Monaco Life, in partnership with the Princess Grace Foundation-USA, is thrilled to introduce a new monthly series highlighting the lives and artistic work of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA’s illustrious Award winners. In this month’s exclusive interview, Princess Grace Foundation-USA’s CEO Brisa Trinchero catches up with Prima Ballerina Isabella Boylston.
Isabella is one of the most renowned ballerinas in the world. A principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in New York City, she’s danced iconic roles in ballet such as Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. Look no further than to her enormous Instagram fan base from around the world to understand that she is one of the brightest lights from the dance world. She’s also an entrepreneur, a devoted bibliophile and an avid foodie. Isabella received a 2009 Princess Grace Award in Dance while a soloist at American Ballet Theatre (ABT).
You started dancing at the age of three in your hometown of Sun Valley, Idaho, but from a very young age, your talent became evident. Can you tell us how you went from Sun Valley to the stage of American Ballet Theatre?
Sun Valley is a big ski town so when my mum signed me up for local ballet classes, that was probably my favourite activity in addition to skiing. I just loved the musicality, the expressiveness of it and also the extreme challenge of mastering each new step that came my way. I finally begged my parents to let me go to a ballet boarding school for high school, and they relented because at that point I had been commuting to and from classes and it was just too much to maintain my academics at the same time as seriously pursuing ballet. So, I attended a ballet boarding school in Florida. After my junior year in high school there, I was scouted by the director of the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, which is the junior company of American Ballet Theatre, and offered a spot. But my parents wouldn’t let me go because I still had one more year of high school, so I deferred the opportunity and then came to New York in 2005 and have been dancing with American Ballet Theatre ever since.
You received your Princess Grace Award in 2009. Tell us what the award meant to you?
It was such a huge confidence booster, honestly. It says that you’re on the right track, you’re doing great, keep up the great work, and we see you. Honestly it was such a gift to be able to receive that kind of motivation; and the assurance that people believed in me at that point in my career where I was still trying to ascend through the ranks of ABT.
Your dancing is stunning and appears to be effortless. But we all know it’s the result of many hours of training and hard work. What is your training regimen?
I train for up to nine hours a day, starting with ballet class at 10:15am. There are days where I literally rehearse straight through until 7pm and that’s brutal. Luckily that’s not the norm. A more typical day is probably closer to five to seven hours of rehearsal.
Wow. Is that always preparing for a specific role?
Yes, the way ABT is structured is that we have our Met [at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City] season, which is our big spring season, akin to a playoff season, for eight weeks and every week is a different ballet. It is unique in that we’ll be rehearsing for eight or 13 ballets at a time to get ready for that next season whereas a lot of European companies have a much more slower pace where they’ll be performing one ballet at a time, so they’ll have a couple of months to prepare for that ballet and then they’ll move on to the next production. But ABT is really unique and I don’t know of any other company that maintains that insane pace.
You’ve also studied acting. In fact, you got a second Princess Grace grant to hire an acting coach. How has that affected your approach to preparing for these roles?
I’m so thankful to the Princess Grace Foundation-USA for giving me the Professional Development grant so that I was able to hire an acting coach. I do feel like there are certain gaps in a dancer’s education. For instance, I play so many different characters, but there was never anything that got me ready or gave me the tools to build a character. It was such a game changer for me to get that grant and be able to use the funds to really feel like I could learn a new skill that I could immediately apply to my ballet career.
Speaking of acting, you were Hollywood star Jennifer Lawrence’s ballet body double in the film Red Sparrow. What was that experience like?
It was so cool. We shot it in Budapest. I went in January and it was freezing but such a beautiful city. It was a really interesting and totally new experience for me. Seeing how films work and getting to work with Jennifer Lawrence and Francis Lawrence, the director, was amazing. They’re both such professionals and artists. The biggest difference for me was the schedule – I’m not a morning person and I would have to wake up at 3am or 4am to get into hair and makeup. That was rough! But one of the cool things about film is you can do as many takes as you need to get it perfect, unlike live performance when you just have that one shot and you don’t get to edit it or do it over.
Are you going to do any more films?
I would love to. I have a documentary in the works, actually, with director Jon Avnet who has done a lot. He directed Risky Business and Fried Green Tomatoes. I’m excited about that. Our schedule has shifted dramatically, but I’m really honoured that he wanted to feature me.
Red Sparrow, Isabella Boylston
In addition to being one of the most accomplished ballerinas in the world, you’re also an entrepreneur: starting a summer dance festival in your hometown and founding the Ballerina Book Club. Is there an opportunity – perhaps a dance role or a business accomplishment – that is still on your bucket list?
A couple of years ago, I was able to attend a program at Harvard Business School called Crossover into Business for Pro Athletes. After I did that program, I started to think that maybe I would like to start my own business one day.
You are also a “foodie”. If you had an opportunity to share a meal with Princess Grace anywhere in the world, where would you take her and what would you eat?
I love that question! Pasta is my favourite food, so it’s definitely going to be somewhere that has good pasta. Well, Tokyo does Italian food really well actually; it would be wild to go somewhere in Tokyo. There’s a little pizza place that I love in Tokyo called Savoy, so maybe that. Or honestly, just sitting outside in Rome somewhere and having bucatini all’amatriciana, I think that would be pretty hard to beat.
I like the idea of eating Italian food in Japan with Princess Grace. That would certainly be incredible. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to say to the Monaco community?
Ballet is essential. Being able to connect with people from all over the world, dancers from all over the world via Instagram, and the classes that I’ve been doing on my Instagram Live has really made me realise even more how essential art is in connecting us and lifting us up during difficult times. The arts are really more important than ever.
Follow Isabella on Instagram and TikTok at @isabellaboylston and follow Isabella and her dance partner James Whiteside, together known as ‘The Cindies’, on their YouTube channel.
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA is dedicated to honouring the legacy of Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. Her mission to advance the arts in the United States is sustained by the Princess Grace Awards which supports and elevates extraordinary early career artists in theatre, dance and film through game-changing grants, and nurtures and supports Princess Grace Award winners throughout their careers.
Circulation of Covid-19 in Monaco has dropped dramatically, with the incidence rate now at 63. It’s a similar story in the Alpes-Maritime where circulation has finally fallen below national levels.
The Monte-Carlo Television Festival will host the premiere screening of Lion’s, Bones and Bullets, which delves into the mass production of wildlife for traditional Chinese “medicines”.
Diamond expert Alberto Vitale talks about Covid’s impact on the industry, how it historically sent down diamond prices, and the rise of transparency thanks to blockchain.
The long-awaited shuttle boat between Nice and Cap d’Ail will begin this summer, transporting workers wishing to avoid heavy traffic jams and crowded trains during their daily commute.
A new report written in part by researchers at the Scientific Centre of Monaco calls for coral reefs to be given the same funding as other grand challenges like landing on the moon.
The Monaco E-Prix will for the first time utilise the full 3.32-kilometre track layout thanks to the introduction of a new car whose features have increased performance and range.
The world of football was rocked on Sunday when it was announced that 12 football clubs are breaking away to form a new European Super League. This was AS Monaco's response.
0
Sign up to our FREE Newsletter
By signing up you agree to receive daily news emails frommonacolife.net. We respect your privacy and will not spam you!
[caption id="attachment_24647" align="alignnone" width="640"] Vadim Vasilyev, Vice-President AS Monaco. Photo: Facebook AS Monaco[/caption]
AS Monaco Vice-President Vadim Vasilyev was elected "NuCalm European Football CEO of the Year" on Thursday night in London.
The prestigious award honours the best top official of Europe’s football clubs. Vasilyev had some tough competition: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich), Edwin van der Sar (Ajax), Umberto Gandini (AS Rome) and Florentino Perez (Real Madrid).
On Saturday, Vasilyev’s win was echoed by the AS Monaco team, which defeated visitors Guingamp 6-0 at home. Two goals came from Adama Traoré and two from Guido Carillo, with single goals from Keita Baldé and Fabinho.
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim was calm about the result, saying that the team doesn’t always need Falcao to win a game. “Of course, I would like it if [Falcao]were always there. But Guido scored twice and won a penalty,” he said.
Meanwhile Guingamp’s coach was less than sanguine about the rout: “We are ashamed to lose 6-0. It's one set to love… We thought Monaco might have struggled physically after their Champions League match on Wednesday and we should have gone in with greater pace and more desire in the challenges. But the opposite happened. We can't incriminate one or two players, it is everyone, including me. But we won't play Monaco every weekend."