The superlative Royal Ballet star finally has her own show. She talks about fabulous footwork, her Argentina-inspired leotard \u2013 and why she named her cat after a certain footballer<\/p>\n
Marianela N\u00fa\u00f1ez is talking about football. This is before the World Cup final, after England\u2019s game with Argentina. \u201cThat was a hard position for me!\u201d she says. N\u00fa\u00f1ez moved to England from Buenos Aires aged 15 and has danced with the Royal Ballet for 28 years. She\u2019s a British citizen, but her loyalties are clear: check out her Argentina-inspired leotard on Instagram or her cat named after Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n
In Argentina, they call her the Messi of ballet \u2013 although when it comes to who has the finest footwork, they should really be calling him the N\u00fa\u00f1ez of football. A principal dancer since the age of 20, N\u00fa\u00f1ez has been at the top of her game for so long you can forget what a remarkable dancer she is. When she faces the ballerina\u2019s equivalent of a penalty kick \u2013 Swan Lake\u2019s 32 fouett\u00e9s<\/a>, Sleeping Beauty\u2019s Rose Adagio<\/a> \u2013 you never doubt her, but it\u2019s her romantic spirit, the bright beaming energy, her vivacity in Don Quixote, the tragic yearning of her Odette, the way she breathes in ballet like oxygen, that make her special. She is deeply besotted with what she does.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/503dbfa2b46e738c0e218767d08e8972d7c45381\/0_662_2640_2113\/master\/2640.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=6fa19ac0075d2aa0d34c587b9a1a4803\" "\\"\u2018The")
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"