Recently I had the opportunity to ask British dancer Beth Mihai some questions in regard to her journey as a ballerina, She is a wonderful dancer, incredibly dedicated to ballet and an elegant and beautiful dancer on stage. Below are her responses

Q1: When did you start ballet?

I first started ballet when I was 7 years old. I knew I wanted to do dance as a career when I was approximately 11.

Q2: Where do you currently dance?

I’m currently in the middle of switching studios. My old dance school was Rollo Academy of Performing Arts.

Q3: How long have you been en pointe for?

I’ve been en pointe for 2 and a half years and have enjoyed it ever since I first started!

Q4: What pointe shoes do you currently wear?

I am currently on my third pair of pointe shoes, the brand being Blochs Amelie’s. Although, my preferred choice is Grishko 2007’s which were my previous pointe shoes.

Q5: How did you first get involved in ballet?

I first got involved in ballet/dance by my best friend in school. She had told my about dancing and even taught me a few of her dances. I absolutely loved it and decided to join her studio. That’s when my love for dance sprouted!

Q6: What is your favourite variation?

That’s a very hard question! I love so many but a few of my absolute favourites are the Kitri Variation, the Cupid variation and the bluebird variation!

Q7: What company would you love to work for?

That’s also a hard one! Obviously being a UK dancer, the Royal Ballet is every dancers dream but there are many others I would really enjoy working for such as: Birmingham Royal Ballet, Ballet Theatre UK, English National Ballet and so many others. As long as I’m dancing, doing what I love, I don’t really mind where I do it!

Q8: Do you have a favourite memory/moment in ballet?

I have many amazing memories from my dance experience so far. Some of them include: Getting chosen to be a part of English Youth Ballet twice and getting chosen to dance for the scholarship, getting a distinction in my RAD Intermediate Foundation exam, another big achievement for me was getting into the final stage of the Angel Dancewear ambassador search, which is my dream! I have so many other amazing memories with friends as well that there’s too many to list!

Q9: Who are your ballet roles models? Dancers that inspire you.

So many dancers inspire me! A few of them include: Caitlin Barker (the owner of Angel Dancewear), she always has perfect technique and is so versatile! She is such a lovely girl and just an amazing person in general. Serena McCall is also another incredible dancer! Every dancer that tries their best and puts everything into their dancing is an inspiration to me, there’s nothing more inspiring than someone that works so hard to reach goals and strive for success!

Q10: Best advice you’ve ever received from a teacher?

One piece of advice that has always stuck in my head is to imagine a ballet exam, performance or audition as a regular ballet/Dance class. Just think of it as a way in which you can perfect even more technique and really just show off your ability, not that your being watched or even about perfection. Just make sure you have fun and dance in your own way!

Q11: Classical or romantic tutu?

Ooh, I absolutely love both. A classical tutu to really embrace the original style of ballet and to feel absolutely glamorous and graceful. However, a Romantic tutu is also fabulous to flow and follow your movement. I can’t pick, they’re both so stunning!

Q12: What do you like to do when you aren’t dancing (your free time)?

When I’m not dancing (which is not a lot) I love to keep up with my photography skills. I absolutely love photography, especially with nature and dance. I’m very creative and have quite an artistic eye for what would make the perfect shot. I also love photoshoots (mainly Dance ones so I don’t know if that counts haha). I love being in front of the camera as well as behind. Photoshoots are so fun and allow me to come up with some creative poses which I love to do!