for his profession and for the wider world of ballet about how to look after a younger generation of dancers? steven mcrae, welcome to hardtalk. we are here at the royal ballet and opera in london, which has been your professional home for many years now, and you're about to go back on stage as the mad hatter in alice's adventures in wonderland. tell me first how this adventure began for you, the world of ballet, because you grew up far away from here. yes, so i grew up in the outskirts of sydney, australia, probably the furthest you could possibly get from the royal opera house here in london. i grew up in a motorsport family. my father was a drag racer. my father was an incredibly clever man who would create any parts with his own bare hands that he couldn't afford to purchase or to import. but i obviously grew up watching him pursue a passion. my sister did a lot of gymnastics, a bit of dancing, and as a seven—year—old, i asked my father if i could have a go. i wanted to go to a dance lesson, and my mother and father didn't even question any of it — bearing in mind we didn't go to the theatre, we didn't go to galleries, or... i was not exposed to the arts. but they

for his profession and for the wider world of ballet about how to look after a younger generation of dancers? steven mcrae, welcome to hardtalk. we're here at the royal ballet and operasibly get from the royal opera house here in london. i grew up in a motorsport family. my father was a drag racer. my father was an incredibly clever man who would create any parts with his own bare hands that he couldn't afford to purchase or to import. but i obviously grew up watching him pursue a passion.