From Carnforth to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, dancer Yvette Knight is now centre stage
It wasn’t at all apparent that when Yvette Knight first slipped on ballet shoes aged three that these would be the first steps to a career in the spotlight. The ballerina from Carnforth, now 27, has since pirouetted through the ranks of Birmingham Royal Ballet after joining the ensemble in 2007, and is now a soloist.
‘After attending North Road Primary School, I was lucky enough to attend the Royal Ballet School’s White Lodge, from the age of 11,’ said Yvette, who said that she didn’t actually mind being away from home for the five years she attended the prestigious ballet school. ‘It was quite hard for my parents though, which I didn’t know at the time! Ballet was something none of us knew anything about, I just kind of fell into it.’
The ballerina has just recently returned the county, dancing the role of Rosaline, the subject of Romeo’s unrequited love, in the Birmingham Royal Ballet adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. The performance at The Lowry theatre in Salford, in commemoration of the 400 years since the death of Shakespeare, also saw Liverpool born James Barton take on the role of Romeo’s best friend, Mercutio.
‘I love dancing, especially being able to come home and perform,’ said Yvette, who currently lives just outside of Birmingham but misses Lancashire. ‘Knowing that my family and friends are in the audience doesn’t scary me. In fact, I know my mum will think I am fabulous no matter what I do!’
So what’s next for Yvette? The next step in the ballerina rankings is to become a first soloist and then a principal dancer. ‘I actually originally wanted to become a midwife!’, she confessed. ‘I am obsessed with children. Hopefully when I can’t dance any more it’s a profession I can go into.’
