Tamara Rojo

Michael Berkeley's guest this week is the Spanish-born dancer Tamara Rojo, who since 2000 has been principal ballerina with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. Internationally acclaimed for her outstanding technique, brilliant artistry and acting skills, she has danced a wide range of principal roles with leading ballet companies all over the world, and won the 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, for her collaboration with choreographer Kim Brandstrup in 'Goldberg:The Brandstrup-Rojo Project'. Other awards include Spain's two highest artistic honours and the Paris International Dance Competition's Gold Medal.

The roles for which Tamara is best known include Coppelia, Odette/Odile (Swan Lake), Clara (Nutcracker), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Giselle, Manon, Cinderella, Mary (Mayerling), and especially Juliet in Kenneth MacMillan's 'Romeo and Juliet' which she danced with Carlos Acosta in London's vast O2 arena last June, and which she is currently dancing at Covent Garden.

Articulate and passionate in her advocacy of music, Tamara has chosen pieces by a wide variety of composers for her 'Private Passions', many of which relate to her dancing. She starts with the prologue to Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake', followed by the poignant closing section of Mahler's 'Song of the Earth', sung by Janet Baker. Her choices continue with a Russian version of 'Carmen', a section of Arvo Part's contemplative 'Spiegel im Spiegel', and one of Bach's Goldberg Variations, played by Murray Perahia. The first movement of Elgar's Cello Concerto, played by Jacqueline du Pre, is followed by traditional Spanish flamenco, reflecting Tamara Rojo's own roots.