Marianela Núñez and William Brackwell in the Swan Lake adagio

Marianela Núñez and William Brackwell in the Swan Lake, adagio from act II, music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreography by Lev Ivanov. Shot on 28 and 29.1.2023 in Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome. Les Etoiles Gala 2023, production by Daniele Cipriani Entertainment.

Marianela Núñez is an Argentine-British ballet dancer. She is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, London. Marianela was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She entered Teatro Colón Ballet School at age six. At age 14, halfway through her training, Colon Theater Ballet’s lead Maximiliano Guerra chose Núñez to dance with him, and the company selected Núñez to join the company. In 1997, at age 15, she auditioned for The Royal Ballet when the company was on tour in Los Angeles. She was offered a contract, but UK employment law prevented her from working in the UK until age 16. She attended The Royal Ballet School instead, and was guaranteed she would be offered a contract the following year. She was promoted to First Soloist, the second highest rank of the company, in 2000, was promoted to principal dancer in 2002.

William Bracewell is a Welsh ballet dancer. He won Young British Dancer of the Year in 2008. William joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010, and was named soloist in 2014. In 2017, he joined the Royal Ballet in London, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. He is the first Welsh person to hold the position.

Photos by Jack Devant ballet photography © with kind permission of Daniele Cipriani Entertainment, special thanks to Mrs. Simonetta Allder.