Inside The Royal Ballet Principal Marianela Nuñez’s Dance Bag

This story originally appeared in the December 2015/January 2016 issue of
Pointe.

When Marianela Nuñez isn’t in rehearsal, there’s a good chance you’ll find her in her dressing room sewing pointe shoes. “I go through a lot of shoes—usually two pairs a day,” said the Argentine-born Royal Ballet principal during last summer’s U.S. tour. “And if I’m doing a full-length like Don Q, I go through three pairs a night.” Nuñez has her sewing down to a 20-minute science (darning included). “It’s quiet time for me—I find it quite therapeutic.”

Nuñez keeps most of her daily essentials in her tidy London dressing room. “It’s so cute—I have a little fridge and a small sofa bed. I’m a bit OCD, too,” she says, laughing, “so everything is in its proper place.” But on tour, she carries her supplies in her high-end leather tote. “This was a present from a friend,” says Nuñez. “It’s quite posh for a ballet bag, but it’s actually very strong.” And one thing you’ll always find stashed inside is a quilted vest from Uniqlo. “I am always cold, no matter where I am in the world, so these vests are always with me.”

Photo by Kyle Froman for Pointe.

The Goods

Clockwise from left: Bamford leather bag; Uniqlo quilted vest; mini massage roller (“It’s quite cute. I have a pink one, as well”); sewing bag; darning thread; tote bag with footcare essentials (“I get a lot of hard corns, because my second toe is longer than the others. I have everything here—scissors, tape, softening liquid—to keep them under control”); legwarmers (“a ballet dancer’s best friend”); Coco Chanel perfume (“You always have to have perfume with you! I keep one in my handbag, too”); TheraBand; Emergen-C packets; massage balls; ballet slippers; pointe shoes.