Francesca Hayward

Francesca Hayward (born July 1992) is an English ballerina and a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. She is announced to portray Victoria the White Cat in the 2019 film adaptation of Cats.

Early life
Francesca Hayward was born in 1992 in Nairobi, Kenya, the daughter of an English father and Kenyan mother. At the age of two she moved to Worthing in West Sussex to live with her grandparents where she immediately gained her passion for ballet. When she was young she danced at Le Serve School of Ballet and Theatre Dance in Worthing until her teacher, Valerie Le Serve, encouraged her to audition to White Lodge (the junior section of the Royal Ballet School). After being a Junior Associate from the age of nine she entered the School at the age of 11 in 2003 and progressed to the Royal Ballet Upper School in 2008.

Awards
Whilst a student at The Royal Ballet School, Hayward won the 2009 Lynn Seymour Award for Expressive Dance and the 2010 Young British Dancer of the Year Award. She was also awarded the silver medal and Audience Choice Award at the 2010 Genee International Ballet Competition. Hayward won the Best Emerging Artist and the Grishko Award for Best Female Dancer at the Critics Circle National Dance Awards in 2016.

Career
During her training Hayward was recognised as an exceptional dancer and after joining the Royal Ballet in 2010 she was increasingly cast in important roles in major ballets. She rapidly moved through the ranks at Covent Garden being promoted to First Artist in 2013, Soloist in 2014, First Soloist in 2015 and Principal in 2016. Intense interest was shown by ballet critics as Hayward's on-stage career progressed.

In 2012 Hayward danced a pas de deux from The Flower Festival in Genzano with fellow Royal Ballet dancer James Hay at the Erik Bruhn Competition in Canada. She danced Clara for the first time in The Nutcracker at Covent Garden in 2012. Amongst other roles Francesca Hayward has danced are Princess Florine and Fairy of the Songbird (Sleeping Beauty) and Rose Fairy (The Nutcracker.) and she danced in Robert Binet's immersive work, The Dreamers Ever Leave You in collaboration with the National Ballet of Canada at The Printworks in London in October 2017. She starred in a BBC documentary film Dancing the Nutcraker:Inside the Royal Ballet which was first shown on Christmas Day 2016.