Darcey Bussell

Darcey Bussell (born April 1969) is a retired English ballerina.

Trained at the Arts Educational School and the Royal Ballet School, Bussell started her professional career at Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet, but after only one year she moved to The Royal Ballet, where she became a principal dancer at just 20 years old in 1989, at that time the youngest person to be made a principal since the company received its royal charter in 1956. Bussell is widely acclaimed as one of the great British ballerinas.[4][5] During her twenty years as a dancer she won renown for her unique combination of a tall and athletic physique while dancing with soft lyricism. Bussell remained with The Royal Ballet for her whole career, but also performed as a guest artist with many leading companies including NYCB, Balletto - Teatro alla Scala, the Kirov, Hamburg Ballet and the Australian Ballet. She retired from ballet in 2007 but remains very committed to the dance world.

Since 2012 Bussell has been the president of the Royal Academy of Dance. She is the international patron of the Sydney Dance Company, the patron of the Du Boisson Foundation and is the Campaign President of the Birmingham Royal Ballet's fund raising campaign.

Bussell is a patron of the International Dance Teachers Association, ReBourne, London's Children's Ballet, Cecchetti UK, Cecchetti Australia, Dance Proms and New English Ballet Theatre. She is an ambassador for the giving programme of the New Zealand School of Dance and is on the board of the Margot Fonteyn Foundation.

In 2012 Bussell joined the judging panel of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.