Julie Petanová. Photo: archive of J. P.
In 2016, I saw you dance in Alena Pešková’s Little Match Girl at Malostranská beseda. You were 15 at that time and I was truly impressed by your outstanding performance and your dispositions. I thought you were made for the stage. When did you realise you wanted to dance?
I started to dance at age 4. My sister who attended ballet classes was a big inspiration for me. I think I was born to dance.
How old were you when you enrolled at the Royal Ballet School?
Sixteen, before I studied for four years at the Dance Conservatory of the Capital City of Prague.
What led you to this decision?
I heard about the Royal Ballet School for the first time when I was ten or eleven. With my mom we were looking for summer courses abroad and the Royal Ballet School popped up first. I applied for the course and for the next six years I travelled to London each summer. My biggest dream was to study at the Royal Ballet School. It made sense, I loved London, the teachers at the courses were just amazing. So when I was in the fourth grade, I sent an application and a video. I was invited for an interview to London, there were around thirty girls. And to my great surprise, they chose me.
You must have been overjoyed…
Yes, I didn’t expect it. Kids come to London from prestigious international competitions. I am the first Czech who has graduated from the Royal Ballet School.
You have much to be proud of! You surely became a role model for other young aspiring dancers. You moved to London when you were sixteen. I suppose it wasn’t easy for you to enter the new world…
The first grade was the hardest.
Why?
I thought I spoke good English but being surrounded by a foreign language 24/7 is different than attending a language course. 50% of the class were British and the other 50% were students from Spain, Australia, America, Italy, France, India, Japan and China. There were 30 students in total in our class – 15 girls, 15 boys. It wasn’t easy to get used to my new classmates from various parts of the world. I realised how different Czech people are.
What else did you have to overcome?
The schedule was more demanding than what I had been used to. The classes started at 9am and finished at 6pm, like at the Prague conservatory. But they were more intense, we spent more time on pointe and we also did ballet class in pointe shoes. In the second grade the schedule changed, so after lunch we only had two dance subjects instead of three.
What subjects exactly?
We had pointe technique and repertoire classes in which we learned parts of ballets and variations. We also had character dance, modern dance, and pas de deux. Besides that, we did so called degree in cooperation with the University of Roehampton. In the final grade, we focused mostly on dancing and writing the final paper.
Every summer I took differential examinations at the Prague conservatory where I would like to pass the graduation exam as well. If I returned to the Czech Republic I’m not sure the certificate from the Royal Ballet School would be enough to get my qualifications recognised.
What theory subjects did you have at the Royal Ballet School?
History of Dance focused on Great Britain, psychology, and anatomy within the subject called healthy dance. Besides that, there’s the A-Levels system – you can choose from French, English, Math, Fine Arts. I attended English for foreigners.
What other dance techniques did you learn?
Only the Cunningham technique. It was very popular at the school, it’s very technical. We learned one solo per school year for the exams . When we were studying the Black Swan variation from Mats Ek’s Swan Lake, his assistant arrived to work with us. And when, for instance, we were rehearsing Pulse by Goya Montera for our final concert, he came in person and worked with us for three weeks.
What did you find at the Royal Ballet School and what did you miss?
I didn’t miss anything in particular, but I was and still am homesick. In the boarding house I enjoyed time with my friends and managed to travel home every six weeks. Luckily, I don’t live too far from England. But in London, we didn’t use the Vaganova method that is preferred at the Prague conservatory. We did épaulement differently and learned a different way of working with the centre of gravity (editor’s note: the RBS education system is based on the legacy which Ninette de Valois had inherited from her teachers: E. Espinosa, E. Cecchetti, N. Legat and O. Preobrajenska).
I was surprised by the speed of the combinations and fast pointework. I had problems with the grand allegro too. I hadn’t done it at the conservatory so I needed to work hard to catch up. The school is supported by a number of sponsors who promote healthy movement, body care and wellness. We had two physiotherapists, a big gym and the possibility to train with a personal coach, and a Pilates studio.
Did you have time to use these facilities with such a busy schedule?
Yes, at times. Sometimes these possibilities of body care were included in the schedule. If someone got injured, they were provided their own recovery plan and a teacher before they resumed dance classes.
Have you ever had an injury?
Yes, a tibia stress fracture, that’s why I had to repeat the second grade. I couldn’t go on pointe for six months. The school helped me immensely with the recovery process and eliminating any future constraints.
I read that you pushed studying at a dance conservatory against your father’s wish, he wanted you to study at a language school. I guess he is now happy about your decision.
I understood his point. I was eleven and it was hard to believe that I would make it. My parents have always supported me. They even came to London to see my final concert.
In what productions did you dance at the Royal Opera House?
Our class danced Elite Syncopations by Kenneth MacMillan. Ashley Page choreographed the Mephisto Waltz for ten dancers - five couples and I was lucky enough to be one of them. With my classmate Alejadro Valero Outlaw we danced in Three Preludes by Ben Stevenson. It was an unforgettable experience. The final exams took place in the studio, at the beginning of the school year. The jury consisted of Kevin O'Hare, Carlos Acosta, Darcey Bussell and the RBS director Christopher Powney.
Who did Kevin O’Hare, the Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet, choose for his company?
Four female students, no boys.
As part of the final exams, you were awarded two prizes…
Yes, I got a diploma for my essay on gyrotonics which I have been doing for ten years with Barbora Kohoutková. I wrote about the benefits of gyrotonics for dancers and as prevention of injuries. I received the second prize for demonstrating the greatest progress within our class in the course of my studies.
The Royal Ballet School is located right next to the Royal Opera House. Did you have time to attend performances?
When I had time, I went to see ROH ballet performances. We were also allowed to cross the well-known Bridge of Aspiration linking the school and the theatre to go to the canteen where I met my idols: Marianela Núñez, Yasmine Naghdi, Vadim Muntagirov… All the company members are amazing. In the third grade, students can dance in the corps de ballet in the Royal Ballet productions, but there was the Covid pandemic. I was lucky enough to dance angels in the Nutcracker twice.
The time you were finishing school was affected by the pandemic. What did the classes and auditions look like during lockdown?
During the pandemic I returned home twice and each time stayed for several months. The tuition happened online, via Zoom – we had classical ballet, workout, Pilates, and Cunningham technique classes . It was amazing how the teachers encouraged us do our best. The second lockdown was much harder, I was finishing school and looking for a job. The school helped us with this process as well, we got notified about vacancies and ballet companies which were looking for dancers. We sent out audition videos we had made at school when it was still open. All my classmates were offered a constract.
Where did you send your applications?
Everywhere. Due to the pandemic we couldn’t really choose.
In early August, you joined the Norwegian National Ballet. What are your first impressions of the company?
To transition from school to a company is a big leap. You can’t really prepare for it. But since the very first moment, I’ve felt like at home there. Every class has been fine so far, the dancers are my inspiration. We have two physiotherapists, a masseur, an acupuncturist, a Pilates studio and a gym. The studios are freely accessible and we can ask for a personal trainer. I’m looking forward to trying it all.
I joined the junior company (editor’s note: Norwegian National Ballet 2) where we can stay for two years at most – it’s a unique opportunity to discover the professional dance world. The junior company has its own repertory, but also dances in the main company’s productions. We start with Suite for Ten by Lucas Lima created for five couples of the junior company. We are scheduled to perform along with the Norwegian National Ballet dancers in La Bayadère, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake.
Daria Klimentová once said you had great passion for dance. What would you say to those dancers who are feeling lost during their studies and wonder if they should continue?
Do not kill your passion by trying to overcome the crisis by force. It always helps me to close myself in a studio and dance just for the pure joy of it. My dream is still London. Now I’m happy in Norway and will see what the future holds for me. Everything has its own time.
Julie Petanová (born 2001). She began to study dance at the Dance Conservatory of the Capital City of Prague. In 2018, she was admitted to the Royal Ballet School (RBS) and concurrently took differential exams every year at the Prague Conservatory. In 2021, she graduated from the Royal School of Ballet in London and joined the Norwegian National Ballet.
Translation: Tereza Cigánková.
Josef Bartos
Thank you for your thoughts. One got stuck in my mind – that passion makes us different from AI. Just yesterday I read…I am a dance critic. I am a member of an endangered species