The contest is open to dancers under 20. She co-wrote The Young Dancer with the Royal Ballet School and wrote an introduction to the book The Illustrated Book of Ballet by Barbara Newman, which showcases five of the ballets in which she starred. [25] An autobiographical picture book of her ballet career, titled Darcey Bussell, was released in 2012. [26] followed by Darcey Bussell: Evolved in 2018. Bussell studied "all forms of stagecraft" at the Arts Educational School, before joining the Royal Ballet Lower School, based at White Lodge, Richmond Park, aged 13. [10] [11] At 16, she progressed to the Royal Ballet Upper School in Baron's Court, before joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1987. While studying at the Royal Ballet School, she appeared in a number of school productions, including performances at the Royal Opera House. [10]

In total, she performed more than 80 different roles and 17 roles were created for her. In Sleeping Beauty alone, she performed Aurora in four different productions, one of which was Sir Anthony Dowell's production which she opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in front of President Clinton. She made several guest appearances with the New York City Ballet, starting in June 1993, with a performance of the pas de deux from Agon. [17] [18] Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures performed Spitfire at the British Ballet Charity Gala presented by Bussell. Photograph: Johan Perssona b "Darcey Bussell Biography". AETN UK. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013 . Retrieved 6 December 2012. Darcey Bussell: Behind the Scenes at the Ballet – Exclusive Patrons Events – Exhibitions & events – Royal Academy of Arts". Royalacademy.org.uk. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2011 . Retrieved 9 February 2012. Other commissions include Petula Clarke exploring the magic behind the French chanson, meeting artists such as Jane Birkin, while composer and musician Neil Brand will examine the makings of a pop masterpiece, including songs from Elvis Presley to The Beatles. American comedian Reginald D Hunter will embark on a road trip from North Carolina to New Orleans to journey through the songs of the American South. In December 2015 Bussell presented an hour-long documentary on BBC Two, Darcey's Ballet Heroes, focussing on Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev, and other male professionals ballet dancers. [36] In December 2016, she presented a BBC One documentary on Margot Fonteyn, titled Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot. In December 2017, she presented a BBC One documentary on Fred Astaire, titled Darcey Bussell: Looking for Fred. In December 2018, she presented a BBC Two documentary on the mental health benefits of dance, titled Darcey Bussell: Dancing to Happiness. [37] In December 2011 Bussell collaborated with choreographer Kim Gavin to make Darcey dances Hollywood, a BBC Two television documentary in which she recreated some of Hollywood's famous dance routines—including some by Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire& Ginger Rogers—from films such as Singin' In The Rain and Top Hat ("Cheek to Cheek").