The Royal Ballet principal dancer on a mesmerising Wimbledon final, the fragrance that gets him into character, and a 91-year-old dancing legend

Reece Clarke was born in North Lanarkshire in 1995 to a steelworker father and a mother who worked as a childminder. Growing up in Airdrie, he began ballet classes aged three and later joined his three older brothers at the Royal Ballet School. He won young British dancer of the year in 2012 and has since performed – often as a prince – in Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. In 2022 the Royal Ballet promoted Clarke to principal dancer. On 28 and 31 December he performs in Cinderella at the Royal Ballet and Opera, and plays the title role in Pushkin’s Onegin on the opening night, 22 January, and again on 7 and 13 February.