Marianela Nunez on the evening of 1st Feb 2018 marking her 20th anniversary as a member of The Royal Ballet

Marianela Núñez ( OBE) (born 23 March 1982) is an Argentine-British

ballet dancer A ballet dancer is a person who practices the Art (skill), art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. B ...

. She is a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be either gender. The position is similar to that of ''Soloist (ballet), solois ...

with

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

, London.

Early life

Marianela Núñez was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina. She has three older brothers. Her mother sent her to ballet classes when she was three. At first, she took dance classes at her teacher's garage. At age five, Núñez decided to focus on ballet. She entered Teatro Colón Ballet School at age six.

Career

At age 14, halfway through her training, Colon Theater Ballet's lead Maximiliano Guerra chose Núñez to dance with him, and the company selected Núñez to join the company. She danced with the company in both Buenos Aires and on tour, and danced with the company's lead in various roles. In 1997, at age 15, she auditioned for

when the company was on tour in Los Angeles, even though she didn't speak English. She was offered a contract, but UK employment law prevented her from working in the UK until age 16. She attended The Royal Ballet School instead, and was guaranteed she would be offered a contract the following year. She was promoted to First Soloist, the second highest rank of the company, in 2000. In 2001, Núñez replaced the injured Leanne Benjamin as Kitri in ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'', with Carlos Acosta as Basilio. She was promoted to principal dancer the following year. She has danced leading roles in both classical and contemporary works by choreographers including

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositio ...

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born to Herbert and Grace Cranko in Rustenburg in ...

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

, Wayne McGregor and

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Early life Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at th ...

. In 2013, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance for ''Viscera'', ''Aeternum'' and 'Diana and Actaeon' from ''Metamorphosis: Titian 2012''. In 2018, following a performance of '' Giselle'', Núñez celebrated her 20th anniversary at The Royal Ballet. Artistic director Kevin O'Hare declared her "one of the greats of her generation". Present were Lady Sarah Chatto, Peter Wright, Monica Mason, and The Argentine ambassador to the UK Renato Carlos Sersale di Cerisano. Outside the Royal Ballet, Núñez has made many guest appearances worldwide, including in Austria, U.S., Italy, Argentina and Australia. She has performed in La Scala Theatre Ballet many times, and is a frequent collaborator of

Roberto Bolle Roberto Bolle (born 26 March 1975) is an Italian danseur. He is a principal dancer ''étoile'' at La Scala Theatre Ballet. Bolle also dances regularly as a guest artist with the world’s leading companies, including The Royal Ballet, the Ma ...

. She has also returned to Colón Theater Ballet, where her career started.

Reviews

On ''

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote she is "a brilliant exponent of rubato dancing, stretching chosen phrases to breaking point and then flying through the music with ecstatic abandon." Reviewing Núñez's guest appearance in

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...

's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'', the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', noted: "effortless attack and enthusiastic impetus made the sequence thrilling." ''The Times'' also praised Núñez's portrayal of Odette/Odile in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

'', she "has a pure line, a melting plasticity and a smooth legato quality. Her Odette was lyrical and sorrowful; her Odile steely and sexy." On Núñez as Nikiya in '' La Bayadère,'' ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' noted she "has luscious musical phrasing and floating line."

Personal life

Núñez married fellow principal at the Royal Ballet, Thiago Soares in 2011 in Buenos Aires. The couple separated in 2014 and announced their divorce in January 2016, but remain friends and continue to dance together. Núñez is a naturalised British citizen.

Selected repertoire

Núñez's repertoire with The Royal Ballet includes: ; Created roles

Awards

*Best Female Dancer at the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards, 2005, 2012, 2018 and 2022 *Konex de Platino for Best Dancer of the Decade in Argentina, 2009 *María Ruanova Award, 2011 *

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, 2013 * Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to dance in His Majesty The King’s New Year’s Honours, 2025

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Marianela Argentine ballerinas 1982 births Living people People from San Martín, Buenos Aires Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet 21st-century British ballet dancers 21st-century Argentine dancers Laurence Olivier Award winners People educated at the Royal Ballet School Argentine emigrants to England Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom British ballerinas Officers of the Order of the British Empire