Meet Mayara Magri, the humble carioca who became the lead dancer at the Royal Ballet in London – Interview

The dancer from Rio de Janeiro, Mayara Magri, 28, “flew” from her modest routine, in the Alto da Boa Vista neighborhood, in Rio de Janeiro, to royal ballet London, the UK’s first and most important ballet company and one of the world’s most respected ballet companies. It has been a very challenging journey.

Mayara, the daughter of a taxi driver and a secretary of one of the units of the group in which she started dancing, arrived at school in my king In 2011, at the age of 16, after being elected Best Dancer in the leading dance competitions, including the YAGP, in New York, the Prix de Lausanne, in Switzerland, and the Joinville Festival, in Santa Catarina, the most important of Latin America. Winning the prize race resulted in a scholarship to study in my king.

Today, Mayara is one of the eight main dancers of the British company, who received the largest leading roles in the production. He lives in North London. He is an expert in the move missIt is one of the most difficult dances that you have to do 32 times without interruption. It makes you feel dizzy just thinking about it.

Clarification: The girl Mayara Magri is not inspired by the name of the São Paulo actress. “Just a coincidence. My full name is Mayara Magri Venerando da Graça. Magri because it is my mother’s family name. And Mayara because my parents loved her without any connection to the actress. We’re three sisters, and we’re all names that start with an “m,” she says. A masterfully solo performance, as evidenced by this conversation with R7 . interview. Follow:

First of all, it sparks curiosity: was Miara Magri inspired by the Brazilian actress of the same name?
Mayara Magri – No, it’s not. You can imagine how they would ask that, right? She’s a great actress, but it was just a coincidence. My full name is Mayara Magri Venerando da Graça. The name was chosen by my parents because they loved them, without any connection to the actress. Magri is my mother’s nickname. It came from my mother, Anna Christina. The cult of da Graça is the cult of Marco Antonio’s parents. I have an older sister and a younger sister. The names of the three of us begin with the letter M: Mayanie, Mayara, and Melanie. Professionally, I decided to adopt more Mayara Magri, but it’s my first and last name, not a double name made up of someone else’s first and last name.

Your origin is humble, isn’t it?
yes. I come from a family that struggles and works hard. We are from the Alto da Boa Vista neighborhood adjacent to Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro. We were raised by my father as a taxi driver. He is still engaged in this activity today. My mother is an employee Petite Danse da Barra da Tijuca, in Rio, one of the units of the group in which my sisters and I started ballet, on full scholarships. I studied at the Tijuca unit.

How did you get started in ballet?
I got the scholarship when I was eight years old. Ballet wasn’t part of our family’s culture, so it was hard until my parents started attending shows and events, with three girls dancing. My sisters have followed other career paths.

how did you arrive royal ballet?
In Brazil we have the Joinville Dance Festival in Santa Catarina. It is the largest and most important in Latin America. It always happens during the mid-year school holidays in Brazil. In 2022, it went into operation from July 19 to July 20. Every year, students, teachers, and principals of Brazilian dance schools look forward to this meeting. They practice choreography, solos, and presentations in general. In my third participation when I was 14 years old, I won the award for the best dancer in this festival. Two years later, at age 16, I was the first Brazilian dancer to win the Prix de Lausanne, in Switzerland, one of the most important dance meetings in the world, in two categories: Gold Medal or Public Favorite. This victory earned me a scholarship to a school royal ballet.

what’s up?

I left Rio and went to live in London. With one year in school my kingI have been invited to join the company, which is the most important company in the UK and one of the most respected in the world.

Respected achievement.
I think so. It has always been my dream and desire to be a member of the Royal Ballet in London. But, in order to at least be judged by them, I needed to win some important competition, and it did, thank God. I defeated about four, one by one, until I got there. Individually, I think it’s a relevant achievement. Only two percent of Royal School students enter the ballet troupe. I was one of those outstanding people who only spent one year studying there. I joined as a member of the ballet troupe. She climbed the stairs, became a soloist and then one of the main dancers. Even today, looking in the rearview mirror, I can’t believe there are moments.

Explain how career promotions work at an important company like this?
Basically, there are the dancers of the group, the ballet troupe, and then who they call the first artist, still in the ballet troupe. Then there are the soloists, those who dance solo in parts of the choreography. Finally, there are the main dancers, who, as the name implies, embody the protagonists of works and adaptations. The roles of Romeo and Juliet in a classic William Shakespeare quotation, for example, are routines for master dancers. In case my king16 dancers – eight women and eight men – take turns in the stage.

Overcoming is necessary.
a lot of. In my case, financial and structural constraints, changing routines and culture, intense competition… I didn’t speak a single word of English when I arrived in London. At Royal, I spent three years in corps de ballet, and it was not difficult for me because I did a lot of work as a soloist in Rio, but it taught me a lot. Then there were two more years as the first female artist, another three years as a soloist and first soloist, and finally, the call to be one of the main dancers. At this point, she plays only the best and coolest roles. Every dancer’s dream is true?

I soon noticed the differences in playing between Brazilians, British and Europeans in ballet schools. Comment on this.
There are strange differences. I will give an example. In Brazil, children, teens, and young adults are in training, in ballet schools, dancing anywhere, all the time, for any reason or opportunity. You don’t even need a stage. Wherever there is a canvas, lining, or space, we Brazilians dance. Brazilian schools constantly organize presentations by their students. I remember dancing a lot at malls, fairs, meetings, and schools in Rio and outside the city. This is not the case in the UK and Europe. Presentations during the dancer’s training period are very limited. It starts to happen more frequently from the beginning of professionalism.

Is this good or bad?
In the case of the Brazilian routine, it has a very important positive side. It makes us accumulate experience and above all lose the fear of the stage. at school my kingAnd even in a company, it’s not uncommon to see beginning professionals very nervous and insecure in their first presentations. So this Brazilian behavior, which, among other things, makes families happy with the learning stages, helps a lot. Usually, the British and Europeans are satisfied when they give the opportunity to serious and professional Brazilians.

Versatile image, who finds a way to everything?
which – which. Brazilian ingenuity, always ready to find solutions and solve problems, satisfies English and European. Almost always for them, in these structured societies, if one of the stages goes wrong, then everything goes well. They are very specialized. Since we Brazilians have been urging all our lives to find solutions, we are not satisfied with that.

Even after being promoted to lead dancer, you often asked to be represented as a soloist at gatherings that included a group of other lead dancers. This is it?
True, but it was in the beginning. That desire to dance, to be on stage, to show service. I really asked. Now I’ve given myself a lot less as a soloist because I’ve been dancing a lot as a manager. The agenda is increasingly loaded and heavy. Nobody can handle itLaugh).
Depending on the production, for the sequel or other reasons, the director only earns two or three performances per montage. So, in some cases, I also ask for a second turn when possible. But I ended up getting more things than I wanted, and now I’m a lot calmer.

You said in an interview that you have to leave Brazil to live with the dignity of ballet. This is it?
It wasn’t exactly the case. “Dignity” is not the appropriate term, as many talented dancers have had decent careers in Brazil. newbie in my king He earns around £27,000 a year, which is about £2,250 a month. For the Brazilian stock exchange, it gives out approximately 14 thousand Brazilian reals. In pounds, in the realities of London, that doesn’t mean much. The cost of living in London is very high, one of the highest in the world. Rent, products, in short, life in general is very expensive. But the focus I wanted to give at the time wasn’t even financial, it was related to professional development, and possibilities for improvement. Ballet Municipal Theater of Rio de JaneiroFor example, he develops a great business, with excellent professionals. But often due to lack of support and limited resources, they hold very few gatherings, two or three times a year. In the my king We have 12, 13 associations in the same period. There are greater opportunities for learning and development as well as income growth.