BWW SPOTLIGHT: Vienna Festival Ballet's Principal Female Dancer Emily-Joy Smith

Vienna Festival Ballet is currently in the midst of its 35th Anniversary Gala UK tour which celebrates their extensive repertoire and wonderful performers. I had the privilege of speaking to the company's principal female dancer, Emily-Joy Smith, who is presently enjoying performing some of her favourite characters all in one show!

At what age did you start dancing and was there a moment or occasion that made you realise you wanted to dance professionally?

I started taking dance classes at the age of 4 at a local dance school in Scunthorpe. I came from a small primary school in a village called Wroot with only 3 other people in my year, my mum wanted me to try as many out of school activities as possible to keep social. So I also took ballroom lessons, performed with the Scunthorpe Operatic Society and even tried line dancing for a while! I don't think my mum was keen on the idea of having to stand at the end of a football pitch every Saturday - theatres are much warmer! For most of my childhood all these activities were just for fun, I had great friends and always enjoyed going to classes; not because I wanted to become a professional but because the happiest years of my life were spent in a studio or on stage. As I got older I started competing in dance competitions across the country and started winning! The feeling of competing and performing every other weekend made me start to realise that a career in dance was definitely something for me. At 16 I moved away from home to a vocational dance school on the outskirts of London. Alongside training 6 hours a day, I was also able to gain a few A-levels. Two years after, I moved to the classical course at London Studio Centre, this was the school where I really learned who I was as a performer. After 3 years at LSC, I graduated with a BA(Hons) degree in Theatre Dance specialising in Classical Ballet. In my 3rd year, I also toured with the Images of Dance company. After graduating, I was offered a contract to work with the Sarasota Ballet in Florida. Here I was lucky enough to perform some amazing and unusual pieces from renowned choreographers such as Sir Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine and Matthew Hart. After a year of dancing in the sun, I headed back to England. On an off-chance, I contacted Vienna Festival Ballet enquiring when their next audition would be. Luckily for me they were short by one girl so after landing back in the UK at 5am in the morning, I headed straight to join VFB to fill in for the end of their tour... Pretty jet lagged I jumped straight into their production of Swan Lake and I've been here ever since. The buzz and work ethic of the company has appealed to me from day one so I have never wanted to be anywhere else since.

At 24, you have already achieved a great deal. What is your career highlight so far and where would you like to go from here?

Gosh my career highlight? That's a tough one! I think I would have to say having a role choreographed on me. In 2013, VFB decided to create a new ballet version of the classic fairy tale Snow White, choreographed by my all-time greatest mentor, Barry McGrath. The roles I am best known for are the good fairy characters such as the Sugarplum Fairy (The Nutcracker) and the Lilac Fairy (Sleeping Beauty) but for Snow White, I was chosen to be the Evil Queen. Being in the creative process of the production was such an honour. As the role was created on me, I was really able to get my teeth stuck into developing the character with help from McGrath and our Ballet mistress, Emily Bridge. And I must say being evil on stage was a lot of fun! During the ballet, I portrayed every emotion you could think of in the space of 2 hours. Very demanding but thinking back on the whole experience it was so rewarding. From here I would like to keep my status as a principle dancer with VFB, the ballet world can be very ruthless. If someone better comes along you can easily be replaced so you have to always be on top form. For the last two years I have been performing principal roles in all of Vienna's ballets so I hope this continues.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your career so far?

For me, the biggest challenge is working with new people. I have been the White Swan for three tours with VFB and each tour I have had a different prince. Putting your trust in a complete stranger to throw you above his head and spin you around is a big challenge for me. Luckily I have been blessed with amazing partners so my trust issues have disappeared fairly quickly.

Who/what inspires you most?

It depends which role/ballet I am touring with on who inspires me. For White Swan, it has to be Margot Fonteyn. If I could move my audiences the same way she did, I could retire happy! I don't always use famous dancers as my inspiration. For the Evil Queen, I watched every episode of the TV series Once Upon a Time and really focused on the character Regina Mills (played by Lana Parrilla). My biggest inspiration for every tour has to my my family. Sadly when I first joined Vienna my Grandma passed away so she never got to see all the amazing opportunities I have had in my career. Every performance is now dedicated to her and I always hope I am sharing the stage with her.

Two thirds of the year you are touring, how do you find that lifestyle?

I love this lifestyle! Being on the road and seeing new places every day is so much fun. When we do get time off at Christmas and in the Summer, it makes me appreciate the time more because before you know it, you are back on the road again. I always catch up with friends and family; maybe teach a few workshops before getting ready to start rehearsing for the next ballet.

Having travelled extensively, do you have a favourite venue?

Every theatre we perform in has a different reason why I like it. Off the top of my head has to be The Grand Opera House York... It's a fantastic theatre and being a northern lass, it means it's great to be close to home. My second favourite has to be the teeny tiny Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond. The theatre has been around since 1788! It feels great to be part of its history.

Do you have a pre-performance rituals or any superstitions?

Now this is a little embarrassing to confess but I shall let you into my little ritual... For each act of a ballet I have a different pair of pointe shoes that I change in the interval. In my changing room I like to have them all out ready to put on. Now the embarrassing thing is, I like to have a little chat with them; just to check if they are ready for the show and not wanting to make me fall over... The day they answer back might be a bit of a shock!

Vienna Festival Ballet's ethos is to provide accessible classical ballet for audiences nationwide, including encouraging new audiences into the theatre. How important do you feel this is?

This is so important! The magic of theatre I feel is slowly being lost. With TV and cinema being more easily accessible, I feel less people are being introduced to the world of ballet and theatre. One of the most fulfilling things about my job is meeting a young girl at the end of a performance and for her to say "I want to become a ballet dancer just like you" as it reminds me how influential ballet can be. I would advise anyone and everyone to come and watch a ballet at least once. Whatever age, gender or ethnicity, there is something that everyone can relate to. And once you've seen one, I can promise you won't be disappointed. That's why VFB is so great as we bring ballet to people's doorsteps; areas that wouldn't normally be able to travel far and wide to see a performance now can at their local theatre.

The company has a large repertoire of traditional ballets. Which is your favourite and why?

I have two favourites, The Nutcracker when I play the role of The Sugarplum Fairy and Swan Lake when I play Odette (the White Swan) or Odette and Odille (White Swan and Black Swan) because for me, these roles are the epitome of classical ballet. Every aspiring ballet dancer dreams of one day performing these roles and thanks to VFB, I am lucky enough to be one of the few that can say I have been all them.

The current tour celebrates 35 years of Vienna Festival Ballet and provides highlights from Tchaikovsky's most famous ballets. Do you find it a challenge going from a more light-hearted piece such as The Nutcracker to the intense performance as Odette in Swan Lake in essentially one performance?

This tour is a great challenge for me. I actually love swapping from one section of a ballet to another. In this gala, I go from Lilac Fairy (Sleeping Beauty) to the Snow Queen (The Nutcracker) to a cheeky soloist dancer in our Rhapsody in Bloom piece before stepping on to the stage as the innocent, heart-broken White Swan. I have to only think of one character at a time and forget about the other roles I have done earlier in the show - otherwise that could get very confusing. My Prince for Swan Lake has the same mind frame as me so before our Swan Lake section starts, we always find each other and focus on the dance ahead.... I must say it's great fun coming on and off stage as so many different roles; I feel it really shows off my skills of being a versatile dancer.

Thank you very much Emily for speaking to BroadwayWorld UK.

Tour dates can be found here: https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/vienna-festival-ballet

I have the pleasure of watching the 35th Anniversary Gala performance on 30th May in Birmingham and a review will follow.

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