Those who follow the classical dance world know that among the most popular at the moment are the Royal Ballet stars: Marianela Nuñez and Natalia Osipova, with the Russian literally being a rocket. Known for her elasticity and lightness, the ballerina often “defies gravity” with jumps so high that she seems to have wings. However, after a few years of dealing with “chronic pain”, as she sums it up, the star has been stuck on the ground for a few months.
“After four years of enduring chronic pain and the unforeseen cancellation of my scheduled performance, I have finally undergone a surgical procedure with the aim of alleviating my discomfort. I view this as an opportunity to embark on a journey of rehabilitation and recovery”< Natalia Osipova shared on her Instagram account. “Regrettably, I am still in the midst of my recuperation and will be unable to attend the event in Mexico City @despertaresmex. I extend my sincere apologies to those who had anticipated my presence in Mexico, and I genuinely hope for an opportunity to visit in the near future”, she added.
Natalia was brave. It’s not uncommon for dancers to get injured during grueling seasons or training sessions, and back in 2018, she celebrated being out of the group. “I haven’t had any serious injuries that have caused me to be out for a year or half a year. I’ve had minor injuries. I had a hip injury where my hip was coming out of its socket all the time and it turned out I tore the cartilage, and I was told I couldn’t dance anymore and that I had to have surgery because it would keep moving. I eventually got it treated, but I had a situation where I thought I would never be able to dance again and I got really depressed. It was really hard. I just couldn’t believe it was true. So I forced myself to get treatment, doing everything I could, and I was able to get back to work pretty quickly,” she shared in an interview at the time, explaining that she recovered without undergoing surgery. “I decided I could handle it on my own. And with the help of a great physiotherapist, I was able to properly strengthen all the muscles around the injury. I listened to myself, I knew I didn’t want surgery. Thank God everything fell into place and I was able to work again,” she continued.
However, in June 2024, in an interview with The Times, Natasha (as fans and friends call her), who is only 38 years old, already predicts that she is heading towards the final stage of her career in classical dance, estimating that she will have “maybe five, maybe 10 years”. This is because, precisely, for the last three years she has been struggling with the ankle injury that forced her to cancel several performances before the surgery. “I need to remove a small piece of bone,” she explained a few months ago, hoping to be able to finish her season early. It was not possible and now she is already recovering, but away from the spotlight.
Born in Moscow in 1986, Natalia Osipova amazed her parents with her antics of climbing trees and breaking windows from an early age, dreaming of a career as a gymnast. However, even for such an active girl, a few bad falls inspired her to change her barre: instead of gymnastics, ballet balance might be more appropriate, and she started ballet at the age of five.
In just three years, she understood that this would be her calling and moved on to more serious training, graduating in 2004 with distinction. The irony is that although brilliant, the ballerina has vivid memories of being considered inadequate because she was short and strong. These were years in which she still needed to find her feet as an artist and the criticism left a deep impression on her. Even so, by 2010 she was already the principal dancer at the Bolshoi and an international star.
After working with different companies around the world, Natalia Osipova has been one of the principal dancers at the Royal Ballet since 2013 and London is her true home. With the company, she shines in the traditional Giselle, Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet, as well as more modern pieces or even pieces that were “different” from what one would expect from her, always standing out and winning over the audience. She has even taken her first steps as an actress, in a supporting role in the film Joika, about the American ballerina Joy Womack, the first American to graduate from the strict Bolshoi school.
Natalia Osipova’s recovery period should keep her out of performances until the end of the year, but it could give the ballerina more years on stage in the future. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery and some moments of the great star on stage.
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