Legends of all stripes—from Taylor Swift and Jennifer Hudson to Judi Dench and Ian McKellen—are in the cast, but it is newcomer Francesca Hayward who will … I disagree, she plays Victoria as meek. MTV News: To put your ballet career on hold for seven months, you must have really wanted to be part of this project. I'd be waking up at 4 a.m. and I'd be doing ballet at 6 a.m. in order to be on set and ready to go at the same time as everyone. I really tried not to get star-struck. When Francesca Hayward discovered she’d be ... Webber's best-known classics and offers its performers a unique opportunity to step into a magical world—one ruled by singing … After that, she started to live in West Sussex, with her parental grandparents, Diana and John Hayward. This holiday season, the Royal Ballet principal dancer will be appearing in a production of "Coppelia" at London's Royal Opera House. 0. Thankfully, upcomer Francesca Hayward isn’t afraid of a challenge and, on Dec. 20, she will prove her talent as both a Jellicle Cat and rising star with the world premiere of CATS. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Netflix reveals details of a new royal drama to rival The Crown and Bridgerton, Kate Winslet: “Women know what women want”, The BAFTAs 2021 red carpet was a bit different this year, These are the best dating sites to find your perfect match, according to relationship experts. I never felt judged or pressured. For a long time everyone had a stereotype of ballet that it was easy and that we were just prancing around. So when the audition came up, I thought I had nothing to lose. I used to always play Victoria. Read on about the "surreal" moment below! I was living my best life. British ballerina Francesca Hayward is the new breakout star of Cats, Tom Hooper’s star-studded, live-action take on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Thankfully, upcomer Francesca Hayward isn’t afraid of a challenge and, on Dec. 20, she will prove her talent as both a Jellicle Cat and rising star with the world premiere of CATS. But then things like singing were terrifying to me, and I had to build up my confidence to be able to do that. Unwind Important Hard. MUSIC CELEBS December 21, 2019 . Produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson, Greg Wells & 1 more. Now they’ve got something they can watch again and again. The 26-year-old principal dancer has joined director Tom Hooper’s all-star cast. I remember him saying to me, "You just got the main part in a big Hollywood film. If you even imagine a cat next to that chair, imagine the scale of the chair on the set. Her name is Francesca Hayward. Also my solo – I had to do a whole day of singing as a non-singer in front of everyone – including Taylor Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber. She enrolled at London's prestigious Royal Ballet School at the age of 11, and trained there for many years before being invited to join the company after graduating in 2010. Did you know that she was following you? Hayward, a Principal Dancer at London’s Royal Ballet, plays the leading White Cat, Victoria – famously a dance-only role, and one that Francesca rather heart-warmingly remembers acting out, 20-odd years ago, for friends and family in her living room. MTV News: Did you know that it was going to be cat-sized going into it? Then dancing with Idris Elba and acting with Judi Dench. But being a cat and trying to sing at the same time were the two hardest challenges for me. Francesca Hayward has been imagining herself in Cats since she was a child, dancing around her living room to a video recording of the stage musical. #ballet #the royal ballet #francesca hayward #alexander campbell #tschaikowsky #royal opera house #pointe shoes #christmas #winter #gary avis #drosselmeyer #clara stahlbaum #peter-hans #balletedit #balleteveryday I never really thought about what a cat sees, I suppose. When Hayward's agent put her forward for Cats, she thought it could be a fun experience, although singing for a casting director was more terrifying than waiting in the wings before a … And what did cat school entail? Francesca Hayward is a newcomer to the big screen, but she's an accomplished ballerina. When you use your voice to sing a lot. Early life. MTV News: The cast has talked extensively about how you all trained to move like cats. MTV News: So you were doing vocal training and cat training, while still practicing ballet every day. He wanted to hear my reaction over the phone. Hayward: Dancers are finally being recognized for their athletic ability. I think I'd always have regrets about never having had this experience. MTV News: When you were younger, you said you really loved performing and acting out things that you saw on TV or on stage. Francesca Hayward, in her first film role, is an exquisite dancer. British ballerina Francesca Hayward is getting ready to take a leap from stage to the silver screen, with a star turn in the film version of the musical "Cats". 33,912 Views. Francesca Hayward as Victoria, with actor and dancer Robert Fairchild as Munkustrap. We really felt cat-sized, like literally. "I'm loving all of the dresses," Hayward tells MTV News from a London hotel. Thankfully, upcomer Francesca Hayward isn’t afraid of a challenge and, on Dec. 20, she will prove her talent as both a Jellicle Cat and rising star with the world premiere of CATS. But what was it like behind the scenes? It was definitely long, but ballet training helps so much with being able to deal with the stamina you need and being mentally prepared for what's ahead of you. But yeah, we would be expected to jump off very big things and land very gracefully like a cat. Yes, we all had cat school on our schedules. Francesca Hayward has been imagining herself in Cats since she was a child, dancing around her living room to a video recording of the stage musical. Now, with a major movie on her resume, her future looks limitless. The filming process itself was also quite new for her. Cats star Francesca Hayward talks singing in front of Taylor Swift and Jennifer Hudson bringing her to tears Jenny Proudfoot December 19, 2019 1:01 pm Universal Pictures Francesca Hayward (Universal Pictures) Though it’s impossible to make heads or tails of just about anything in “Cats,” one thing is absolutely certain: Ballerina Hayward is the breakout star. I'm happy that people are getting to enjoy it because of all the new forms that are being presented to the world now. Here's all you need to know. But you know, I think it’s fantastic that they’re all very excited to see the film. I remember getting tired and I didn’t know about all these things until I started singing. Read on about the "surreal" moment below! By Kristen Tauer on December 18, 2019 Francesca Hayward at the Royal Opera House on 20 November 2019 (Photo: Francesca Hayward's Instagram) Sadly, her parents divorced when she was just two years old. What else? Because a ballet career could be short. The message is about inclusion and community and kindness really – and that will always be relevant. Hayward: I felt so lucky that the people I had to sing in front of — like Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, and Andrew Lloyd Webber — made me feel so comfortable. But Francesca Hayward’s new performance, filmed in lockdown, is about how it has felt to not perform at all during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cats star Francesca Hayward revealed she got a private performance of "Beautiful Ghosts" from Taylor Swift while filming the movie. Did you feel like you had an advantage going into it because of your formal dance training? MTV News: What was the most surreal moment on set for you? Sometimes I would invite my friends around and they would have to be the other cats and they would have to dance along to the video and play along with me. When I was much younger, like 8 years old, I had a video of the original stage production so I used to play that a lot and I was always drawn to the role of Victoria. But that being said, I definitely had to stay cool when I was doing scenes with Judi Dench and it was just the two of us. BAZ BAMIGBOYE: Royal Ballet star Francesca Hayward is lapping up a major role in the movie version of Cats. I remember being really nervous, my hand was shaking, and I was thinking “you need to calm down because you’ve done so many crazy things on stage in front of so many people and you’ve been much less nervous than singing in front of this one person now.” It was weird. Francesca is a principal dancer in London’s The Royal Ballet. Hayward’s character, Victoria, is a white kitten in the original Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, but many are complaining that this is arbitrary and could have easily been changed. The 27-year-old Brit is a principal ballerina in the Royal Ballet. Royal Opera House. Although, my voice did need some work. 5,408 Likes, 52 Comments - Francesca Hayward (@frankiegoestohayward) on Instagram: “Romeo & Juliet : Beyond Words will be shown on BBC Two on New Year’s Day! I have a great memory of Judi Dench as she comes down the street and obviously she’s like the god-like cat and we’re all bowing and incredibly happy to see her and it’s like, it’s Judi Dench, so it’s not that difficult to imagine and we were bowing in real life. It was like a playground, it was very cool. And obviously the lyrics that Taylor Swift has written in the song that I sing, I could really focus on the words and less on my voice. MTV News: They really threw you in the deep end. Hayward, in white, with the cast of Cats at the world premiere in New York City. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. I was drinking ginger tea, had a vocal steamer and you can like blow bubbles with a straw into water – that really helps for some reason. MTV AND ALL RELATED TITLES AND LOGOS ARE TRADEMARKS OF VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trIjpVH8h88, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V32zWkB1MiY. I've never had to use it like this before! What was it like balancing all of that while also making a movie? In her statement, she said that she would go to set and watch you dance. ©2021 Viacom International Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The English dancer holds the highest … All these things that I would never have known about but all these singers were obviously giving me all the tips and my coach was helping me. She was promoted to First Artist in 2013, Soloist in 2014, First Soloist in 2015 and Principal in 2016. Hayward: I didn't know that! He's very charming, I have to say. He wanted the emotion of the song to come through, so that was very helpful, to be able to focus on just that. MTV News: When you think about ballet as an art form, and as a way to tell stories, what is the most exciting thing to you about ballet right now? Hayward: It was really nice to have more time in bed in the morning. I had been in a horrible Airbnb because it was the last place left I could book, but I had enough of it, so I decided to check into this really nice hotel on the beach the last two nights of my holiday. Watching Jennifer Hudson singing ‘Memory’. We started in December and we finished in March. Francesca Hayward, 27, plays 'Victoria the White' in the Andrew Lloyd Webber original musical adaptation and fans have accused the film of 'white washing' the star due to … Wasn’t that incredible? They both tried to stay a bit hidden so I could try and forget about the fact that they were all listening and watching, but they were both very supportive. Francesca Hayward is big deal in the ballet world. Everyone would ask, "Have you seen them in their latest film? But then I loved it. What was it like walking onto that set for the first time? ... How was she, a person with no singing experience, cast in … I have a job that I love at the Royal Ballet so you know, so what could hurt by going to the audition? That was the challenge, but yeah being a ballerina, I train every day to make things that are actually very difficult look much easier, so I got a head start. Finding ways to unwind and switch off is just as important as working very hard. #the nutcracker #francesca and alexander look soooo beautiful together #she looks like an angel #and he looks amazing as the nutcracker #also i want that cape!!! It definitely helped and also the sets were enormous, so we felt very cat-sized. Nov 11, 2019. A short film starring Royal Ballet Principal dancer Marcelino Sambé Man vs dance on the streets of Lisbon. Hayward: Tom Hooper had explained it and described it to us during rehearsals, but nothing really prepares you until you're actually there and you're in the middle of it. Francesca Hayward Quotes - BrainyQuote. Meet Francesca Hayward, the Principal Ballerina Who's Playing Victoria in Cats. Francesca Hayward has been imagining herself in Cats since she was a child, dancing around her living room to a video recording of the stage musical. Hayward's talent and technique have received critical praise and acclaim. "It's joyous and uplifting and amazing," she says of the story. It is known that she meets her father, Lewis, time and again. 1.2K Comments 17K Shares. MTV News chats with Hayward about the challenges of acting cat-sized, singing in front of Swift and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and some of her favorite Cats memories. ... she realized just how much singing she would be doing—and that her repertoire would include a song written by Swift. Marie Claire is supported by its audience. Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy, the wise, old leader of the cats, in Tom Hooper's Cats. Jumping up onto things was probably even harder and obviously cats don’t make it look difficult. I’m not a trained singer and my voice isn’t strong so I was really worried that my voice wouldn’t last for the whole day. I have always loved Cats. But thanks to the internet, and being able to share live performances and broadcast them to the world so that everyone can experience the ballet, I think it's inspiring people we wouldn't normally be able to reach. The idea is not to be mimicking a cat quite literally but to be incorporating something a little more feline. Star Francesca Hayward Makes a Stylish Jump from the Royal Ballet to the Big Screen. I had no idea how much you could do with your voice and how much you have to look after it. The film will also be…” We filmed at Leavesden, where they did Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts. Hayward: Everything! After all, more than two decades of ballet training has afforded the 27-year-old performer the kind of mental toughness and stamina needed to survive a whirlwind Hollywood press tour. 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