Nathalie Rosenberg is a versatile and expressive dancer who is much in demand. In order to survive in the dance industry, you need sensitivity, stamina and intractable determination, all of which are qualities which Nathalie has been developing and refining since she was a child.

You have to catch Nathalie Rosenberg on the move, in this case on her way back from a rehearsal for the Melodifestival 2007. However, there is nothing fleeting or transitory about her as a person. On the contrary, she has a strong presence.

Nathalie's main strength is that she is a powerful, versatile and technical dancer who is just as much at home with hip hop as with ballet.
"I set high standards for myself and always give one hundred percent," says Nathalie. "It's all about being honest with yourself and with the audience. On stage I have to produce the essence of Nathalie on that day and nothing else."

Nathalie has always expressed herself using her body. She started dancing when she was sixteen and before that she had tried a number of different sports. She explains that, because of the sport, she has a very strong body which allows her to do a lot of dancing without suffering injuries.

A supple young woman with a will of iron…
It was her father who laid the foundations for her determined attitude. He told her to swim to the other side of the beach when she had only just learned how to swim. He also put her on skis when she could barely walk.

"I learnt that limitations are things that you create for yourself. They don't really exist. That had a big impact on me."

Nathalie grew up in Italy and Spain and speaks five languages. She moved to Sweden when she was sixteen. That's when she started to dance and she put everything into her dancing.
"While my friends were sitting around in cafes, I was going to dance lessons. Because I had moved around so much as a child, I had to find my own inner strength. I don't follow the herd. I go my own way. If you want to dance, you have to commit yourself, not sit around drinking coffee."

"Everything has its downside," says Nathalie, who, because of her dancing, hasn't been able to spend as much time with her family as she'd like.
"But I get real buzz out of my job. I have butterflies in my stomach every day! Dance is meditation and medicine for me. I've had a lot to deal with in my life and dance has also been important in that respect."

… and a warm heart in a tough industry
Now Nathalie is increasingly working as a choreographer and, as an organiser, she is both loving and demanding.
"We need more warmth in this industry. Dancers often feel as if they are dispensable because the competition is so tough and that's why I want to treat every dancer with affection."

Dancers have to be supple, cool, attractive, slim, muscular, graceful, agile and strong. It's important to stay at your peak. Skimping on practice is impossible for a professional dancer. Nathalie takes between six and ten lessons a week, in addition to rehearsals for performances. The fact that the dance industry is demanding doesn't deter Nathalie. Quite the contrary.
"I work on the basis that the industry is tough and when things are at their toughest I'm at my best!"

It's also important to be able to relax now and then, and Nathalie wants to spend more time on relaxation using meditation and yoga. This will help her to find more of what's most important to her: her inner strength.