Birmingham Royal Ballet dancer from Stourbridge to appear in "Cinderella."

One of the most popular ballets in the company’s programme, “Cinderella” is also one of the largest, with a huge cast of incredible dancers, one of whom is from right here in the West Midlands. 

Ballet Artist, Ryan Felix hails from Stourbridge and I spoke to him about his career and how he was lured into the wonderful world of dance. 

Not only does the West Midlands have the honour of hosting one of the best ballet companies in the world, but also one of the best ballet schools, Elmhurst, which is situated in Edgaston and offers  opportunities to young dancers from across the globe.

But it wasn’t here that Ryan began his story.  

“My older sister went to ballet lessons and I used to go along with my Mum to watch her,” he told me.  “Mum was getting her ready to go home after ballet class and I disappeared apparently.  Then the teacher asked my Mum if she knew that I wanted to dance and offered to teach me, so that is how I started. Then because I had been having ballet lessons, my Mum took me to see Birmingham Royal Ballet and it became a family tradition to go and see “The Nutcracker” every year.  Seeing the male dancers on stage doing the big jumps motivated me to pursue ballet as a career and when I got to the age of 10 or 11 and it was time to go to secondary school, Mum found Elmhurst and I auditioned and was accepted.”

After his professional training, Ryan joined BRB2 which is a programme for young dancers to gain experience and eventually move seamlessly into the main company.  “BRB2 gave me the chance to tackle some of the challenging principal roles, some of which you wouldn’t get the chance to dance so early on in your career.  It is a really good learning curve,” said Ryan.

In “Cinderella” Ryan has a few roles.  “The one that really stands out for me is one of the “Prince’s Friends,” he said. “This was one of the first classical roles I danced with the company in my second season. It is a dance for four guys, with some virtuoso jumps and is quite technical, requires detailed musicality and there is a lot of partnering work too. I really enjoy performing it and it holds a special place for me because it is one of the first big opportunities I got. It is a favourite of mine,” he told me.

Ryan’s second role is “The Dancing Master”.  “He teaches the Ugly Step-Sisters to dance before the ball. It is very precise, with the acting, the choreography, the musicality and how you interact with the other dancers on stage. This is a new role for me and I am very excited to dance it,” said Ryan.

As a Ballet Artist, Ryan's dream is to become a Principal Dancer with the company.  “It is my inspiration to dance the leading roles in all the major classical ballets, so every day, it is my focus to build up to that,” he said.

Ryan continued, “In order to become a Principal Dancer, obviously the technical ability is really important, but I would argue that the artistry is even more important. The knowledge of the role and how you present yourself to the audience, the acting and emotions are so important.  Also, the partnering is a large aspect of principal work and the interaction with your partner is not just physical with lifting and balance, but also the eye-contact and awareness of what that person is doing and also the interaction with all the other cast on stage.  That stage presence is key to a principal role.”

“Depending on who you dance with, you will get a different show too,” said Ryan. “One of the things I love about this job is that you will never see the same show twice and you will never give the same show twice.  It is something really important to remember that although you want to give the highest standard, it will be different every time. Different partners bring different chemistry and sometimes it is as good as each other, but in different ways. In my position, I dance with quite a lot of different girls in the company and it is quite fun really.  You learn what people like and dislike and you can have different highlights with everyone.”

Every dancer at the Birmingham Royal Ballet must be inspired by the company’s Director, Carlos Acosta.  Ryan is no exception.  “Carlos is a great example of a really masculine dancer who can do all the technical tricks, but with a very elegant port de bras, before and after to frame it, and that for me is what inspires me the most about Carlos,” said Ryan. 

Ballet these days is far more accessible to the masses and I think that a great starting point for someone who has never been before has to be “The Nutcracker.”  Ryan agreed. “I would recommend "The Nutcracker” because it is a festive experience, it is not too long, there are children in it and the music is iconic. Everyone knows the role of The Sugar Plum Fairy for instance, “ he said. 

Besides his roles in “Cinderella” another favourite role of Ryan’s is “La Corsaire” but he also has two dream roles which he will no doubt dance in the future.  “The Nutcracker Prince” is an obvious choice as it was the first ballet I saw, the first ballet I danced in as a professional and I have danced about a dozen roles in it so far” said Ryan, “but also “The Bluebird” from “Sleeping Beauty.”  There was a moment on the last tour where the dancer dancing the role was injured and I jumped on and finished the ballet.  I would love to go back one day and do the whole thing again.”

For now however, Ryan must concentrate on his roles in “Cinderella”, which is a visual and technical delight, besides the obvious talent of the dancers.  Featuring incredible scenic and costume designs by the acclaimed artist John Macfarlane and the musical score by Sergei Prokofiev which soars across the auditorium, taking us on a fairytale journey played live by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, it promises to be the ultimate performance by our world-renowned company.  How lucky we are that the Birmingham Royal Ballet chooses to make our second city their home.

And in conclusion, having spoken to Ryan a length, I have no doubt that this talented, driven young dancer will very soon reach his goal and become one of the best-loved Principal Dancers Birmingham Royal Ballet has to offer.  

“Cinderella” runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome from February 19-March 1.  For tickets, visit birminghamhippodrome.com, brb.org,uk or call 0121 689 3000.