Spanish ballet star, Tamara Rojo, shared her secret to rapidly transforming business in a revealing interview with entrepreneur, Charlie Coode.
As the fifth in a series of world-famous professionals interviewed on the Culture de-cooded podcast, Tamara tells Charlie just how she turned pirouettes into profits, changing the face of the English National Ballet [ENB] back in 2012.
The institution was “in decay”, says Tamara, recognising that, as Artistic Director, she would need to shake things up if the ENB was to avoid “losing audiences, losing artists and losing purpose”.
By reintroducing female-written works to the stage and changing the minds of a traditional bunch, she was able to overcome historical hurdles holding things back, driving a new era of industry progress.
“Dancers like discipline”, Tamara explains, adding “they like to be given direction”.
It was this step-by-step attitude she worked hard to renew, seeing how tradition was killing her number-one passion: dance.
Unafraid to make up moves of her own, she reveals: “When they said to me, this is how it’s always been done […] I would say, ‘No, actually. Fifty years ago, that’s how you used to do it’”.
Now the first female Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet, after 30 years of captivating on-stage performance, Tamara has succeeded in improving dancers’ access to physical and mental workplace healthcare, in addition to creating more reasonable expectations from work.
“I don’t actually think I am that ambitious”, Tamara tells Charlie, explaining that it was her curiosity, sense of justice and work with ENB chairman, Justin Bickle, that made the difference.
It’s all about innovation for Tamara, who sees the San Francisco Ballet company much the same as Silicon Valley. They both “have that innovative hunger”, she explains, sharing her ambition of consolidating the culture she already created.
Tamara’s full story – “Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of the San Francisco Ballet” can be heard in episode five of Culture de-cooded, available on all major podcast channels.
In addition to sharing inspiring insights into the world’s most influential business people, cultural strategist turned podcast host, Charlie, founded his own SaaS platform – Culture15 – for measuring and managing business culture.