Francesca Hayward - Principal Dancer and Actress
Thursday, 8th April, 7.00pm BST time / 8.00pm CET time

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How has the lack of physical conversation in these current times impacted dance, movement verses words and languages, and is there a drop in communication? How much is lost to audiences that watch dance via a screen rather than in person? 

Drawing similarities with the fashion industry, with the loss of physical shows - Fashion is all about thinking in images; a look, a feel, a jacket, a gown, is frequently based on several iconic reference images in its creation, even if those images relate to inspiration from books and fiction. The Royal Ballet principal dancer will explore how this process relates to the creation of a dance

Francesca Hayward was born in Kenya and moved to Sussex, England at the age of two. She was introduced to the world of ballet by her grandparents who found her a video of The Nutcracker and, soon after watching, she began ballet lessons in Worthing with Valerie LeServe at the age of three. Francesca continued lessons through childhood and then joined the Royal Ballet School, White Lodge at the age of eleven. She studied at the Royal Ballet School for her full training, graduating after eight years and was then accepted into the Royal Ballet at the age of eighteen. 

When she joined the company, it was a stratospheric rise for Francesca – she was quickly promoted to First Artist in 2013. This was followed by Soloist in 2014, First Soloist in 2015 and finally Principal in 2016.

Whilst in training, she won the 2009 Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance, the 2010 Young British Dancer of the Year and both silver medal and the Audience Choice Award at the 2010 Genée International Ballet Competition. After joining The Royal Ballet she represented the Company at the 2012 International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize and won Best Emerging Artist (2014). She won the Grishko Award For Best Female Dancer (2016 & 2020) at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.

Her repertory with the Company includes Juliet, Alice, Manon, Lise (La Fille mal gardée), the female Principal role in Rhapsody, Titania (The Dream), Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara (The Nutcracker), Princess Aurora and Princess Florine (The Sleeping Beauty), Princess Stephanie (Mayerling), Perdita (The Winter’s Tale), Vera (A Month in the Country), Girl (The Invitation), Justine (Frankenstein) and roles in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude, Tarantella, ‘Emeralds’ (Jewels), The Human Seasons, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Infra, Ballo della regina, Symphony in C, Asphodel Meadows, Within the Golden Hour and Carbon Life. She created roles in Untouchable, Woolf Works and Multiverse.

In 2019, Francesca made her first foray into the screen world and landed the leading role in the film of CATs directed by Tom Hooper. At the same time, The Ballet Boyz and The Royal Ballet’s film of Rome & Juliet was released in cinema and aired on Christmas Day on The BBC, Francesca starred as Juliet. 

She was hand-picked by Meghan Markle as one of British Vogue’s ‘Forces for Change’ and featured on the cover of the September Issue in 2019 and has most recently featured on the cover of Vanity Fair’s September Jewellery Issue.

Francesca's love of fashion and beauty has led her to many exciting collaborations with different brands, including Prada and Miu Miu. 

Each Prada Possible Conversation will also result in a donation from Prada to UNESCO, whose work during the COVID-19 pandemic focuses on the importance of culture, creativity, and education for over 1.5 billion students worldwide affected by school and university closure, as well as on a programme to increase international cooperation in science. Supporting their initiatives across the globe, this is a further demonstration of the vital exchange between fashion and society.