Marianela Nunez 2026
- Antonio Cortese
- Helle Flood
- Kevin Emerton
- Lukas Brændsrød
- Marianela Nunez
- Mariko Sasaki
- Yusuke Otake
Marianela Nunez
Principal, The Royal Ballet
Interviewed by David Bain
American International Church, Thu 27th Feb, 2026
This evening’s guest was Marianela Nuñez, principal dancer at the Royal Ballet. The conversation began with “Giselle” which Marianela will be dancing tomorrow, Wednesday, 28th February. She also danced on 14th February, the first night, in celebration of Sir Peter Wright’s 100th year with birthday celebrations to follow in November.
“Giselle” is a ballet which has shaped her as a dancer and, though she is now dancing the principal role, she was already ‘marked’ when dancing with the corps de ballet as one of the Wilis. Significantly, Marianela was promoted very early and did not get to do very much corps work, but this role remains with her and she believes that the Wilis is one of the best things that the company does along with the Entrance of the Shades in “La Bayadère”. She is so enamoured of the Wilis that she tries to get dressed early so that she can watch them perform before she goes on. She has also been a peasant in the ballet, dancing a previous version of the peasant pas de deux which included a solo written by Frederick Ashton. She then graduated to Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis and danced this role for many years before she finally took on the role of Giselle. She did stop dancing it for a while but returned after the pandemic. Her schedule this year does not allow her to do more shows, but she would gladly do them if she could because she finds it a spectacular role.
Her extensive experience with the ballet has shaped her characterisation of Giselle as has working with Sir Peter Wright, not only on “Giselle” but also on “The Nutcracker”. She has known him for many years and was curious to see how he would act in the studio as he had not been there for such a long time, but she found it beautiful and inspiring to see how sharp he still is. He cannot be fooled. He sees every detail and you can get away with nothing. Marianela has danced in this production many times all over the world, but it was good to be reminded by him of the essence of what he, the choreographer, wants from the production. He explained exactly what he required at every stage but also clarified what she was not doing correctly on the music; how she was holding her head, too exaggerated here but not enough there. Everything he said, she found to be spot on. As a fan and someone who adores Sir Peter, it was simply lovely and comforting for Marianela to have him with them in the studio. After she did the stage call, he told her that it was lovely to see how her Giselle had developed to be very natural, so that it was perfect as it was. She was to do no more and no less. For Marianela, this was one of the biggest compliments she could have had, coming from someone such as Sir Peter.
Her Giselle has developed over time through trial and error and through inspiration from her favourite ballerinas. She re-watches their videos and continues to see things which she may not have seen before because now she is a different person and focuses on different things. In the same way, when she dances the role, things that she may have stressed about before seem less important because she is a changed person and has different priorities. As in life, you question yourself, learn and grow, but growing is an ongoing process which never finishes. So, she continues to develop in all her roles and wants to discover more about the personalities and what she can add to their characterisation. This is what helps her keep her version of Giselle fresh.
Marianela is currently dancing with William Bracewell in the role of Albrechtand she has danced with several other Albrechtsover the years. She feels lucky and grateful to have been partnered by so many spectacular dancers and has always felt “in safe hands”. Most dancers she has worked with closely over many years and productions, but others have had a huge impact on her even though their collaboration was brief. Her first Albrecht was Carlos Acosta, which she still cannot believe. He had always danced the role with Tamara Rojo, which was a strong partnership. Marianela also had a strong partnership with Carlos but in other ballets such as La fille mal gardée, Coppélia and Don Quixote. When the then Director of the Royal Ballet, Monica Mason, decided that she was ready to take on the role, she felt it important to partner her with someone who was not only very experienced as Albrecht but with whom Marianela had good chemistry. Subsequently, she has danced the role with Vadim Muntagirov over several years. He danced with her during the celebration of her 20 years with the Royal Ballet but then fell ill so that Federico Bonelli had to step in to cover for him for the rest of the performances with no rehearsal. She has danced with Hugo Marchand at the Paris Opera which was a life-changing experience for her. She had waited forever to dance at the Palais Garnier, and it was worth the wait. The reception from the audience was spectacular and dancing with Hugo Marchand was special. Recently she has danced with Matthew Ball in Hong Kong, and she has been Giselleto the Bolshoi’s Vadislav Lantratov’s Albrecht. Another notable performance was in Carla Fracci’s production at La Scala, Milan with Roberto Bollé. It has become one of Marianela’s signature roles and one which people all over the world love to see her perform. Ironically, she had to wait a long time to perform Giselle, and she thought that she might never get the chance but here she is today with the role as a “second skin” to her.
Having done several productions over the world, Marianela has experienced the different versions of the ballet, but she told us that Sir Peter Wright is adamant that Giselle commits suicide by stabbing herself during her mad scene. In some productions she dies from a weak (and broken) heart. So, for Marianela, this is one of the biggest differences and challenges. It is interesting to see what each production adds to the character as this helps her develop her own characterisation little by little so that she can build something more solid. However, not so solid that there is no room for growth and change. The magnificent set, designed by John MacFarlane, is also a significant part of the Peter Wright production. When Marianela’s father came to see the production for the first time, he was convinced that the trees were real. The realism of the set enables the dancers to believe in the world that is created with no need to use your imagination. It is akin to method acting and half the work is done for you as it helps you ‘become’ your character.
Prior to Giselle, Marianela danced the role of Clarissa/Virginia Woolf in “Woolf Works”. This is her second time. The first performance was watched by Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon, Christopher Saunders and, of course, Kevin O’Hare, among others. Many of them told her that it was almost like watching a different dancer on the stage and they saw her in a totally different light which was a great compliment for Marianela who is very shy when it comes to contemporary works. Wayne McGregor is aware of this but gives her the confidence to take on these roles. The ballet was originally created on Alessandra Ferri and Marianela feels that it is not totally contemporary, so she is more confident with this one. It is a ballet with great artistic depth and represents moments in Virginia Woolf’s life. It is easy to get lost in it and, frankly, sometimes Marianela did not recognise herself. It was great to be in the studio with dancers she does not normally work with such as Lauren Cuthbertson, Sarah Lamb and Natalia Osipova. They were able to discuss the work and share ideas which created a wonderful working atmosphere. She also had more time with Matthew Ball, a dancer with whom she does not work a great deal but gets on very well with as they have performed together in “A Month in the Country” and “The Winter’s Tale”. He is a wonderful artist who is kind and a gentleman, and he helped carry her in this ballet which was in a language that she was confident ‘speaking’ so that she felt good about doing it and actually believes it to be a wonderful role.
As a choreographer, Wayne McGregor cares about the dancers, gives them freedom and values the effort that they make to contribute to the role. For Marianela, it makes her feel safe and that she can simply ‘let go’. He and his team explained the ballet in great detail and so beautiful was the way he provided the background, that Marianela was sometimes in tears listening to him. It is ballets like “Woolf Works” that allow her to keep growing and see things in a totally different way. It is a tricky ballet because it involves a great deal of walking and the ballerina has to avoid doing a ‘ballet walk’.
Marianela had read a good deal about Virginia Woolf but had not read much of her writings. However, Wayne McGregor has a dramaturg who provided an in-depth explanation of the three works: “Mrs Dalloway”, “Orlando” and “The Waves”. As well as explaining what was happening in the story, she would provide the background of what was happening during the period the books were written and give details about Virginia Woolf’s life at the time. It was like having a history lesson. This showed how aware McGregor was that not everyone would find it easy reading Woolf’s works, especially as English is not a first language for so many of the company.
The first Wayne McGregor piece that Marianela danced was ‘Infra’, although he had previously written a piece for Zenaida Yanowski and Eric Underwood for a gala. Along with “Infra”, the company performed “Chroma” and “DGV: Danse à grande vitesse” (by Christopher Wheeldon) which became classic ballets. Since then, she has danced several McGregor ballets including “Limen” and “Carbon Life”.
Last year Marianela was invited to dance Kitriin “Don Quixote” at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, partnered by Patricio Revé. She had to wait a long time for the invitation, and this was upsetting because she so longed to go back home and share with them what she had been doing. Her first visit was in 2015 and subsequently she has visited almost every year. However, in the past three years something changed and support for her has grown from all walks of life, not just from ballet lovers but actors, TV presenters, politicians are all fans. So much so that she can no longer walk in the streets without being recognised. For her it was the most incredible experience, especially last summer when people were even crowding her father´s car when he stopped at traffic lights. She feels that it is a mutual appreciation because she gets a great deal of love from the Argentinian public, but she also feels love for them and has time to give it back. After “Don Quixote” she returned a month and a half later to perform in “Onegin”. She feels that having another hero is something the country needed as there are so many problems in day-to-day life. So, she has become to them the ‘Messi of the ballet world’!
The Colón is an exquisite theatre to perform in, and audience members were displaying the national flag and singing her name: “Nela, Nela, Nela…..”. It was more like a pop concert than a ballet and it was an unimaginably emotional experience for her. She shed many tears during the three weeks she was there. When she came to the theatre to see the other casts performs, the audience would stand up and clap as soon as she appeared in her box. All in all, it was a beautiful experience for her.
Her relationship with the Colón goes back a long way because she began dancing at the age of three and auditioned for the Colón Theatre School when she was eight years old. She was accepted for their ten-year programme but only completed five years because the company director saw her dancing with Maximiliano Guerra, one of the Argentina’s biggest ballet stars who used to dance with London Festival Ballet. Guerra had spotted Marianela when she was thirteen and they began to dance together. The director felt that Marianela was too advanced for the school and enrolled her in the ballet company. She spent a year and a half in the company but had her sights set on an international career and specifically one with the Royal Ballet Company. At the age of fifteen, she auditioned for the Royal Ballet, was accepted and never returned to Argentina. The training she received from the Colón Theatre School was incredible because how else would she have been able to dance with such a great ballet star at such a young age. Being part of a ballet company at the age of fifteen and performing main roles gave her tremendous confidence. Even today when she doubts herself (something that happens frequently) she reminds herself of what she was able to do at the age of thirteen.
Her father is a policeman and she has three brothers. Her mother had the responsibility of chaperoning her everywhere she went and her grandparents acted in loco parentis for her siblings. She had a crazy schedule and the whole family had to adjust to accommodate her lifestyle. When she came to the U.K. her mother also had to adjust because at the same time two of her brothers got married and the third moved out of the family home. At the time, Marianela did not think much of it, as few young people do in similar circumstances, but it would have been a difficult time for her which proves what a wonderful mother she is. Even now, she keeps Marianela grounded.
Marianela first met Patricio Revé when he came as a guest to dance with Natalia Osipova. She did not see much of him except in class where he already impressed her. When she came to see him dance on stage, however, she was ‘blown away’. His dancing was spectacular from beginning to end with exceptional partnering and there was something beautiful and noble about him. She then spoke with Loipa Araújo, other teachers and people like Elizabeth McGorian and Leanne Benjamin, all of whom told her that he would be her next partner. When she went backstage to congratulate him, it struck her that he seemed to be more than a guest artist and already a part of the company, such was the manner in which they embraced him.
She was then due to fly to Hong Kong to dance “Giselle”, but her partner had a problem, so Marianela invited Patricio. He could not accept because he was due to dance in “Paquita” in Argentina. She made a mental note, however, that here was a dancer she could look to in the future. Next, she was due to go to Argentina with another partner who then was unable to accompany her. Julio Bocca, director of the Teatro Colón Ballet Company, who had seen Patricio dance at the Havana Ballet Festival, suggested that they call him. They had two weeks together to rehearse, and she loved that time because finally she had found someone who would stay in the studio rehearsing until late at night after everyone had left. He loves working. They found that they had friends in common, so they had a great working relationship. On stage, he was popular because the audiences had already seen him in “Paquita”. When he first appeared on stage as Don Basilio, Marianela could not hear the orchestra because the audience went wild. It was fun and the partnership felt right.
A few months later, Patricio was invited to dance in “Don Quixote” in Havana, and he was asked to bring Marianela. She had never danced in Cuba, and this was something else she had been waiting to do. She was surprised at how much the people there had been following her career and anticipating her coming to dance there. Cuban audiences are great lovers of ballet and Marianela fell in love with the country. During her stay, she was presented with the Josefina Mendez International Award for her outstanding contribution to dance. It was wonderful to share the moment with Patricio at the top of his career and in his home country. Cuba has a tremendous history with ballet and Marianela is astounded at how an island has managed to create a ballet company and school that produces such incredible dancers. It has a strong methodology and a wonderful tradition in ballet. Even though it is difficult for people to get to the theatre, they get there. As the theatre is not in the centre of town and difficult to access, the ballet company has to provide buses for the dancers. Moreover, whilst they were there, the Cubans were battling the mosquito-borne disease, chikingunya (similar to dengue fever) which affects the joints and is extremely painful. Despite all these difficulties, the dancers and the orchestra always gave their best. Marianela was tremendously inspired by this passion. She has been invited to perform in the International Ballet Festival of Havana in October this year and she is hoping that this can be worked into her schedule.
Another Cuban with whom Marianela has a great relationship is Loipa Araújo, known as one of the “Four Jewels of Cuban Ballet”. She is in constant touch with her and sees her as a magician who helps her out when she is struggling. She can fix everything in one rehearsal and Marianela trusts her implicitly. Her corrections are always specific to the individual she is working with. She wrote to Marianela whilst she was in Argentina praising the partnership with Patricio Revé but, at the same time, giving them a list of corrections to work on. Marianela then suggested that when they were back in London, they go to Loipa for some rehearsals and classes. She was also their coach for the performances in Cuba.
One of the performances Marianela gave in the Teatro Colón was “Onegin”. This was another of the roles that she believed she would never ever dance. She had to be Olga to many Tatianas before her chance finally came. Like Giselle, this is now one of the roles she dances the most. She has danced it countless times at the Royal Opera, at La Scala, Milan with Roberto Bollé during four of five seasons and also twice at the Teatro Colón in 2016 and, most recently, in October 2025. She loves absolutely everything about the ballet, the story, the music, the set, the characters, especially the character of Tatiana as a woman.
In particular, she loves working with Reid Anderson, supervisor of John Cranko ballets and previously Artistic Director of the Stuttgart Ballet. He is a tough coach, knows exactly what he wants, does not allow any shortcuts and only allows you any personal interpretation once you have learnt the rules of the ballet. It is reassuring (if humbling) to know that someone who really knows the ballet is there watching you rehearse; a process that makes you grow. The number of hours of rehearsal does not reduce depending on the frequency of your performances. Marianela recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the ballet with Roberto Bollé, and she worked on it this January with Reid and Reece Clarke plus she rehearsed the same number of hours again for the performances in Argentina. The result is that she knows this ballet exceptionally well. She cannot wait for it to come back and to go through the whole rehearsal process again.
Before her first performance of Tatiana in 2013, Marianela already knew the role. Jane Bourne, who stages “Onegin”, realised that she didn’t have much to teach her. It was at the top of her list of ballets she wanted to perform and having danced Olga previously she had watched many Tatianas. Even before that she was so obsessed with the ballet that she had learnt the steps and knew the music so all that was left was the fine tuning. According to Marianela, the pas de deux from Onegin are some of the hardest to perform in a dramatic ballet. Usually in dramatic ballets, the male has the tougher choreography but, in Onegin, it is more 50-50 and the female parts are equally difficult. It is a very physical ballet, and dancers must be extremely fit. The Mirror pas de deux is one of the most difficult for both males and females. For the Gremin pas de deux you need to be in top shape, fit and strong, as well as able to portray the dramatic and artistic elements of the roles.
One cannot talk for long about the Royal Ballet without mentioning Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. Marianela feels that Ashton put her on the ballet map with “La fille mal gardée”. Though she had already performed other Ashton roles, people began to notice her after her performance in “Fille”. She subsequently danced other Ashton ballets including “La Valse” and “Sylvia”. Among the ballets that she waited an eternity to dance is “Symphonic Variations”. At the time Marianela joined the company, only smaller ballerinas such as Alina Cojocaru or Tamara Rojo were used in the ballet, so she was never cast. However, finally, her moment arrived. Also, on that list were “A Month in the Country”, and “Marguerite and Armand” and she felt fulfilled when she eventually danced those roles. She feels that her life would have been completely different without the opportunity to dance ballets by these great choreographers. They were the reason she wanted to join the Royal Ballet.
Incredibly, she was already 30 years old when she first danced Manon and “Song of the Earth” and 28 when she danced Juliet for the first time. In “Mayerling” she does not play the main character roles but, instead she dances Mitzi Caspar, Rudolf’s prostitute mistress. She is happy just to be involved in the ballet or simply to watch it. She was also not involved in “Different Drummer” or “Judas Tree” but felt enriched just by watching them. These are some of the smaller ballets of Kenneth MacMillan and, along with others such as “Las Hermanas”, they are infrequently performed by the company. However, they are ballets that are rich in content and which you must dance (or watch) again and again to fully appreciate them. Mary Vetsera is a role that Marianela does not aspire to perform. She is content to perform the small role of Mitzi because she is content to be part of the ballet and then have the opportunity to watch the rest of the performance because it is one of the jewels of the repertoire. She is not sure that the role suits her and whether she could do it justice. She feels the same about Marie Larisch, a role which she has attempted.
Last season, she performed in the Christopher Wheeldon Mixed Bill, dancing in “Fool’s Paradise”. She had previously danced this ballet in 2012 during Kevin O’Hare’s first season. She has also danced in other Wheeldon ballets such as “DGV: Danse à grande vitesse” and “Aeternum”. She is very fond of the choreographer and finds that she is able to laugh with him for hours but, at the same time, she has a desire to please him. She loves how he sees ballet, how detailed he is and how he explains the background and what he wants. Although Wheeldon has not created many works on Marianela, he holds a special place in her heart because she won her Olivier Award for her performance in his “Aeternum”. She has been involved in some of his bigger works such as “The Winter’s Tale” and “Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland”, albeit as second cast. It is great for her to see him work with dancers like Lauren Cuthbertson who is one of his muses and to see the relationship he builds with them. To her, his work is beautiful and poetic with exquisite pas de deux and she connects with it. He has now moved into the world of Broadway, but Marianela in no way sees herself getting involved in that area of his work, especially as she is not a big fan of musicals. Nevertheless, she loved “An American in Paris” because of what Wheeldon did with the work.
Another choreographer that Marianela has worked with, though not at the Royal Ballet, is Ronald Hynd. He is the definition of a gentleman. Marianela danced his “Merry Widow”. After her grandparents, he and Ben Stevenson, another English choreographer, are her biggest fans and supporters. She speaks frequently with Stevenson. Even though she does not speak as often with Hynd, every time she sees him, it is like a “big party”. One day, at the stage door of the Royal Opera House, she received a handwritten note from him (unusual these days because invitations generally come via e-mail!) complimenting her dancing and asking her to perform the role of Hannah in a production of his “Merry Widow” at The Teatro Colón. As it was the summer holiday period of the Royal Ballet, she was able to accept, and she worked extensively with him on the ballet. They subsequently became great friends, and she is also close to his daughter, Louise who was also a beautiful ballerina. Marianela would love to perform more of Hynd’s works and wants to dance Stevenson’s “3 Preludes” among other ballets. Ben Stevenson has gifted several of his ballets to the Cuban National Ballet so there may be an opportunity for her to dance it there. One of Marianela’s closest friends, Valentin Batista, stages Stevenson ballets for the National Ballet of Cuba and he wants her to dance Stevenson’s Esmeralda pas de deux, so she plans to learn the “3 Preludes” in the hope that she will eventually be able to perform it.
During the summer break, Marianela will be featuring in her own show at the Royal Opera House, another dream that she never imagined would come true even though several people told her that she should consider doing it as other dancers such as Roberto Bollé, Natalia Osipova, Carlos Acosta, all do their own shows. She does not have an agent or a producer, so she is a one-woman band doing everything herself. She did not know where to begin or how to do it. What she did know is that she wanted good repertory with an orchestra which would have been impossible for her to manage on her own. One day, however, Kevin O’Hare called her into his office and made her the proposal of a show at the Royal Opera House with total freedom to do whatever she wanted and her choice of dancers. She began by choosing her partners. She has chosen four men who have had a great impact not only on her ballerina journey but also her life. She is convinced that they are not even aware of the fact that sharing the rehearsal and performance space and time with them has had such an effect on her. The four men are: Matthew Ball, Vadim Muntagirov, William Bracewell and Patricio Revé. After having chosen her partners, she considered what repertoire she would use. The show will be a tribute to the Royal Ballet, both the institution and her partners, but also to the audiences who have supported her during the last ten years and she feels that without them she would never have had the opportunities to successfully perform internationally as she has done.
One of the memorable international appearances was at the Paris Opera. It was an honour to get the invitation from them because they very rarely invite guests and sometimes only to cover someone who has been injured. There had been a few failed attempts before, but this time she received the invitation 18 months in advance. She was asked to dance Giselle by the new director, José Martinez, who was so keen to have her perform, he told her that if “Giselle’s” dates did not work, she could choose any other ballet in their repertoire to perform. She did succeed in dancing Giselle at the Palais Garnier and felt very welcome and supported. During the performance the whole cast and crew, including hair and makeup, were in the wings watching and clapping. At the end, the curtain calls lasted over twenty minutes, something that people still talk about. After the show there was a book signing with enormous queues.
Marianela probably has the biggest social media platform of any ballerina. She started a few years ago, like everyone else. As she does not have a website, she saw it as a means of telling her fans what she would be doing and where they could see her performances. She then began to naturally use it as a way to connect with the fans and audiences. In the U.K. she gets to see the audiences all the time, but she does not have the same proximity to the overseas fans. She is conscious of the fact that she would not be where she is now without them, so social media is her way of sharing what she is doing and how she is feeling. Her writings are unplanned, sometimes in English, sometimes in Spanish, coming spontaneously from the heart. She manages it herself and tries to answer as many messages as she can and respond to requests so that she can continue to have the interaction with the audiences. She loves doing it and she sometimes simply writes down what she is feeling in the moment.
A question from one the members was about how Marianela stays fit. Quite simply, she enjoys the process of keeping herself fit. Jane Paris, the Pilates and Conditioning Coach at the Royal Ballet, is an important person in the process and Marianela has told her that she cannot retire before her. Jane, in response, feels that Marianela is going to be dancing for a very long time to come so she’s not sure that she will be able to continue working that long. Her fitness regime is Pilates, ballet classes and good rehearsals, nothing more.
David wrapped up by saying that it seems only yesterday that Marianela arrived at the Royal Ballet School and appeared on stage, chaperoned by her mother. She has been a delight and inspiration to everyone and has given us all enormous pleasure for which we are all grateful. He hoped that she would continue dancing for many more years to come.
Report written by Herma John and edited by Marianela Nuñez and David Bain.
© The Ballet Association 2026