Olivia Cowley 2025

Olivia Cowley

Soloist, The Royal Ballet

Interviewed by Rachel Holland
American International Church, Tue 04th Nov, 2025

In our chairman’s absence, Rachel welcomed Olivia who had last been our guest in 2013.

She began by telling us about this season when she danced Nacha in Like Water for Chocolate. It was a beautiful role. When it was created, she was one of the sisters, but last season Kevin said he thought she was a better fit for Nacha. She was eight months pregnant with her second baby when it was created and she couldn't imagine putting on costume and stage makeup, let alone kicking up her leg and working dough. It was quite surreal and exciting to be in the production. She did three shows, and Chris Wheeldon was very complimentary. The role wasn't created on her so there's pressure to get the character and style just right. Olivia did a lot of research; she'd seen the film first when quite young and this year she read the book. She watched Christina Arestis really to learn the steps while trying not to be influenced too much but more to see where Chris was going with the choreography. You have an idea in your head but once you work with Tita it can change. Olivia's Tita was Mayara Magri who was lovely and very warm which made Olivia more motherly than she first thought.

She's also doing a friend in Fille now which she's danced for many years. Fille is really jumpy and as she had a bad calf tear, her weak spot, last season she didn't have a summer holiday as she wanted to train to get her calves strong, not wanting any hiccups. There are 279 actual jumps in Fille - it looks sweet and adorable, but you feel dead after the show, calves killing and back hurting. Weirdly it's harder than Swan Lake and if you do a double show that's over 550 jumps. Clogging then breaks your pointe shoes so the rest of the show you have soft, mushy shoes. She's the outside girl so doesn't do the heavy lifting of the Widow! The pony had a bit of an accident on the first night and the stage was quite slippery! The pony even managed to rip the front cloth at a recent performance, said Rachel.

Going back to the beginning of her dancing, Olivia said she started aged about eight which is quite late. She had a speech impediment and went to a special therapist school and being incredibly shy, her mum took her to ballet class and she loved it. It was the first time she felt equal to her peers, and it gave her confidence, She was also very receptive of the discipline, calmness and order which suited her personality. Her mum was a nurse and dad worked in Sainsbury's so there wasn't much money and then they divorced so she relied on the grants and scholarships that were available at the time. She auditioned for White Lodge and didn't get in which was heartbreaking but in the end, it was fortunate as she went to secondary school with a speech therapy section which was helpful - she had the intelligence of her age but her speech three years behind. She didn't talk much except with family, so ballet was her calling as no speech was needed. Thinking of what happens after ballet the old fears come back as she's felt protected through dancing. She did tap and was terrible, and jazz and contemporary. She also took acting lessons when she first joined the company, as she knew she wasn't technically strong and felt she had to go another route for the special roles she wanted, and her path would be different from the normal ballet dancer route. She joined Royal Ballet School at 16. They had a super year - Lauren Cuthbertson, Ludovic Ondiviela, Paul Kay, Nathalie Harrison, Jonathan Watkins, Leanne Cope, Hayley Foskitt and Matt Golding and a few from BRB, nine went into the company. It was a close-knit group who got on so well. Their teachers were ????? Jackie Barrett and ?????. It was two years of training and the third mostly working with the Royal Ballet company. Monica Mason gave the contracts that year and Olivia wasn't successful, so she was still auditioning at the end of season when Monica came to watch class. From that, Olivia got a job. It was the most amazing feeling particularly as she hadn't been to White Lodge or followed the usual route. She was also offered Hong Kong Ballet. At that point, the Company were still in Baron's Court and she lives there now so has come full circle.

In answer to a question of whether she had any lessons in stagecraft or make up in school, Olivia said it was a question of learning on the job, watching and getting help from older dancers, keeping a log, researching. Now lots of young dancers have Instagrams which help with make-up etc. She recalled putting on lip-gloss for Swan Lake and was told by a corps member that a swan wouldn't wear lip-gloss! She also did Nutcracker with the company. She wore contact lenses at the time and remembered a lens popping out and she bumped into the scenery. At 16 she was so embarrassed and thought she'd blown her chances of a job!

Transition into the company at 18 was a big deal with lots of pressure, but not a lot of work. In her first year Olivia was covering corps and had done more as a student than she was doing in the company and begged Monica to be first cast of corps. Now Kevin makes it fairer for the young who are learning and worry about technique and maintaining strength. She tries to be warm and accommodating to the youngsters, encouraging them and telling them they will get the roles. You do learn so much from watching, not just how people prepare but also their stature before doing something hard, and what they are feeling. Initially Olivia thought everyone was fabulous but then she'd watch a dancer and think no, Juliet wouldn't do that. She recalled watching Alina Cojacaru when Romeo kisses her neck in the ballroom and she waits for him to do it again, first really nervous like a 14-year-old and the second time melting into it, so you take in those little, special moments. Rachel commented on the skill needed to perform several spots in a ballet. Olivia explained that with her brain, she wouldn't be able to repeat a sentence now but could perform the whole of Les Noces or all Swan Lake. She's quite quick at choreography which choreographers like. For example, Wayne makes something and quickly moves on to the next as he needs to get his juices flowing, and she can go back and restore it which he appreciates.

Her first break-out role was L'invitation du Voyage by Michael Corder. She was covering Sarah Lamb, who was injured, and she did a pas de deux with Rupert Pennefather. Wayne saw her in the studio and thought she'd be good in Infra which was the start of her working a lot with him. Then Chris Wheeldon saw her and put her in Aeternum. She also worked with David Dawson. It was the triple bills which then lead to the classics rather than the other way round. The pas de trois route wasn't for Olivia. It's very hard and quite stressful. You perform a tough number and that's it. One of her big roles is Larisch in Mayerling. She's a tricky character. Olivia had Laura Morera as Mary Vetsera and she had performed Larisch incredibly well and helped Olivia through the rehearsals, asking what's your intention, why do that? She wrote down questions about Larisch which would be useful for this season! That was quite special, but Olivia is really looking forward to doing her as a different woman after a gap of many years. She is the lynchpin and Olivia always thought she would rather be the side character than have the lead responsibility. She's there hovering and making things work, rather like Nacha. You mustn't overdo it, but you need to take something with you when you move away from the show. She doesn't yet know who Rudolf will be. In the past she's had Federico Bonelli, Matt Ball, and Ryoichi Hirano. She's such a powerful character so Olivia tries not to be too influenced by Rudolf which caused a bit of friction with Federico! Then Sarah Lamb went off a couple of days before what was to be Ed Watson's last show, and he chose Olivia which was a huge responsibility and super-flattering. His Mary was Natalia Osipova who's such a strong character and Olivia had to be more powerful, but it was really exciting and she loved the pressure.

She was the wife in The Invitation. It was quite intense and stayed with you afterwards, but the rehearsals were fantastic, and she loved the shows with a small cast. There were big ballets around it in the triple bill, so it felt very secluded.

Olivia's done multiple roles in the big classics and in Romeo and Juliet has been lead harlot in the matinee and nurse in the evening. She doesn't want to take herself out of the character roles and wants to do and explore more. She didn't want to be typecast and she's quite flexible and physicality can't be maintained too long so a mixture is what she wants. She was rehearsed by Monica for Carabosse. Monica is unbelievable and so special in rehearsal. She watched and said 'darling, very good, you're playing her very young and it suits you, let's do it your way'. She saw what Olivia was trying to do and worked around her idea. It's subtle but, when Monica rehearses you for a role, you feel so prepared and so confident and you're kept as the focus, being seen as an artist and someone special.

The difference of being in the corps rather than up front. Being a soloist is good as you can pick up things that suit you and then go back down. Corps is hard work, especially when you're pushing for promotion. It's always been like that that you work yourself to a pulp to get there. In the corps you can think about getting ready at the half, as a townsperson, you stick on a wig, chat with friends, warm up beside the stage, and go on or in Swan Lake you can do a small warm up as the ballet leads you to get warmer. As a soloist you begin at 5.30 so the night is much longer, with a routine of Pilates, ballet class, go slightly through the rep, work the shoes, put on costume, a bit more warm up. For big swans you have to be prepared and focussed straight away. When she's nervous Olivia cleans or else she chats madly, so the dancers know how she's feeling.

Ashton is hard, and he's not good for Olivia's body. His work is for a smaller dancer with small toes and she has big toes but she loves it all the same, while having to practise a lot more and working out the steps technically. MacMillan is easier for her - Requiem, Gloria, Concerto. Nurse was her debut this season and her husband, who manages the MacMillan estate and speaks to Deborah all the time, mentioned Olivia was doing nurse and Deborah suggested they talk about the role. She was so nervous, but they spoke for a half hour about how Kenneth saw her and it was really amazing and great preparation.

Mats Ek's Carmen is the best and she loves it. She also did Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun with Matt Ball, Jean Pierre Frohlich saw her in class and suggested she do it which was very flattering as it's normally for principals only. It was a beautiful experience. Nijinsky's work L'Apres midi d'un Faun is such a different ballet which she did when she first joined the company.

The Arabian dance in Nutcracker was changed but Olivia had no hand in it as unfortunately she wasn't dancing at the time. She's now doing it again with Nicol Edmonds.

Of Wayne's work she's done 12 principal roles including in Chroma, and Carbon Life with the band on stage. He's quite intense, you have to have a thick skin and not take things too personally. In Woolf Works she did the role intended for Natalia who was away a lot of the time, so the role was sort of created on Olivia. It was the most amazing experience. As it was a three-act ballet Wayne wasn't as intense but was getting frustrated when Natalia wasn't there. Olivia's not doing it this time round which is disappointing as it was created on her joints, she knows Wayne's intention and really wanted to do it as a very different woman from eight years ago. Her name and her DNA are in it but, while being upset, you have to move on and look to the next role. She was Satan in the The Dante Project and she did Lauren and Alina's role in Chroma which Tamara Rojo has now taken to San Francisco. Joby Talbot's child is at the same school as hers, and Chroma was his first big work for the Royal Ballet, so they always talk about music. The music hits the sides of the white box, and the sound reverberates off you which is the most amazing feeling. Wayne has that skill of immersing you so you're in a different mindset where anything can happen.

Olivia also did Paulina in The Winter's Tale, a fantastic role. She had to persuade Kevin that she should cover it, and someone went off so she got to do the shows in the end. Her whole career has been like that! Her cast was Vadim Muntagirov and Fumi Kaneko who are so nice, the rehearsals so relaxed and positive, making it a lovely experience. When working Wayne and Chris are both really intense. Chris is more understanding, but Wayne knows her body and her limit and doesn't push. She's worked with other choreographers - Sidi Larbi on Medusa when she was Athena. She's worked with Natalia quite a bit and was her Olga when she did Anastasia. She hasn't worked with Crystal Pite and would love to, but Kevin may want to save her for the younger dancers. He asks if she would consider choreographing but Olivia thinks no, she loves being created on and loves the collaboration, but it's more time- consuming and a new work takes three months rather than three weeks. Rachel asked which choreographers tell you what they want. Alastair Marriott very much tells you; Liam Scarlett had an idea but if someone made a particular move he would be persuaded and go in a different direction. Olivia admits she can find it overwhelming when works are being created, particularly with choreographers she's not so familiar with, when she prefers to work it out in the background and when they say second cast, she feels more prepared.

The Balanchine bill with Pat Neary. Once, when she did Apollo, Pat said 'Olivia, when I watch you dance I want to shoot myself in the face'. She was to be on for the first night as a corps dancer with Carlos Acosta, Marianela Nunez and Itziar Mendizabel. She started to cry and had to leave the studio but came back prepared and Rupert, who was a great friend, laughed and said it's ridiculous, don't worry about it. In the studio you give all of yourself in a solo so at the end you feel very vulnerable. You're on the edge if you don't think it went well and hyper-aware and the worst critics are all round you. Sometimes she thrives on it but sometimes Pat would find a weak spot, go for it and then turn and say 'darling, you're gorgeous, Mr B would love you' etc etc. But because of this Olivia's never enjoyed doing his work as she's felt not good enough so told Kevin she didn't want to be in Serenade again. It's the first role Olivia has taken herself out of. As she's got older, she prefers the older rep, watching old and new dancers perform gives her more enjoyment and she feels more fulfilled.

Lots of ballets have a choral element but they have little contact with the singers, except in Acis and Galatea, but normally they don't meet until they're on stage. Does it affect your performance when singers are there? Requiem is so good, she loves it so much, and the singing heightens your performance. It's quite nice that you don't have it in the studio where it's just piano, then at stage calls you have the orchestra, and the choir adds another layer.

Away from the Opera House, Olivia's involvement in Timon of Athens at the Olivier came about through Ed Watson who asked if she was interested. It was good fun. She was originally one of the dancers but was then off sick and returned to a different role. Nathalie Harrison, Christina and Kristen McNally were also involved. It took place during the summer, something a bit different, and then came Cats. A year before filming Wayne asked if she'd be his body in a film which was to be made from a musical. They spent four intense hours in his studios when he created a dance for her while singing, the director of Cats came to see them and discussed how to move and dance like a cat. Wayne then stepped back from the project, but the director still wanted Olivia in it, and she felt it would be a nice break from the company though Wayne advised against, saying it would be very different from his idea. The money was very good, she was there for two months, but it was terrible, so she left. She didn't finish the filming though is seen in it briefly. It was an experience, meeting different dancers who are still friends, and made her appreciate the Royal Ballet. She felt it wasn't artistic, there was such talent in the room not being used so it was very frustrating, but the freelancers had no choice but to stay. The director wasn't pleased when she said her good-byes and Olivia was the only one not invited to the world premiere! When she heard it was a flop, she was so happy and the first person she told was Wayne who was about to do Dante. She returned to the company and told Kevin who was sorry her time off wasn't a success. It made her appreciate the company, the artistry, the stage, the nurturing and lovely people around after experiencing what wasn't a very nice industry. Olivia didn't appear in the film of Romeo and Juliet.

She will be going on the next tour. Being a mum, they think you won't want to go but she does as she's still ambitious and wants to work on new roles. They'll be going to Singapore and Japan. Japan is amazing and she did Woolf Works in Australia which was fantastic. It's hard physically when it's so hot outside and the air-con indoors such a contrast. It really messes with her body, and pointe shoes. They catch colds and flu with the change of temperature so there are lots of dramas with illness and injury. It's part of the adventure when you're younger. She'd like to go back to Korea and perhaps the Far East being older and more experienced, and also to South America.

Olivia fell in love with Henry St. Clair on tour. They were just friends, and he was marrying someone else but then she saw him more romantically but didn't admit it until on tour in Washington when he said his fiancée wanted to split up for a while so she just told him she loved him but he said she was more like a sister! They've now been together for 19 years, so it all came good in the end.

Olivia documents her fitness routine on social media which is fascinating. She does everything and trains hard – gym, physio, Pilates. Coming back with two kids is hard. Sometimes she does too much and gets ill so it's finding the right balance as she needs to keep fit while not doing so many shows and the body requires so much work to be ready for those shows. Everyone is supportive of mothers, so she doesn't want to stop and it's lovely for kids to see their mum doing something she loves. She hurt her back and couldn't play with them or do a show so felt bad about both. You can't do everything so she's trying to work it out. Pregnancy is different from an injury. Injury impacts on life but pregnancy is the biggest injury of all as the body changes. She had a bad first birth and they were worried about Olivia who lost consciousness, but you have a baby at the end, so you don't dwell on the bad stuff. She was told she might not dance again but kept it to herself so it's not just about getting your body back, it's also the mental attitude. Younger dancers are coming up; you miss a ballet and worry if you'll be chosen next time and all the while you're looking after your child. It sounds horrific but she absolutely loves it, performing on stage and soaking it all up. Sadly, her father died during Covid and mum died of Covid three months later. Olivia became a mother and lost both parents all at once. She wanted ballet to be the normal and to have that old life back as it shouldn't go away just because you have kids. She feels she can give the audience more with her experience and wealth of work which can improve her as an artist. There was a beautiful moment when Nacha was breast feeding which Chris captured so well. She had tears in her eyes as it was so beautiful, knowing that feeling, so it was lovely to do it. In contrast the next day you're a whore!

Asked if she sees other companies and shows. Olivia said her husband sees lots of shows in his job, so she knows the ballet world through him. He talks to Tamara and Alessandra Ferri a lot as they all want to do MacMillan.

Thinking of amusing stories, Olivia came back from Cats and Kevin said there was a choreographer who wanted to work with her and Nicol on a pas de deux for a gala in central London. The company was duped as the choreographer wasn't what he said but was a bit of a con artist. She and Nicol did it and it was horrific. A very tiny stage, people were eating and not watching them dance, they were presented as students from the Royal Ballet School called Oliver and Nicola and they were laughing in an unprofessional way as it was an absolute joke. Kevin thought it hilarious too.

Healthcare is fantastic. She pushed for a lot when she was first pregnant, having lots of conversations with the in-house doctor, needing more of certain things, stomach muscles getting ripped, its affecting hip muscles, and they really did respond and it's changed and is now fantastic. They've been very supportive so if you really can't make a rehearsal as you must pick up a child, that's OK. Kevin is very supportive and makes things work, doing certain roles so she's not on every night. It doesn't always work out but they're making the effort.

She went to Tring Arts, not the main school but Associates as she lived nearby in Aylesbury. She worked with Nicola Bowden, a wonderful teacher who saw Olivia's potential. There were no scholarships at the time, and she pushed for the school to take her so she was well supported but as a kid you take it all for granted. Looking back, she realises how many people helped her on the way. She also went to London Studio Centre for Saturday classes and got a grant.

She's introduced her kids to ballet which she thinks is great. Her son has got beautiful feet, taking after his Dad, so they introduced him to ballet which he loved but not wanting to push him she took him to an after-school class of street dance which he hated and asked to go back to ballet. Olivia watched a lesson recently and could see he's like her, loves the discipline and positioning of hands and feet. He sees her backstage and watches class sometimes so it's slowly becoming their life.

On that happy note, Rachel gave big thanks to Olivia for talking so openly over a wide range of topics, and for giving us a very enjoyable evening.

Report written by Liz Bouttell and edited by Olivia Cowley, Rachel Holland and David Bain.

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Olivia Cowley 2025

Olivia Cowley

Soloist, The Royal Ballet

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