It’s hard to imagine Tamara Rojo, prima ballerina at the Royal Ballet, giving private dances to select individuals. Naturally authoritative, with a polished yet unfussy beauty, Rojo is used to a grand stage. So the idea that last year she and members of the Royal Ballet company performed for Chancellor George Osborne, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and a group of potential arts donors at Downing Street brings up incongruous images of a woman of poise in a stuffy wood-panelled room trying chaînés over the walnut floors and grands-jetés around a long wooden dinner table.
“Funnily enough, Jeremy Hunt organised a performance in Number 11 to promote philanthropy,” Rojo explains. “He asked me to perform in it, which I did. Very ironic,” she says, referring to Osborne’s budget this year, which capped tax relief on charitable giving at £50,000, leaving art organisations believing that philanthropy to their industry will suffer.

Osborne is a fan of Rojo. Last year he went to see one of Rojo’s shows and she has met him “a couple of times,” she confirms, …….