Daria Klimentova - Agony and Ecstasy: My Life In Dance - Tapa dura

Daria Klimentova has been one of Britain's best-loved ballerinas for two decades, having danced at Scottish Ballet and then - since 1996 - as a Principal and Senior Principal at English National Ballet. Her repertory encompasses all of ballet's classic roles including the double role or Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. Her performances as the white and black swan at the Royal Albert Hall were the subject of a behind-the-scenes BBC Documentary in 2011. Daria was born in the former Czechoslovakia and lived under the rule of the Soviet Union until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. She initially trained as a young member of the Czech Olympic Gymnastics Squad before transferring to ballet. After a year as a Principal dancer in the Czech National Ballet, she moved to dance with the Cape Ballet Company in South Africa, where she witnessed the end of apartheid. In her 40s, at an age when most ballerinas have retired, Daria continues to captivate audiences with her impeccable technique and free flowing natural grandeur. In the twilight of her career, Daria had forged a remarkable partnership with the young Russian Principal, Vadim Muntagirov, which critics have likened to the Fonteyn/Nureyev dynamic. Daria was awarded the Critic's Circle Patron's Award by Dame Beryl Grey in 2011 and the National Dance Award for Best Female Dancer in 2012. Away fom ballet Daria is an accoplished professional photographer who ha s exhibited her work widely. She has a dauhter, Sabine.

Daria Klimentova is a Senior Principal ballerina at English National Ballet. She has danced for the Czech National Ballet, Cape Ballet Company and Scottish Ballet. Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic. He writes regularly for Dancing Times, Sadler's Wells, LondonDance.com, DanceTabs.com and other magazines and websites in Europe, Japan and the USA. He is Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critic's Circle in the UK and of the National Dance Awards. Graham is also a member of the UNESCO International Dance Council and the society for Dance Research. He holds the MA module in dance writing and criticism from the University of Chichester. He was awarded the OBE in 2008.