text: In total, she performed more than 80 different roles and 17 roles were created for her. In Sleeping Beauty alone, she performed Aurora in four different productions, one of which was Sir Anthony Dowell's production which she opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. in front of President Clinton. She made several guest appearances with the New York City Ballet, starting in June 1993, with a performance of the pas de deux from Agon.
  She retired from ballet on 8 June 2007 with a performance of MacMillan's Song of the Earth (music Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde). It was performed at the Royal Opera House in London, and broadcast live on BBC Two. Bussell is widely regarded as one of the finest British ballerinas.
  In 2012 Bussell participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, leading a troupe of 200 ballerinas and 4 male dancers from the Royal Ballet. The performance was known as "the Spirit of the Flame" and preceded the official dousing of the Olympic flame.
  Bussell performed the role of the mayor in the 2021 ballet film, Coppelia, a modern adaptation of the E.T.A. Hoffmann story combining live dance with animation.
  Bussell was announced as the first female chair of the Board of Trustees of Plymouth Theatre Royal in March 2023.
  Other ventures