Darcey Bussell is Britain's best-loved ballerina. She first received wide recognition when she became the youngest Principal in The Royal Ballet at the age of twenty and now is one of the most famous dancers in the world. Darcey has danced scores of leading roles in both classical and contemporary ballet, including title roles in Manon and Romeo and Juliet, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Many parts have also been written especially for her. In 1990 she was voted Dancer of the Year by readers of Dance & Dancers magazine and in 1991 she received the Evening Standard Ballet Award. A full-length portrait of her hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, and in 1995 Darcey was awarded an OBE.
