You're the Royal Ballet's Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker this Christmas. Are you feeling suitably magical?

If only there was just one thing to concentrate on! Since the lead season started in September, I have already done ten parts. I thrive on it though. Also, I'm battling a few niggles and injuries at the moment.

What kind of injuries?

About a month ago I came down badly from a lift and my floating rib went underneath my bottom rib. While dancing with a partner, I would literally cry with pain.

Ouch...

I was dancing on a stress fracture last year for quite a while without realising. I knew something was up, but I didn't want to know how bad it was and I managed to dance on it for a while.

Wow, you're hardcore.

I was in denial at first. What did it for me in the end was when I realised that I wasn't performing my best because of the pain. There's an old saying that you're only as good as your last performance and it's true.

So a bit of a perfectionist, then?

I don't find technical challenges too tough. But getting it perfect is something else.

Suffer from stage fright?

I get so excited, sometimes I wish I could do a show for breakfast! But in the split second before I go on stage, my body goes to jelly and I can't stand up.

Any lucky tutus?

Oh, I've got lucky everything. I've got lucky toe pads, lucky tights, lucky leg warmers, lucky eyelashes...

Never a quick voddie to calm the nerves?

I do drink, but never during the week because I really feel the effects on my body when I do.

Do you mentally take the parts you dance home with you?

Yes! With Romeo and Juliet, for example, I would practise the stabbing scene with a comb, a knife, the Pritt stick, the potion. It's always prop time at home!

Does the on-stage passion ever spill over into off-stage romance?

No, it's very much emotional, rather than sexual. I dance quite a lot with Rupert Pennefather and there is a definite chemistry there. When you're getting lifted, your partner's hands go everywhere, which obviously results in a lot of jokes.

How do you feel after a show?

I really hit a low. When you've been on that high, it's a huge anti-climax and I miss it dreadfully.

And afterwards?

I often wake up in the middle of the night and feel much freer in my thoughts then. It's quiet and it's dark; I put on my music and think through ideas. The music is my greatest passion. I wouldn't dance if it weren't for the music.

I guess you have to be pretty body-confident to be prancing around in leotards.

At the moment I'm wearing a white little Lycra top that always rides up, so I'm very ab-conscious!

Do you find it stressful having to stay ballet-thin?

My body is my tool. I feel sorry for people who are clever enough to be sat at a desk and then have to go to the gym after work. In ballet it's not about being slim and slender, you need to aim for muscle. I have soft muscle, which means that I can dance for longer without getting tight and knotty.

You must be in amazing shape.

Sometimes, if I know that I'm not going to have a huge amount of cardiovascular work to do that day, I'll go to the gym as well. Usually about twice a week. It's a really nice thing to do to warm up for the day if my legs feel like they've got enough energy.

Is there a lot of body competitiveness among dancers?

I'm not surrounded by it because I'm a principal. The younger members compete as to who is the thinnest. But when you're doing ballet, you have to be so strong. I'm not saying that you have to overeat, but you do have to eat.

Have you always been at ease with the way you look?

When I was young I was skinny and got picked on for having twig legs. There is definitely a pressure to look a certain way, but the bigger pressure is to dance a certain way.

What's your diet like?

You need slow-release carbs, and protein for your muscles, but on a show day I don't really eat fruit and vegetables because they make you too gassy.

Any vices?

I don't smoke, and I don't drink tea or coffee either. I drink herbal tea - peppermint, fennel or camomile.

So more green tea than GP?

I swear by homoeopathic remedies. I carry arnica everywhere. I always fix myself with alternative medicines. I don't believe in downing pills. I'd rather get to the root cause and take something natural. The body is an amazing thing and if you give it space and time to heal, then it will.

The Nutcracker, the Royal Opera House, from December 15 to January 10; go to www.roh.org.uk for details

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