Yasmin Naghdi Principal Ballet Dancer of The Royal Ballet

You never feel like you've  achieved that final place. 
But there's more blooming to come. 

Hi everyone. I'm Michael and  I'm Michal, and I'm Yasmin. 
Welcome to In Bloom, where  we spend time with incredible creatives and discover their journeys and their personal connection with flowers.
I was born and raised in London  and I started my training well as a hobby really, when I  was kind of 5 or 6 years old, and then everything kind of spiralled from there. 
And I ended up at the Royal  Ballet School in White Lodge in Richmond Park, which I kind of  called the Hogwarts for ballet.
You do everything all together  in this beautiful park 
and then progressed to the upper school, which is in Covent Garden. 
And eventually, at 17, I was given my contract with the Royal Ballet in Covent Garden.
Yeah. Do you remember your  first flower moment on stage? 
But I think the most significant  flower moment for me, 
maybe not the first, but the  most significant was when 
I danced the role of Juliet for the first time.
I was a soloist in the  company and I got 27 bouquets 
from fans, showered with flowers. Yeah. So, you know,  
and it was such a special moment for me because the ushers kept bringing out bouquets,
putting them on the floor,  someone else from the other side putting on the floor. And I  thought that has to be it. 
And they, they just kept  coming, which was incredible. 
I was so blown away by the  amount of support I got.
Do you have a favourite flower? 
Oh, the million dollar  question. I love hydrangeas. 
Okay, like big, you know, big balls of hydrangeas. I think that and they last a long time as well.
Jasmine, what does being in bloom mean to you? I guess it means being in blossoms. 
I would think that maybe it's, you know, just striving to be the best version of yourself.
I think whenever we start something,  it's like planting the seed. 
And then you nurture it, you  water it, you look after it. 
And that's kind of all the  layers of your life that sort of 
lead you to the place that you are today.
Have you ever had a challenge  with flowers on stage 
where I don't know, the flower  falls or it's not supposed 
to be there, or yeah, yes. I can't remember. If it was, it might have been in a rehearsal, in a final rehearsal.
And I and I took one of the  flowers from the suitors 
in The Sleeping Beauty. And I went to dance 
and the head popped off, so I  was left with just the stem.
But, yeah, luckily, I think it was a rehearsal. So then I was like, you know, the stage. 
You had to get the stage. People make sure you glue them of the roses because it would just fly.
Yeah, but but you know,  flowers are they always have 
such a special connection  to dancers because when you retire from dancing as well, they do what's called the flower throw.
And people sort of sitting  quite high up when you take 
your, your final bow, they  throw flowers from the balcony. 
So. Oh is that when you,  when dancers retire. Yeah. 
sometimes they do it for, you  know, your 20 year anniversary, 2020 a special occasion. These are many roses. They're not hydrangeas. They're not hydrangeas. 
Exactly. I would feel so bad.  They're just getting wrecked on the floor. I'd want to just pick them up.
Do you have any ways of  letting your creativity bloom 
outside the stage? Outside the  theatre? Yes, I would say so. 
I I've written for children's  books called Ballet Besties.
Um, so I really need the sort  of inspiration behind that 
was during the Covid lockdowns.  I was approached by an Indian ballet school and they  said, would you be able to teach our children? You know, so inspired by you.
And and I thought, wow, I  really would love to represent 
these children from, you know,  anywhere around the world. 
So that's where the idea came from. 
And, and I partnered up with  a children's book author
because I thought, I can't do this all myself. It's a lot of work. So we partnered up together. 
And so the idea was born.  What's the next big challenge 
for you, therefore? Well, the next big challenge is this little bun in the oven.
Um, so, yes, a little boy expected early December. 
Congratulations. Thank you. That will be the next big challenge.
Yasmin, we have a little game for you. It's called Bloom or Prune.  
We've got a stack of cards here, each with an idea, an emotion, a feeling. 
And your task is to draw a  card and to decide whether 
to bloom it, nurture it,  or prune it. Get rid of it.
Ooh. Okay, let's see what we have here. Late night rehearsals. We prune it. 
No, I like efficiency. Let's  work from 12 until three 
and finish for the day.
No late night rehearsals. Okay. Next one. 
Treating every rehearsal  like opening night. Bloom. 
I think this is important  to treat all your rehearsals 
as if they have a lot of  importance. So we keep this one.
Roses for Valentine's.  Okay, maybe you will hate me 
for saying this, but we're gonna prune this one because I feel like the prices for  
roses, a lot of times they skyrocket.
And yeah, I'm like, buy me roses the week before. 
The week after. It's a bit of a cliche. It's a bit of a cliche. So many different. 
Just to say there's no hydrangeas  during Valentine's Day. Exactly.
Helping the next generation  bloom. Yes, we bloom this one 
because I think it's always important to help the younger generations. We accumulate so much knowledge in our careers and our professions
that I think if you give back  by then, helping other people. 
Ballet bun every day prune.  I like work life balance 
during the week. It's fine,  you know, for rehearsals 
when I need to be in ballet mode.
We put in the bun when it's weekend. When it's time to switch off, let the hair down. Bouquets bigger than the  
dancer business for you know that one we love very Big bouquets are our friend. The bigger the better. Exactly. 
Taking inspiration from nature. Yes. I think this is a lovely one to bloom. 
Nature is an incredible way for  us to switch off from reality.
To get inspiration and kind of to regroup and recenter ourselves. Never leaving the studio. 
No. Prune. Yes. Work life.  Work life balance. 100%.
Thank you so much for joining us, Yasmin. This has been great, everyone. Don't forget to follow us as we spend time with creatives and discover their journeys and their personal connection with flowers.