Julie Felix MBE: My Glorious Failures

"Hello, I'm Julie Felix, and I am an Honorary Fellow of Falmouth University, and an MBE.

Most of my life, I have to say, has been glorious failures.

When I was 17 years old and I had the opportunity to work with Nureyev, who was one of the greatest male dancers. The director asked to see me with the director of my ballet school, and said that they would really like to offer me a contract. I was absolutely ecstatic.

She said, however, your colour of your skin is not going to allow us to put you in as a corp de ballet member because you'd mess up the line of the White Swans, therefore, we're not going to be able to offer you a contract.

To begin with, you think to yourself, 'I failed. What am I going to do?' You do take it personally: on one hand, I was good enough and you were going to offer me a contract. But then I failed myself.

But how can I fail myself by being 'the wrong colour'?

I thought I'm not going to let this get the better of me. I am not going to fail in something that I have wanted to do since I was seven years old.

I went back to my ballet school and I thought, I'm going to use this time, and I'm going to work really hard and become even better.

And as fortune had it, a ballet company called the Dance Theater of Harlem were invited to perform at the Royal Variety Performance for the Queen.

So I did an audition, and the director of the ballet company, Arthur Mitchell, offered me a contract right then and there. But instead of saying yes, I said, 'no thanks', and I went back to my ballet teacher. He said, "darling, darling, how could you say no? You never turn a contract down!" And I just, I thought, oh no, what am I going to do?

The ballet company came back and did a season at Sadler's Wells. So I thought, right, I'm going to ask if I can come back again and do another audition. The director came straight up to me and he said, what are you here for now? I said, I'd like to audition again, please.

And he said, "I'll offer you a contract, but if you fail me, if you say no, don't bother to come back again." Well, what do you think I said then?

Yes, please!

I graduated and I finished my three years at ballet school and embarked upon getting myself over to New York City. And I thought, I'm going to become a stronger, better person and I'm going to become a huge success.

Whatever it takes."