Anastasia Volochkova was born in Saint Petersburg and fell in love with dance at the age of five when her mother took her to see The Nutcracker.

Her tip for those learning English is initiative. "It's very necessary to be a teacher for yourself. To force yourself, not (having) somebody stay and say 'learn English! Learn English!'"

English served her well when she toured internationally with the Mariinsky Ballet and the Bolshoi. She started her solo career in the late 1990s and went on to dance with the New National Theatre Ballet Tokyo, the Bordeaux Ballet and the English National Ballet.