English Version | The Metamorphosis

Not that of Kafka, but that of a butterfly. In the Czech author's work of the same name, there is also metamorphosis – not only of the protagonist, but a metamorphosis that is felt throughout the story and that lacks the evolutionary beauty of the transformation that the butterfly goes through: from a small egg is born a naive larva that faces the growing pains until it reaches the mature pupa stage. The adult stage arrives with its final transformation into a butterfly, imposing and complete. Even if some take longer than others to reach this stage of plenitude, isn't this the metamorphosis – not of Kafka, not of the butterfly – of all of us? The transformation was unveiled through movement, and Francesca Hayward, one of the protagonists of this metamorphosis, told us her story. Photography by  Kosmas Pavlos. Styling by Laurent Dombrowicz.

Francesca Hayward's metamorphosis took place in 2016, when she was promoted to principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, one of the most important ballet companies in the world. With Kenyan roots and her heart in London, Hayward has revealed herself to be a symbol of strength and hope, of someone who has managed to turn mere childhood dreams into the work of a lifetime. However, her path has not been as simple as it might seem at first glance. To be a dancer is to live in a permanent cocoon of progress, in a constant search for perfection. The butterfly, that incomparable beauty, arrives only at the end, when one looks back and reflects on the tortuous path overcome. But Francesca is not at the end, she is at the most beautiful stage of all: the peak of transformation.

What made you want to be a ballerina? I was very small, I was like two or three years old, when I saw my first ballet. I was staying with my grandparents at the time and they kind of had forgotten how to entertain a tiny child, since there had been a long time since they looked after children. So  [seeing a ballet] was just like a random idea that my grandmother had. She sent my grandfather out to get a video of The Nutcracker, and that was it. I was just absolutely obsessed with it. From the moment I woke up I just started dancing and I would barely stop to eat, and then I would just go to bed basically after dancing all day.

And did this job meet your expectations or were you surprised to learn what it is really like to be a dancer? I definitely learned that it’s so much harder than it looks, and it doesn’t get any easier the more experience you have. Obviously the experience helps you, but you never think: ‘Oh, I got this now.’ Every day we do ballet class, it’s like medicine for a dancer, you have to do it every day and you have to practice every day, remind yourself the correct technique every day. And then you work on your technique so you can go on stage and have that freedom to express yourself artistically but knowing that your technique is there. But yes, I say that some things have surprised me. Some things I’ve enjoyed more than I thought I would, and then I’ve had roles that I’ve always dreamed of doing, like Swan Lake, for example, but it was actually so stressful, and I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I’ve learned to just go with it, because you always learn something, and you always have unexpected moments of joy and then really unexpected hard moments as well.

The public’s view on ballet is mostly based on movies such as Black Swan (2010) which depict it in a very negative way. Do you relate to this type of narrative? Not at all, no. It was kind of wonderful to have ballet in the mainstream focus for a bit. It was amazing that people were interested in ballet for quite a long time after the film came out, but it was giving such a crazy idea of what ballet is, which was disappointing. Sometimes I actually meet people for the first time, and I tell them what I do and they say: ‘Oh, like Black Swan?’ And I always think ‘No, not at all.’ It’s nothing anything like that, at all. I mean, yes, there is always some small truths in there, of course, but obviously they have to dramatize it to make it more exciting and more interesting, because sometimes the everyday [of a ballerina] can be very boring. There’s not so much drama and you haven’t got the time to get so obsessed and wrapped up over something like that. We’re constantly doing different productions. When I was doing Swan Lake for the very first time this year, I was having a three-act ballet made on me at the same time, Like Water for Chocolate. You’re always balancing and juggling many different things. And I felt sad with the way that it was portrayed and depicted it. And also, not happy that some people thought that Natalie Portman just trained for like a couple of months and then could do those ballet moments in the film, because she had a body double in the film, who I actually know – she’s an American dancer. It was just sad to give the idea that you only need a couple months of training to be a professional ballerina, when you’ve got your whole life and you still have to struggle sometimes, even just to do your job and someone’s pretending that it’s pretty easy. It’s pretty unfair, I think. 

If you could break one stereotype about ballet, what would it be? There’s a few… First of all, that it is easy, that it is not actually a job. And also, that we don’t eat anything, that men have to be gay to do ballet. There are so many stereotypes that I wish I could change.

You’ve worked really closely with the Portuguese dancer Marcelino Sambé. What is it like to share the stage with him? Marcelino is honestly one of my favorite people in the whole world, not just my favorite dancer. He’s like a ray of sunshine in our theatre. Every time you’re near him everyone’s happy, and he brings that energy with him on stage. He’s also incredibly strong so it’s pretty easy [to dance with him] because I trust him so much, and then on top that I love to be dancing with someone who is spontaneous in the moment. He prepares for his role, and he understands his character, but he’s then able to be in the moment with me and decide how he’s going to react to something on stage at that moment. I feel like the chemistry is so good.

Do you still remember the day you were selected to become a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet? I do, yes. Obviously I knew it was possible, but I didn’t think it was going to happen that year or that morning. We have interviews with our director once every year and I was called in quite early before the ballet class for my meeting. I was a bit annoyed because it was so early, I didn’t get to sleep very well. I came in, and he was quite formal with me. We had the whole meeting for about ten or fifteen minutes, he was looking through my season then very formally at the end, he said: ‘I would like to make you a principal dancer of the Royal Ballet.’ It was just very shocking, I kind of cried a little bit in the moment. And then it’s a very strange thing, because you walk out of there and it’s not like you want to announce to everyone. It doesn’t feel right. I kept it, like a little secret, with me for the rest of the day until some of the other dancers found out and everyone was obviously very happy and giving me hugs, being very lovely. But I didn’t even get to celebrate because we were going on tour to Japan the next day. I had to go home and pack my suitcase and everyone else was doing a performance, which I wasn’t it. So I remember going home, I was just by myself, I poured myself a glass of a champagne and I cheered myself, and then carried packing my suitcase. It was a bit odd.

Looking back, you have already conquered a lot as a dancer. What’s the one thing that you are most proud of? I remember certain roles that I did, when I was younger, and when I look back now I’m really proud of myself for the way I didn’t let them overwhelm me. I sort of was in the moment, I did my best and did it well and didn’t let my mind overpower me. I’m proud of myself for that and for having a healthy attitude for everything in my career.

In 2019, you played Victoria in the film Cats. How was it like to go from the theatre to the movie set? It was my first time behind camera like that, so it was really daunting. I literally was taught how to do it by Tom Hooper, the director, and by watching incredible people like Judy Dench. I’m really proud because it was all out of my comfort zone, I feel proud of myself for pushing myself to do it. Obviously not the dancing, but it was like everyone in the cast had to do something that it was out of their comfort zone: the singers had to dance, the dancers had to sing, and everyone had to act, even if you were a singer. 

The film received a lot of criticism. In what way did it impact your career? I’m still so proud of myself for doing it and it still opened doors for me in many ways. I never took any of the criticism personally because it wasn’t about my performance or me. And I also met people when I was doing that film that I can’t imagine not knowing now, like friends for life. I made some really important connections as well.

This issue of Vogue Portugal is about bizarre, strange things. What is the weirdest thing you have done for ballet? It’s hard to think of just one thing. Ballet itself is pretty bizarre. Standing on your toes is pretty bizarre. I often have moments where I look at me in the studio and I’ll be pretending to be princess, a peasant, a prostitute… We have so many different characters and roles that we have to play. I always think: ‘How can this be my job? This is really strange.’ But yes, all kinds of things. I carry all sorts of strange things in my handbag for my point shoes. I need glue, a hammer, and a Stanley knife, like the ones you use to cut open cardboard boxes. I carry around strange looking things that I have on me to like massage my muscles out, weirdly shaped objects that help me get rid of cramps and stuff like that. So, everything is pretty strange to be honest about being a ballerina.

Translated from the original on The Butterfly Effect issue from Vogue Portugal, published October 2022.Full story and credits on the print issue.