Tamara Rojo on the 'joy' of ballet dancing

Artistic Director and Lead Principal of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo has told BBC HARDtalk that people often focus on the sacrifices ballerinas have to make rather than the positive aspects of the job.

"We never spend any time talking about the joy, about the huge satisfaction that being a ballet dancer gives you," she said, adding that if there were serious issues dancers should "speak up".

Rojo said that despite the work involved in leading the company, she trains with her dancers every day to make sure she is connected with their feelings and knows how far to stretch them.

"I need to understand how they are feeling, how is it translating into their bodies, how are they coping," she said.

Watch more clips at HARDtalk's website

You can see the full interview on BBC World News at 16:30 and 21:30 GMT on Tuesday 25 March and on the BBC News Channel on Wednesday 25 March at 00:30 and 04:30 GMT.