Darcey Bussell is a retired British ballerina, who trained at the Royal Academy of Dance to later start her professional career at Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, but only a year later she moved to the Royal Ballet Company and became a principal dancer at the age of 20 in 1989. She stayed at the Royal Ballet for over two decades, then she retired as a ballerina and became a judge on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.
She starred in many classical ballet shows during her time as a professional dancer including: The Nutcracker, Giselle, Swan Lake and more. She was in the 2012 Olympic Games Ceremony along with 199 other ballerinas. She danced the premiere of Sylvia choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton at the Royal Opera House in 2004, which is one of her more famous solos. Since she has retired she has done many things including making her own dance fitness brand in 2016 called DDMIX which uses dance as a way to get fit.
WHY I ADMIRE HER: I have always admired Darcey Bussell and I was first introduced to her watching the TV show 'Strictly Come Dancing' where she was a judge around the year 2011. I watched some of her performances on YouTube and stayed up all night to see her in the Olympic Ceremony. In 2012 I was taken to the Covent Garden Royal Opera house for a backstage tour while they were preparing for The Nutcracker. I was already taking ballet classes when I went but this trip inspired me to be a professional ballerina, a goal which 7 years later I am still working towards. Now that I am older I appreciate her ballet even more because I realise how rare it is to become a principal dancer at only 20 years old. I still have a poster of her in my room featuring as The Sugar Plum Fairy.
