Former Royal Ballet ballerina takes a dance down memory lane thanks to Hemel care home

A 96 year old former ballerina who shared the stage with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev is continuing her lifelong passion for dance thanks to a Hemel Hempstead care home.

Romayne Grigorova MBE, performed more than 650 times at the Royal Opera House and later choreographed and coached dancers for various operas and ballets, including Sir Lawrence Olivier for the 1967 play, 'The Dance of Death'.

Team members at Water Mill House care home organised a dance down memory lane for Romayne, with a visit to Bovingdon Dance Academy to meet and watch the future generation of ballet stars. She was also taken on a trip to watch a professional ballet performance of Alice in Wonderland at the Radlett Centre, where she met the cast after the show.

Romayne said: “Dancing has always been part of my life – I had my first lesson at 13 and never looked back. I was so fortunate to have such a wonderful career and it means the world to me that I can continue my love for dance here at Water Mill House.”

Water Mill House on Rose Lane is a 65-bed, award-winning care home, offering nursing, residential, dementia and end of life care. Romayne has lived there since March this year.

Throughout her twenties, Romayne performed in many professional ballet productions worldwide. She continued dancing for six decades, including with the Royal Ballet and at the Royal Opera House, in productions including Giselle, Ondine, Tales of Hoffmann, Much Ado About Nothing and Sleeping Beauty.

In 1970 Romayne was appointed Ballet Mistress to The Royal Opera House, responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in the company.

She continued performing in productions at the venue, which is home to the Royal Ballet Company, in acting roles until the age of 85. In 2017 Romayne received an MBE for Services to Dance.

Sue Case, lifestyle co-ordinator at Water Mill House, said: “When a resident moves in with us, we take time to understand who they are and what they love, so we can make sure our care is tailored to them.

“We love hearing Romayne’s stories about her incredible dancing career. She is as passionate as ever about dance and loved meeting the young ballerinas at Bovingdon Dance Academy. She watched their rehearsals intently and gave them some tips and showed them some arm movements. She was very appreciative of their efforts and pointed out the ones that she thought stood out.”

After the rehearsal, Romayne gave the class a signed ballet book and they presented her with a bouquet of flowers. Romayne told the class: “ballet is fun, but hard work” and reassured them, saying: "always think of your turnout, and don't worry it will grow, it always grows."

Romayne also reminisced about the time when a male dancer she was partnered with accidentally threw her during a lift, injuring her arm against a wall. The doctor told her she would never stretch her arm out again. But Romayne said: "Yes I will, I am a dancer!"

Victoria Forsythe, home manager at Water Mill House, said: “Romayne is a wonderful character and never ceases to amaze me. It was such a pleasure to take Romayne out to the ballet school and to watch a professional performance, it’s so important that our residents can continue to enjoy their passions – as well as discover new ones - when they come to live with us. Romayne is an inspiration to us all and it’s an honour to have her as part of our Water Mill family.”