Dancer Rishan Benjamin is hoping to work magic – with some help from her lucky red head scarf – when she makes her debut in the “biggest role of her career” as The Snow Queen in Scottish Ballet’s hugely popular work.
The rising dance star will step out in the principal role at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen this week and at Eden Court in Inverness next, and can’t wait to thrill audiences in both venues.
“I’ve got my debut as the Snow Queen in Aberdeen, which I’m extremely excited about,” said Rishan, who joined Scottish Ballet in 2018 after training at London’s Central School Of Ballet.
“I’d say I’m more excited than nervous because it’s a huge part, probably the biggest role I’ve ever done in my career.”
Rishan will wear lucky red headscarf for Aberdeen and Inverness shows
She will be turning to a pre-show ritual before her performances in both Aberdeen and Inverness – wearing her trusty red headscarf for at least an hour beforehand for “extra luck”.
“I’ve had to replace my old red headscarf with a new one because it got a bit rusty, but it’s something I have to do before each show. It’s sort of automatic, I have it in my bag and just chuck it on. It’s mainly to keep my hair neat, but it does give me some good luck.”
Rishan, however, isn’t just depending on luck for her role as the icy villain at the heart of the story.
“I’ve been doing extra work behind the scenes, like cardio, strength and condition work just to make sure I’m strong and the stamina is up to scratch for the role because it is quite demanding in terms of stamina and technical difficulty,” she said.
The Snow Queen, choreographed by Chris Hampson, CEO and artistic director of Scottish Ballet, is a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic story, which was also the inspiration for Disney’s Frozen. So is Rishan channelling her inner Elsa for the role?
“To be completely honest, no. Only because she has some kind of innocence and with this Snow Queen, for my version, I’m going with sassy evil – although she does have a soft side,” said the dancer.
Rishan will channel her ‘inner sassiness’ for Snow Queen role
As well as the rigours of dancing, acting plays a massive role in portraying the Snow Queen and Rishan has been putting in the hours to get it just right before she appears in two performances at His Majesty’s and two at Eden Court.
“I just turn on my inner sassiness, because I quite like to be sassy on stage. So when I’m rehearsing or even at home, I’ll sometimes sit down and listen to the music and automatically start going through certain sessions acting-wise,” she said.
“I’ll look in the mirror and practice some facial expressions and play through sections to genuinely act as if I were the Snow Queen.”
The current tour of The Snow Queen has seen some tweaks to the ballet that premiered in 2019, to widespread acclaim from audiences and critics. Chris has “augmented and deepened” both the storytelling and magical elements.
Rishan, says the end result – with the music of Rimsky-Korsakov – is a magical experience for audiences.
“It’s something you’ve never seen before,” she said. “It’s different choreography, it’s not the classics, it has a modern twist and this time round Chris has changed up the choreography. You get a little bit of everything with the Snow Queen.”
Rishan Benjamin feels ‘privileged and lucky’ to be with Scottish Ballet
Rishan said dancing became her passion when she was around 16 years old and was determined to become a ballet dancer.
“It’s not often you get to do your passion as a job or career, so why not?” she said.
“Dance just comes naturally for me. I enjoy music, I’m a very active person and I just enjoy moving my body. I dance a lot at home, if it’s not ballet, I’m popping and locking in my room in front of a mirror. I just need to feel active and ballet does that for me.”
And she has loved her time with Scottish Ballet having been invited to join our national dance company after being auditioned by Chris at her school in London.
“It has been great. It’s been a smooth sailing run for me and I’m very privileged and lucky with a lot of things I have achieved and the opportunities I’ve been given in the time I’ve been here,” said Rishan.
Her best experience has been dancing the role of Swanhilda, in Scottish Ballet’s recent remarkable reworking of Coppelia.
“That was a surreal experience. I can’t even fully describe it. It’s something I never thought I would feel on stage, but I did.”
Rishan will be returning to the world of Coppelia almost as soon as the curtain falls on The Snow Queen when the ballet has a run at Sadler’s Wells in March.
Rishan ready to ‘tear up’ after her debut at HMT and Eden Court
And as for her ultimate ambition, Rishan – a self-confessed perfectionist – has a clear and singular aim.
“My ultimate ambition would be to get my technique to a standard where I’m actually satisfied with it. Not that it’s bad, but I’m quite hard on myself. I know what I want to see from myself.”
And dancing The Snow Queen in Aberdeen and Inverness will be a big step towards that.
So how will she feel when she steps off stage as the curtain comes down on her big debut?
“I’ll probably tear up a little bit. I don’t normally, I’m not a crier. But I think with this role because it’s so huge, probably the biggest one of my career so far, I will probably get quite emotional, but also quite fulfilled.”
How to get tickets for The Snow Queen at HMT and Eden Court
Scottish Ballet’s The Snow Queen is at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from Wednesday January 18 to Saturday January 21. For more information and tickets visit aberdeenperformingarts.com
The Snow Queen will be at Eden Court in Inverness from Wednesday January 25 to Saturday January 28. For more information and tickets visit eden-court.co.uk
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