Studying at the Royal Conservatoire can get you anywhere, something Elaine Meijerink noticed last year. She replied to a message from a casting agency and now she's got one of the main roles in the new Dutch movie Piece of My Heart, which will premiere in the autumn of 2022.

The movie tells the story of an ultimate friendship between Irma and Olga and takes place in the ambitious dance world of classical ballet in the licentious seventies in Amsterdam. The other main role is played by Roos Englebert. She also studied at Royal Conservatoire Dance. Elaine tells us about her experiences.

How did Piece of My Heart come your way?
Actually, I was not dealing with the movie scene at all, so it was quite a weird moment when the casting agency sent me a message via Instagram. I remember that I even doubted whether it was real.

From the moment that I sent an email that I was interested, everything went really smooth. First, I had to send some video's of me improvising, that way they could get to know me a bit. Already quite soon they put me in a casting together with Roos. I knew her from school, but she was 2 years above me. We connected very well with each other and the film.

You come from the world of the ballet did you need much time to get used to the world of film?
I certainly needed some time to settle down. I had no experience at all in acting. So for me, the casting was terrifying, I didn't know what I was doing. Luckily we had a very calm process towards the film. The castings were in December last year and the shooting period was from July till the end of September. In January I knew I got the role and from February onwards we started the dance rehearsals with Igone de Jongh, bus also with acting lessons by Saskia Temmink. We got quite some time for that. For me, that was very necessary because I really needed to get used to the idea of acting. I needed to learn to let go. In dance, you also have personal input, but that's on a whole different level. With acting you are very free, emotions should be all over the place. That was a big step for me.

You got one of the main roles. Roos Englebert, who also studied at the Royal Conservatoire got the other one. How was it to collaborate with her?
We already knew each other. So from the beginning, it was already much fun. There was a good vibe between us. Together we stumbled into a different world. It was good to be in the same situation together. With a movie like this, you get to know each other very well, that is special. We will always have this as a connection between us.

Which skills you learned during your studies were at good use shooting the movie?
If you are working on something with discipline from a very young age, I think because of that you already learn to work seriously and motivated. Of course, that was really useful in the film. You have to be set and ready to go at any time. The shooting periods were scheduled so full, that you can't do anything different than going on full power. It helped me that I was already used to that.
To be able to work seriously and concentrated is something that really helped me. But of course also everything I did in dancing.
That is why they chose us in the first place because we are dancers, not actors. They could make a very realistic image. That is also why Roos and I could really give a lot of input.

In this article, Elaine tells more about herself and her studies at the dance department.

In this article, you'll find more information about the movie.

Foto: Bert Pot