I started dancing relatively late. My mother put me into ballet classes when I was 5 years old, but I was bored and stopped going to them.
My parents took group lessons in Latin, ballroom, and salsa dance classes, when I was 10 or 11 and they would take me with them. I would sit in the corner, and whenever someone was missing, they would let me join in to try the dance.
A conservatory of dance opened in my Spanish hometown, Malaga, teaching musical theatre, all styles of dance, acting and singing. They ran a month's intensive course during the summer and my mother asked if I wanted to try it. From the first day, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. Dancing was my main focus during the course, training for 6 hours every day.
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I went on to study a degree in contemporary dance, jazz, flamenco, musical theatre, singing and acting. I also found a dance partner and was competing in Latin and ballroom dancing. So, while I was dancing every day, I also studied a marketing degree - my mother insisted I do both degrees just in case dancing didn’t work out.
When I finished my studies, I moved to Madrid, but Madrid is still Spain and sadly there aren’t many opportunities for creative artists in my country, and it's not well paid. I stayed there for a year trying to begin my career - I really wanted to make it and to be able to work as a dancer.
That summer, I found a month-long training course in London with Rambert, a contemporary dance company. I decided to take the course to allow me to dance and train more. I loved London and knew that I needed to stay. I called my mother and told her that I wanted to try and make it as a dancer there, she told me, ‘I know that this is your dream so do it!’ I went back to Spain to collect my luggage and I moved straight back to London.
I’ve been in London ever since working as a professional dancer and it’s been brilliant. When I first arrived to begin my career there at 18 years old, with no English, not knowing anyone, I was like, “How do I make this, how do I start?” So, I started looking online for auditions for dancing jobs. My first ever audition was to dance several styles and roles in the opera, La Traviata, at the Royal Opera House. It was a whole day audition, and it was also on my birthday - they wanted 2 girls out of 200, and I got the job!
From there I started making contacts, doing auditions, and I found an agent. Since then, I've had work most of the time. It’s hard because it's really competitive - you have a job, you do a contract, then you finish, and then you have to audition again to find new jobs. I think because I’m trained in so many dance disciplines, I'm versatile and that’s enabled me to work on lots of different projects. If there's not a show on, there's gigs or films that I audition for. So, I've done everything. For 6 years I've been dancing in productions at the Royal Opera House, I've done some Strictly Come Dancing UK tours, I've been in a West End show, I've done commercials and had a part in one of the Fast & Furious films, so it’s very varied.
I'm in Glasgow now with Scottish Opera dancing in Ainadamar, after they invited me to audition. I was so happy when I got the contract because this is the first time I've danced in a Spanish show - Ainadamar is a story about a Spanish poet set in Spain during the Civil War. The production was looking for flamenco dancers and it's really nice to bring my culture and roots to Scotland. The other dancers in the cast are also Spanish, which is lovely because I've always been the only Spanish dancer back in London, and it's nice to be in rehearsals speaking Spanish with them. I can't wait for the show to start - it’s special.
I love dancing, it's my passion. I'm really close to my family so to live so far from them is difficult for all of us and I knew that if I moved to London to pursue my dream, then I really had to make it happen - I've been extremely focussed, working hard to do that for the last 9 years.
When I dance, I feel liberated and free. It's like my own medicine. When I dance, I forget about everything else, I'm just being me. I don't have to think about anything, just feel the music. It’s the best moment of my life when I'm on a stage in front of an audience and I'm able to express how I feel with my dancing.
‘Ainadamar, a Scottish Opera collaboration with Opera Ventures, and co-producers Detroit Opera , The Metropolitan Opera and Welsh National Opera ,
opens on 29 October at Theatre Royal Glasgow for three performances, then transfers to Festival Theatre, Edinburgh for a further three shows. For more information, please visit: ScottishOperaAinadamar
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