“Life is short, so go for things you enjoy.”
― Darcey Bussell
“The orthopaedic surgeon said that if ever I had hip or groin pain, I should rest until the pain went. However, resting is not part of a dancer’s life – so I just danced through the pain.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I never imagined I’d be a presenter on television, but I’m happy to put myself out of my comfort zone.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Diets don’t come into it. You need variety and to have a good source of greens, protein, and nutrition. It is about health rather than looking right.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Even after having children, after five months I was dancing again, which was kind of crazy.”
― Darcey Bussell
“If you have enough ambition, you can create talent!”
― Darcey Bussell
“I do a Zumba class at least twice a week, which entertains me and keeps me fit, and I have two dogs that I walk regularly.”
― Darcey Bussell
“The jogging machine makes me go insane with boredom.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Keeping off wheat helps my energy levels.”
― Darcey Bussell
“My ‘new’ knee now feels like a bionic knee compared with my old one.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’ve achieved everything I’ve wanted to achieve, so I’m not scared of failure. I never gave up, however bad the injuries got.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’m a grazer by nature – fruit, nuts – but I try to discipline myself and sit down for regular meals when the girls are around, as I want to instil good habits in them.”
― Darcey Bussell
“If I start something, I have to finish it. I know that’s annoying – it drives my husband mad – but even if something’s not going my way, I have to see it through.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I dye my hair, and I use teeth whitening strips. Unless I burnt myself or damaged my skin, I wouldn’t have cosmetic surgery.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I danced so intensely, I learned the hard way that sometimes you can push your body too far.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Before a show, I usually give myself two-and-a-half hours to get ready. I prepare my shoes first. New ballet pumps can sound like tap shoes. You have to take the noise out of them by hitting them against stone. It takes half an hour to do each pair, and I can go through three pairs in one night.”
― Darcey Bussell
“The best thing is to lie in a warm Epsom salts bath for 15 minutes and then go straight to bed. You will sleep really well afterwards.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Confidence comes from other places, not just how you look.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Looking after myself is something I probably have to be much more conscious of than the average person.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I did ballet from the age of five, but what I loved was my gymnastics. I kept the ballet going because of the gymnastics, then found I was going to be too tall.”
― Darcey Bussell
“In the dance world, it has to be in your genetic make-up – your body has to suit the training.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I need help to ensure I grow old gracefully! So now I always apply moisturiser and foundation with an SPF, to protect my skin from the sun.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I don’t get much sleep, so I have really bad bags under my eyes.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Being on stage taught me how to apply eyeliner.”
― Darcey Bussell
“When I was at the Royal Ballet School, I remember receiving my first eyeshadow palette from Marks & Spencer as a gift. It sparked my interest in beauty, which peaked when I became more involved in theatre and got to experience so many stunning image transformations to suit different productions.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I absolutely loved learning how to do stage make-up at 16: it was so interesting to learn all about what you can do with make-up, such as contouring or shadowing eyes. We had a lot of fun.”
― Darcey Bussell
“As a little girl, I didn’t dream of being a ballet dancer; I dreamt of being a movie star like Ginger Rogers and dancing with Fred Astaire. I used to watch the Sunday double-bills on TV and Iong to be part of what seemed a perfect Disneyland world. Astaire was a genius.”
― Darcey Bussell
“When I was a teenager, I used to watch the ‘Making Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller” video and try to follow the steps and do the ‘Thriller’ moves in my bedroom. That was the most incredible dance sequence.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I didn’t worry too much about staying in shape once I’d stopped dancing. You get to the point where you just burn out and have to give your body a chance to heal.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I know some people aspire to a ballerina’s body, but I looked forward to feeling more feminine.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’ve got that personality where I’ve always been determined. As a dancer, I was constantly improving and perfecting. I guess it’s innate.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I love chocolate, but it’s bad.”
― Darcey Bussell
“It is entertainment; we mustn’t forget that. Dance is entertainment. You can have the best technicians in the world, but they’ll be boring to watch. It has to be about entertainment as well, but it’s quality, grace.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Over the years, I’ve had two ankle operations, torn my hamstring, had my hip resurfaced, and snapped the anterior cruciate ligament in my knee.”
― Darcey Bussell
“My mum sent me to ballet from the age of five, not because I was that into it but because I had really knock knees.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I loved gymnastics, and my gymnastics teacher said ballet was essential to help my dance routines in competitions. I only really went because my friends were going as well. It wasn’t this kind of hidden love. Then, slowly, my friends stopped going and I thought, ‘I like this. I am going to stay.’”
― Darcey Bussell
“The Royal Academy of Dance is an institution that trains to a very high standard.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I don’t see anything negative about dance. It is so good for you, mentally and physically, and so for me to promote it is the easiest thing to do.”
― Darcey Bussell
“One thing I’ve learned from ‘Strictly’ is timing and the craft of the talk.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Weirdly, I didn’t even know that I said ‘yah’ all the time.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I wore myself out physically and mentally over my career, and I couldn’t be there for my daughters in ways I should have been.”
― Darcey Bussell
“When I started on ‘Strictly,’ I was terrified. Live television seemed like the most daunting thing in the world.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Being a ballerina can be a very unnatural life, especially after you’ve had children.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Ballet is a healthy world despite what people might think. There’s a perception that ballet dancers are skinny and unhealthy, but that’s rubbish. You have to be strong, so eating regularly and healthily is essential.”
― Darcey Bussell
“You tend to regret the things you haven’t done.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I was incredibly supple and did gymnastics as well. So half of my injuries are because I am over-supple and the joints could always go that little bit further. But I was happy to push, and I have no regrets. That is important to say.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Ever since I’ve given up dancing, every physiotherapist or Pilates teacher has said you have to keep moving. If I don’t, I’ll have a hundred times more injuries because you get weak areas on your body.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’ve always been quite famous for my nose.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Everything is not beautiful at the ballet. It’s tough.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I was pretty rubbish when I first started dancing. I didn’t understand the discipline of working on one step over and over again. If you look at it from the outside, you’d think, ‘Why would anybody want to do that?’ But you just want to get it perfect. It is that constant inner striving that you fall in love with.”
― Darcey Bussell
“This perception that we can be stars without any work and just appear is rubbish.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’ve come to realise that being on ‘Strictly’ is like being in another theatre company and performing a live production.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I worked very hard to be a diva. But it never worked.”
― Darcey Bussell
“There are always younger and better dancers fighting to get your place. You get worn down by the fight to try to stay at the top.”
― Darcey Bussell
“When I coach dancers, I always like to get on the dance floor with them or describe something by showing them.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I would love more children, but no. I’m very lucky to have had my two.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Since finishing my professional dancing career, I’ve been conscious of not letting myself go.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I am not a big vitamin-taker. I have vitamin C during the winter, but eating lots of fruit and veg does the trick.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’m a size 8-10. I never weigh myself – I go on how tight my jeans are.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I need to have dark chocolate in the cupboard – Green & Black’s is good, but any will do.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Ballet requires movements which are very unnatural. With every step, you do a circular movement of the hip. You turn out from the hip and make your knees point out to the side instead of forward.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I had once been told my ability to read would only reach that of a ten-year-old, but I was determined to achieve more.”
― Darcey Bussell
“For me, in my life, dyslexia has been a little bit of a blessing. It helped me find my strength and directed me towards what I really wanted to do.”
― Darcey Bussell
“My husband is Australian, and my family is scattered around the U.K. and France mostly, but we try to get a big group together for the holidays.”
― Darcey Bussell
“We only open a couple of presents on Christmas morning; we’re all about the stockings – we even get them for the dogs!”
― Darcey Bussell
“On Boxing Day, we always go for a walk in our wellies with the dogs, no matter where we are.”
― Darcey Bussell
“When I had kids, I had to work out how to keep my stamina up. I learned the power of protein and eating a variety of foods.”
― Darcey Bussell
“If I’m dehydrated, my muscles feel almost squeaky.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Dancers are working their bodies just like a marathon runner would, and you have to eat to make it through a three-hour performance. Dancers put their bodies through incredible strain.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Being a full-time mother is one of the biggest jobs in the world; it’s like another career for me. I love every moment of it – even the challenge of making cupcakes.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Dancing has always been a passion for me, one that I will probably never be rid of.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I wanted to inspire every little girl who wants to be a dancer to fire their imagination about the joys of being on the stage.”
― Darcey Bussell
“When I started, there was a very strong image of what the ballerina was supposed to be in her tights and her costume, and then I started doing photo shoots in bomber boots, and it wasn’t seen as the done thing.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Dance is a great way to express yourself.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I always knew I was a bit different from my friends, had too much energy, and suddenly I could get it all out with ballet.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I suppose you could say there is an in-built stubbornness to me.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I used to wear long jumpers, but they made me look like a bag tied up in the middle.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I love Australia; it’s such an outdoor life.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Now I’m on television, I’m far more conscious of my skin than I used to be – I would often leave the theatre with layers of pancake make-up still on my face, but on a medium such as TV, I have to be more fastidious.”
― Darcey Bussell
“The hardest thing about ‘Strictly’ is having to sit still for so long; it just about kills me.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Fonteyn was our first proper British ballerina, and from the moment I started dancing, her image engulfed me. In my first year at the Royal Ballet School, Margot’s statue was outside my dormitory. Like generations of budding ballet dancers before me, I used to touch her middle finger for luck.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I joined the Royal Ballet School when I was 13. Before then, I’d done ballet twice a week after school. The rest of my class had started aged 11, so I’d missed two years and was really far behind.”
― Darcey Bussell
“A teacher’s not going to bother being tough on you for no reason; it’s when they’re not paying you attention that you should worry.”
― Darcey Bussell
“You don’t just become a success overnight.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I know, for me, dance did inspire me. Not just in how I feel but that confidence of being able to hold myself and come into a room and just feel comfortable with my body and how I stand and how you present yourself and just how you wear clothes, even.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Classical ballet is very extreme. You’re doing it six days a week, and it’s a kind of obsession of perfecting a move. So every muscle in your body has been stretched and tightened, stretched and tightened.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I hate when I get stiff, and I really notice that.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I hate exercise when it’s a regime, but I love a bit of dance, just moving the whole body.”
― Darcey Bussell
“For every dancer, no matter how amazing your career, there’s more to life than ballet. Being adored by your audience, it’s only part of the story.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I can’t imagine leaving the theatre altogether. My dressing room has become a home from home.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I hate throwing personal things away, especially my cards. As I know I won’t be dancing for ever, these are the things that I will look back on.”
― Darcey Bussell
“As long as everything is happy at home, I can be totally selfish at work.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I am damn good with money.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’ve always been quite conscious of it, though I don’t know why. I would never overspend, and I have to know exactly what I’ve got so that I avoid going into overdraft. I watch my pennies, and I’m quite thrifty.”
― Darcey Bussell
“Sometimes I regret that I don’t have a bit more fun with money. I should have spoilt myself a bit more. Life isn’t going to last for ever.”
― Darcey Bussell
“If I had a caterer that lived at home, it would be fabulous!”
― Darcey Bussell
“I’m not a big cook at all, but anything easy and quick, like pasta, I’m up to. My husband cooks for me because he finds cooking relaxing.”
― Darcey Bussell
“My main vice is Herta frankfurters – it’s amazing that they stay fresh for ages. They’re not very healthy, but they are my treat.”
― Darcey Bussell
“We always want what we don’t have, and I’d like a long, sophisticated nose rather than a short, turned-up one.”
― Darcey Bussell
“I do feel blessed to have small ears – I’ve never felt self-conscious when my hair is swept back. My feet are a different story – I grew up being painfully aware of them because they are so long.”
― Darcey Bussell
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