As I watch Mayara Magri balance en pointe, as she tries to perfect one of the most popular but perilous moves in ballet, it feels unfair to call her performance effortless.
One of the Royal Ballet's Principal dancers, her movements are fluid, beautiful and seamless, but having glimpsed the work that goes into them, I know there's far more than meets the eye.
Ensconced within the Royal Opera House, not everyone gets to see the magic worked inside this rehearsal space. Here, I'm lucky enough to watch Mayara prepare for her starring role as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty.
