Danila Marzilli, ballet dancer
Ballet is my idea of freedom: I go to forget about everything else, and that’s my only focus.
It’s all I do every day; I can’t imagine a day without dance. My earliest memory was when my family and I went to see the Nutcracker ballet one Christmas. I was only four or five, so I don’t remember it happening, but I cried at the end and wanted it to continue.
When I put the shoes on for the first time, I was in absolute pain. I remember crying- it was horrible, but my body got used to it. Discipline is important. I’m in second year now at The Royal Conservatoire, first year was vocational and second year is hard because I’m developing into a professional dancer which makes everything more demanding.
My first lessons were difficult at the time, so I ended up restarting again at 10 years old. Ballet is a lifestyle. It’s important to be fully committed to have a future in ballet or it’s impossible. If I have one day off, I get annoyed and it ruins my day, then it continues for a week and it becomes difficult to leave that mindset.
On stage, I feel every emotion; I’m just trying to do my absolute best and hide how nervous I really am. I put on a pretty face and smile- that’s the beauty of ballet because everything looks easy and effortless when really my heart is pounding and I’m sweating, telling myself it’s going to be okay.
Audiences look at my feet, but people who understand ballet will look at my upper body and facial expressions. I never know who’s watching me so I take every opportunity to be seen. It’s important for dancers to make themselves visible in the ballet world.
Competition is fierce which makes it hard to build friendships with others on my course. There’s so many of us, fighting to stand out and be different; we’re all constantly trying to find work.
I have to take care of my body and avoid indulging, especially if I have a performance in the evening- I need to be careful. I start off the day with basic foods, like porridge and avoid having big lunches because I’ll usually be getting lifted into the air in the afternoon. I can have a bigger meal for dinner if I don't have a class, but I still go to the gym and do personal training. It’s not about what I do as a dancer, it’s about what I do in my free time; I even stretch before bed.
To be able to train, compete, and audition at the highest level incurs many costs. A pair of ballet shoes cost £100, and I get through at least three pairs a month, plus ribbons, elastic, leotards, and tights. The shoes get soft because my body weight is placed on this tiny block on my toes. I’m always happy when my shoes are about to break because it means they’re my comfy shoes, though this might not be the case to the outside world.
I hope to be on stage performing with a company I enjoy. What happens next year will determine where I’ll be in the future, I could be on the other side of the world or be here - it’s so unpredictable.
Follow on Instagram: @danilamarzilli and @dance.imagery.scotland
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here