Perhaps the best-known non-profit dance company on the island, Dance Cyprus is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year with a gala performance sans compare. The venues are booked, the choreography commissioned, and our local dancers are busy preparing for the biggest event of their year. But perhaps the most exciting element of the upcoming performance is the world-famous artists who are flying in from across the continent to showcase their talent and show their support… Demi soloists of the The Royal Ballet of Flanders Anastasia Paschali and Laurie McSherry-Gray are jetting in from Belgium, while principals Edward Watson MBE and Ryoichi Hirano, alongside Soloists Yuhui Choe and Kristen McNally, will be arriving from The Royal Ballet in London. And with them comes one very special dancer, known worldwide for her unique talent and supreme dedication to her art: Cypriot born Christina Arestis, Soloist of the Royal Ballet.
One of the original founders of Dance Cyprus, Christina is now exactly four times the age of the company – which is not, perhaps, what one might expect in a profession where youth is the norm and careers short-lived. But then Christina is not your average dancer: dedicated to her profession from the age of six, hers is a remarkable story, full of passion, discipline and an abiding love for her art.
Having danced a myriad of major parts in every well-known production (Paulina in The Winter’s Tale; Caroline in Frankenstein; Bathilde in Giselle, to name but a few), Christina’s rise to prominence is the stuff of little girls’ dreams. Elegant, poised and eminently likeable, she’s a household name for the next generation of aspiring ballerinas – most especially for those who are told, often erroneously, that they’re ‘too tall to dance’…
“I’m nearly 5 foot 9,” Christina laughs. “And on pointe that’s almost 6 foot, which makes me one of the tallest girls in the company! But do remember that there is a history of taller female dancers,” she continues encouragingly, referencing renowned French ballerina Sylvie Guillem – who, at 167cm, was often deemed ‘too tall’ for classical ballet when she began her career – and retired Principal Dancer at The Royal Ballet Darcy Bussell, who stands at over 170cm.
Fortunately, Christina was “really quite small” when a child, and admits she didn’t start growing until she was about 18 – by which point she was already completely dedicated to her chosen career. “I started dancing in Cyprus, at the age of six. I just loved it from the outset: the music, the movement – you get completely lost in your own little world. I basically just wanted to dance – though I never imagined at that age that I could ever earn a wage from it!”
A childhood spell in the Middle East – “my dad’s a civil engineer: Bahrain for eight months, Oman for a couple of years; I was never worried about new schools, the first thing I always said to my mum was ‘find me a ballet class!’” – was followed by a move to Scotland, and attendance at the first ever Royal Ballet Summer School. “Then they offered me a place at the actual school, starting just two weeks later! I was very up for the idea, but I think it was harder for my parents to accept the notion of boarding school. But they’ve always been incredibly supportive of all their children’s hopes and dreams, so off I went to White Lodge” – the Royal Ballet Lower School – “at the age of 11…
“I think leaving home at such a young age does teach you to become independent very quickly,” she muses. But hours of practice and the dreaded annual assessments aside – “not the nicest thing at all! You were never sure whether you’d passed and would be allowed to return the following year” – Christina loved her unusual education, and transitioned smoothly into the upper classes at the age of 16. “That’s when they bring in another class of about 30 students from all over the world – it’s quite an adjustment! Suddenly, you’re a very small fish in a big pond, and you have to be very mentally strong to handle it all.”
It’s clear from the picture Christina paints of her early life that the physical discipline of becoming a top-flight ballerina goes hand in hand with a certain strength and competitive spirit. But it’s actually more about competing against oneself than others, she explains. “Meeting the new students from abroad was a bit of an eye-opener to those of us who’d been brought up in Britain. It was quite amusing watching all the Americans and Japanese rushing to the front of class, while the British hung back politely, saying ‘after you, no after you’! But I think perhaps there’s something that can be learnt from that, because this is a profession that’s all about trying to better yourself, day in and day out…”
Even today, when Christina has risen to the dizzying heights of Soloist at The Royal Ballet, she insists there’s little competition among the top dancers (though self-discipline is still paramount in a day that involves non-stop practice and mastery of one’s art). “You’d expect we’d all be vying for roles, but there’s an acceptance that you have your shows, and the others have theirs; different dancers are suited to different parts, and you just go out and do the best that you can to transport the audience. And that’s what ballet is really about,” she adds, “You don’t do it for the applause – to be honest it can be a bit embarrassing at times.
It’s about the audience and the orchestra and the dancers all creating something wonderful, a moment of pure magic…”
A moment, no doubt, that audiences at the Dance Cyprus Gala are sure to experience in all its majesty, especially with dancers such as Christina as part of the show. “I’m so happy to be supporting the Gala,” she concludes. “This is where it all began, and I feel it’s very important to give back; it’s a privilege to be part of Dance Cyprus. This is an island with hundreds of dance schools, thousands of young dancers and an incredible tradition of dancing: it’s our cultural way of celebrating when we’re happy… And the Gala is just that, a wonderful celebration of a wonderful art on a wonderful island!”
The Dance Cyprus Gala
September 3 at the Rialto Theatre, Limassol and September 4 at Strovolos Municipal Theatre, Nicosia. Curtain up at 8.30pm. For more information call 99 549478, visit www.dancecyprus.org or the ‘Dance Cyprus’ Facebook page, or email [email protected]. Tickets cost €25 and €15 for children, and can be obtained from www.rialto.com.cy and www.Soldout-Tickets.com.cy
