You went to study in Kiev when you were 9 years old; was homesickness a problem?
I missed my family very much, but the passion I had for what I was doing saw me through, even though I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I was yet to see a full ballet when I arrived in Kiev. When I did, suddenly all the pliés made sense. I understood why I was doing it. It was very moving

How did leaving home in Bucharest at such a young age affect you?
It made me feel that I can rely only on myself. I did make many friends in Kiev and, when I was older, I didn’t go around chasing boys. The girls liked me because I was no competition; I was too busy with work.

Have you got time for boyfriends now?
It is not so much finding time as finding the right person.

Sounds as if you might have found him?
Yes, I do have a boyfriend, Johan Kobborg, my first and last. We joined the Royal Ballet together four years ago and our first roles opposite each other were in Romeo and Juliet.

Passionate roles; does it help being together off stage as well as on?
The trust and passion we have make the dance better. With such trust you don’t play safe, you know each other so well that you can throw yourself into the roles. Everything looks different.

You often had to suffer for your art; how do you manage it?
Most of us dance through the pain of injuries because we love dancing so much. The passion for the work and the adrenalin you feel when you are on stage eclipse the pain.

When did the problems begin?
At 17 I started to do jumping roles, such as Amor in Don Quixote. No matter how strong a dancer you are at that age you are still growing, and all that jumping is not good for your bones. I ended up with a stress fracture in one of the bones of my foot. I didn’t know I had it, so I kept on dancing.

Did you ever receive treatment?
I was dancing in Ukraine at the time and was not given an X-ray. With this kind of injury you don’t feel it so much when you're warming up and dancing; it’s when you stop and the body cools down that you realise just how bad it is. I rested and, with time, the pain went away.

Pop any pills? Only when I must.

Is the alternative medicine route more appealing?
At the Royal Ballet we have an acupuncturist. It can help for tight and tired muscles, and many of the girls go. I prefer massage, which I have at lease twice a week. I also use the sauna regularly as it is easier to stretch your muscles when they are warm. I get a few funny stares when I start doing the exercises.

Top it up with pirouettes on the treadmill?
For particularly demanding roles I run and swim to build up stamina. The day before a show I eat a huge dinner — steak, mashed potatoes and spinach. It is essential to give me the energy to perform.

Ever get first night nerves? I do get nervous. If the role demands a fast entrance, I find that nerves help to make it more effective, but when it is a slow beginning I calm myself down by going slowly through the moves, breathing slowly and just feeling the role.

How do you maintain the body beautiful?
When I’m working hard I manage to stay slim naturally. I have only ever been on one diet. That was enough; never again.

Sounds awful.
It was. I was at school in Kiev and I wanted to look thinner for one of my ballet exams. We were marked on technique and on how we looked. It put pressure on all the girls. I tried for one day to eat only apples and the next day I was so tired I couldn’t work.

Any bad habits? I used to drink five cans of Coke a day, then I read an article about how bad it is for your bones. I allow myself one Coke on the day of a show and have an extra bar of chocolate instead. I eat a Mars bar almost every day.

Do you carry on dancing after the show finishes?
People try hard to understand what it means to be a ballerina, but you can never really understand. Having a boyfriend who is also a dancer helps. After I met Johan I learnt to relax.

Were you uptight before that?
I could not leave work at the theatre. I used to hold on to it, do extra work at home. I was tiring myself out. It took me a long time to learn how to just be at home. To cook, read, watch a movie without thinking about work. That’s what I do to relax.

Is ballet in the genes? Not in mine. My grandfather took one ballet class and then gave up.

Alina Cojocaru is performing as Tatiana, alongside Johan Kobborg, in Onegin, at the Royal Opera House, from March 16. For tickets, visit www.royalopera.org

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