A Day in the Life of a Birmingham Royal Ballet Dancer: Don Quixote Rehearsals with Maïlène Katoch

Thursday 29 January 2026

I begin my day by warming up and stretching, preparing my body for class. Morning class starts at 10.30am and is a daily ritual for the Company. It sets us up physically for rehearsals, but it’s also a time I really value for personal development.

Class is a space where I allow myself to make mistakes, learn, and refine my technique without the pressure of performance. We repeat the same steps day after day, which allows us to fine-tune alignment, posture, balance, turnout, control, jumps, and turns. Barre is where I focus most on alignment, while centre work allows me to concentrate on control and quality of movement. If something isn’t quite working in rehearsal, class is also a valuable opportunity to practise and correct it.

Today, class was taught by Rory Mackay, whose classes I really enjoy. His exercises are clear and straightforward, which allows me to work with confidence and really focus on making each step better than it was the day before, without being overwhelmed by complicated combinations.

Rehearsals then began at 12pm. My first was for the Gypsy Camp at the start of Act II. This was a full call with the principals and the corps de ballet, bringing together everything we’ve been working on separately over the last few weeks.

These rehearsals are about much more than learning steps. We spend a lot of time dissecting the musical phrasing, sorting out spacing, understanding the context of our characters and what story we’re telling the audience. This process is as intellectual as it is physical, and these rehearsals really help clarify the intentions behind everything we do on stage.

My second rehearsal of the day focused on the role of Amour (traditionally Cupid). This is a short solo, but it’s fast and technically challenging, and it requires a lot of energy and clarity. The character is playful, lively, and light, with a lifted, almost pixie-like quality. When BRB first performed Don Quixote in 2022, Carlos had created the role for a male dancer. For this 2026 revival, the role will be performed by a woman in some performances, and by a man in others. This rehearsal focused on the style and interpretation of the role.

I really enjoy working on this role, and I’m especially excited because it will be my debut. It’s a great challenge for me, particularly as I’ve previously performed more slow-paced variations. The music is very quick, so staying on top of the timing while jumping can be difficult, but that’s part of what makes it so fun.

After an hour’s lunch break to eat and reset, I returned to the studio for rehearsal of the Act II Dream Scene. This scene is a complete contrast to Act I. It’s soft, elegant, and very classical, and it’s one of my favourite parts of the ballet.

The Dream Scene is danced by the women of the corps de ballet, and it’s a really lovely experience moving together as a group and feeling fully connected to the music. In this act, I perform as a Dryad as well as one of the three Small Dryads – roles I’m really enjoying. This rehearsal focused on precision, clarifying counts, and creating clean lines on stage, so that we move as one and maintain the dreamy quality of the scene.

I swapped my pointe shoes for character shoes for the final rehearsal of the day, which was a full call of Act I. Here, we finished learning the remaining choreography, mime, and interactions between characters. This act is vibrant, expressive, and heavily driven by storytelling; even when we’re not dancing centre stage, it’s important to stay fully in character by reacting, interacting, and keeping the scene alive at all times.

The end of this rehearsal marked the moment we finished learning the entire ballet. Ending the day by putting everything together felt very satisfying and rewarding.

After rehearsals, recovery is a priority. I made sure to eat a nutritious dinner when I got home and finished the day with an ice bath for my lower legs and feet, which is especially important after long hours of switching between character shoes and pointe shoes.