Royal Ballet, London
Encyclopedia
The Royal Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet
company, based at the Royal Opera House
in Covent Garden
, London
, England
. The largest of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois, it became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946 and was granted a Royal Charter
in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship national ballet company.
The Royal Ballet was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, and continues to be one of the world's most famous ballet companies to this day, generally noted for its artistic and creative values. The company employs approximately 100 dancers and has purpose built facilities within the Royal Opera House. The official associate school of the company is the Royal Ballet School
, and it also has a sister company, the Birmingham Royal Ballet
, which operates independently. The Prima Ballerina Assoluta
of the Royal Ballet is the late Dame Margot Fonteyn.
-born dancer Ninette de Valois
founded the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls. Her intention was to form a repertory ballet company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer
and theatre owner Lilian Baylis
. Baylis owned the Old Vic
and Sadler's Wells theatres and in 1925 she engaged de Valois to stage dance performances at both venues.
Sadler's Wells reopened in 1931 and the Vic-Wells Ballet and Vic-Wells Ballet School were established in premises at the theatre. These would become the predecessors of today's Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet
and Royal Ballet School
. Prior to her return to Britain, Ninette de Valois had been a member of the Ballets Russes
, one of the most renowned and influential ballet companies of the 20th century. The company disbanded in 1929 following the death of its founder Serge Diaghilev. When de Valois formed the Vic-Wells Ballet, she employed some of the company's former stars, including Alicia Markova
and Anton Dolin
, who joined as Principal dancers, and Tamara Karsavina
, who worked with the company as an advisor. The Founder Musical Director was the conductor and composer Constant Lambert
who had considerable artistic as well as musical influence over the early years of the company.
After losing the link with the Old Vic theatre, in 1939 the company was renamed Sadler's Wells Ballet and the school became Sadler's Wells Ballet School. Both continued at Sadler's Wells theatre until 1946, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company of the newly re-opened Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, under the direction of David Webster
. The company relocated to the opera house the same year in 1946, with their first production at the venue being The Sleeping Beauty.
Following the relocation of the company, the school moved to its own premises in 1947. A sister company was established to continue performances at Sadler's Wells, called Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, under the direction of John Field
. In 1955, the sister company temporarily lost its link with Sadler's Wells and returned to the Royal Opera House as a touring unit of the main company.
In 1956, a Royal Charter was granted for both companies and the school: they were subsequently renamed the Royal Ballet, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School.
The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells theatre in 1970, whilst continuing to tour the country, however in 1987, the company was invited to be come the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome
. It relocated to Birmingham
in 1990, being renamed Birmingham Royal Ballet
and it ceased to be part of the Royal Ballet in 1997 when it was made independent of the Royal Opera House, with Sir Peter Wright as Artistic Director. Birmingham Royal Ballet retains close relationships with both the Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School, although it now has its own associate ballet school, Elmhurst School for Dance
.
In 1964 the Royal Ballet established "Ballet for All" under the direction of Peter Brinson. Between 1964 and 1979 "Ballet for All" toured throughout the country presenting around 150 performances per year and reaching around 70,000 people each year. In 1976 the Royal Opera House established its schools matinee programme.
Today, the Royal Ballet remains the resident ballet company at the Royal Opera House, conducting its own tours internationally and it continues to be the parent company of the Royal Ballet School, which is now based at White Lodge, Richmond Park and premises in Floral Street
which are adjacent to and have direct access to the Royal Opera House.
and Lev Ivanov
, which were central to the repertory of the Imperial Russian Ballet. To stage these ballets with her newly formed company, de Valois employed Nicholas Sergeyev, a former régisseur of the Imperial. He staged productions of Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty; Petipa and Ivanov's Swan Lake
and The Nutcracker
; Petipa and Cecchetti
's production of Coppélia
; and Petipa's Giselle
. Created with the aid of choreographic notation written in St. Petersburg at the turn of the 20th century, these works have been included in the repertoire of the Royal Ballet ever since. The company now uses Peter Wright's 1984 production of The Nutcracker, which uses some of Sergeyev's notation. Sergeyev's revivals of these ballets in London are regarded as the foundation point of the traditional classical ballet repertoire, and led to their being restaged throughout the world. Sergeyev is considered to have made one of the most significant contributions to the popularity of ballet worldwide. His choreographic notation and other materials relating to it have been preserved in the Sergeyev Collection
, part of the theatre collection of the Harvard University Library.
, was invited to become one of the founder dancers of the Royal Ballet. She was designated the company's first Prima Ballerina, and was later recognised as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta. Margot Fonteyn spent her entire career dancing with the company and was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta by Queen Elizabeth II. Alessandra Ferri
began her career with the Royal Ballet; she was later appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan
. The Royal Ballet has staged performances by Roberto Bolle
, one of the male dancers to hold the nearest male equivalent of the title, Etoile (Star) of La Scala Theatre Ballet, title also used at the Paris Opera Ballet.
The Royal Ballet also has special ranks for visiting dancers, they are "guest artist and "principal guest artist".
The company also has an Executive, Artistic and Music staff, including the following:
at the Royal Opera House in 1986. His numerous ballets have since been staged by leading dance companies worldwide and feature strongly in the programming of the Royal Ballet today.
Although a talented dancer, MacMillan is best known for his choreography, and particularly for his work with the Royal Ballet. He also worked with the American Ballet Theatre (1956-7) and the Deutsche Oper, Berlin (1966–69). He succeeded Frederick Ashton as Director of the Royal Ballet in 1970 and resigned after seven years, frustrated at balancing the conflicting demands of creating ballets with administration. He continued as Principal Choreographer to the Royal Ballet until his death in 1992.
His full-length works include:
MacMillan's one-act ballets include:
. McGregor was appointed Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet in 2006, the first person to hold the post in sixteen years, and the first to be selected from the world of contemporary dance
.
and Rudolph Nureyev would form what has been called the greatest ballet partnership of all time. The partnership would lead to both dancers being noted amongst the most famous ballet dancers of all time and came at the peak of what is now widely regarded as the most successful period in the Royal Ballet's history.
On March 12, 1963, the couple premiered Sir Frederick Ashton
's Marguerite and Armand, the first ballet created for them and one which become their signature piece. Performed to a piece of piano music by Franz Liszt
, the ballet starts with Marguerite on her deathbed, and the story is told in flashback until the moment Armand arrives to hold her for the last time before she dies. Ashton had planned the piece specifically for Fonteyn, and it was critically acclaimed as Fonteyn's dramatic peak, with fifty photographers attending the dress rehearsal and twenty-one curtain calls at the premiere performance. The final performance of the ballet starring Fonteyn and Nureyev was staged at a gala at the London Coliseum in 1977 and it was not performed again until 2003. Against the wishes of Frederick Ashton that it not be performed by any other dancers than Fonteyn and Nureyev, it was revived as part of a Royal Ballet triple-bill, starring Nureyev's protegee Sylvie Guillem
and the Royal Ballet star Jonathan Cope.
The Fonteyn-Nureyev partnership lasted for many years until Fonteyn's retirement from the Royal Ballet in 1979, aged 60. In 1970 after Frederick Ashton retired as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet, there were many calls for Nureyev to be announced as his successor. However, Kenneth MacMillan was given the position, and Nureyev left the Royal Ballet as a Principal soon after to be a guest dancer internationally, later becoming Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Ballet in 1983. Fonteyn and Nureyev had a lifelong relationship both on and offstage and were close friends until Fonteyn's death in 1991. Nureyev is quoted as saying of the partnership that they danced with "one body, one soul".
, Australia in 1952, Ross Stretton
trained at the Australian Ballet School
, later becoming a Principal dancer with the Australian Ballet company. He then moved to America, where he danced with the Joffrey Ballet
and as a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre
before retiring as a dancer in 1990. He was appointed Regisseur of American Ballet Theatre, becoming Assistant Director of the company in 1993. After returning to Australia, he was Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet from 1997-2001.
Following Sir Anthony Dowell's retirement as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet in 2001, the board of the Royal Opera House announced Stretton as his successor, with a three year contract, however he resigned the post after 13 months, in September 2002. Stretton's appointment and subsequent departure from the Royal Ballet generated an unprecedented level of media attention for the Royal Ballet in recent years, due to controversy caused by his management of the company. Following his resignation, Stretton returned to Australia where he worked as a teacher and consultant until his death from cancer in 2005.
A number of controversial issues and allegations as well as resistance to organisational change lead to Stretton's departure from the Royal Ballet:
, published an article announcing that the Royal Ballet's Principal dancer Johan Kobborg
may be the primary candidate to become the next Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet when Monica Mason
's tenure as Director ends in 2012. Mason has been Director of the Royal Ballet since 2002, following the brief Directorship of the late Ross Stretton
. Mason was due to leave the Royal Ballet in 2010, but her contract has been extended until 2012, when London will host the Olympic Games
. Johan Kobborg joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal in 1999 and continues to be one of the companies leading stars. In 2007, he turned down the invitation to bid for the Directorship of the Royal Danish Ballet
but in the article he is quoted as saying of the Royal Ballet:
are currently in the planning stages of a new development known as Royal Opera House, Manchester. The proposal is for the Palace Theatre
in Manchester
to receive an £80m refurbishment, creating a first-class theatre capable of staging productions by both the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera. The Royal Opera House would take residence of the theatre for an annual 18 week season, staging 16 performances by the Royal Opera, 28 performances by the Royal Ballet and other small scale productions. The proposals would establish the Palace Theatre as a designated base for the Royal Opera House companies in the North of England, as a producing house for new ballet and opera, and as a training centre for all aspects of theatre production. The proposals could potentially lead to the creation of 700 hundred jobs for local people.
The proposals have been approved by Andy Burnham MP the Secretary of State for Culture, and accepted by a number of public bodies. However the plans are currently being revised to address the concerns put forward by those who are opposed to the plans. Issues that have been raised include:
Classical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
company, based at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The largest of the four major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois, it became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946 and was granted a Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship national ballet company.
The Royal Ballet was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, and continues to be one of the world's most famous ballet companies to this day, generally noted for its artistic and creative values. The company employs approximately 100 dancers and has purpose built facilities within the Royal Opera House. The official associate school of the company is the Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
, and it also has a sister company, the Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
, which operates independently. The Prima Ballerina Assoluta
Prima ballerina assoluta
Prima ballerina assoluta is a rank or title given to notable female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta is a very rare honour, reserved only for the most exceptional soloists, usually those who have achieved international acclaim....
of the Royal Ballet is the late Dame Margot Fonteyn.
History
In 1926, the IrishIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-born dancer Ninette de Valois
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...
founded the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls. Her intention was to form a repertory ballet company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
and theatre owner Lilian Baylis
Lilian Baylis
Lilian Mary BaylisCH was an English theatrical producer and manager. She managed the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres in London, and ran an opera company, which became the English National Opera , a theatre company, which evolved into the English National Theatre, and a ballet company, which...
. Baylis owned the Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
and Sadler's Wells theatres and in 1925 she engaged de Valois to stage dance performances at both venues.
Sadler's Wells reopened in 1931 and the Vic-Wells Ballet and Vic-Wells Ballet School were established in premises at the theatre. These would become the predecessors of today's Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
and Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
. Prior to her return to Britain, Ninette de Valois had been a member of the Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
, one of the most renowned and influential ballet companies of the 20th century. The company disbanded in 1929 following the death of its founder Serge Diaghilev. When de Valois formed the Vic-Wells Ballet, she employed some of the company's former stars, including Alicia Markova
Alicia Markova
Dame Alicia Markova, DBE, DMus, was an English ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internationally, she was widely considered to be one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of the...
and Anton Dolin
Anton Dolin
Sir Anton Dolin was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay but was generally known as Patrick Kay. He joined Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921, was a principal there from 1924, and was a principal...
, who joined as Principal dancers, and Tamara Karsavina
Tamara Karsavina
Tamara Platonovna Karsavina was a famous Russian ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was most noted as a Principal Artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev...
, who worked with the company as an advisor. The Founder Musical Director was the conductor and composer Constant Lambert
Constant Lambert
Leonard Constant Lambert was a British composer and conductor.-Early life:Lambert, the son of Russian-born Australian painter George Lambert, was educated at Christ's Hospital and the Royal College of Music...
who had considerable artistic as well as musical influence over the early years of the company.
After losing the link with the Old Vic theatre, in 1939 the company was renamed Sadler's Wells Ballet and the school became Sadler's Wells Ballet School. Both continued at Sadler's Wells theatre until 1946, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company of the newly re-opened Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, under the direction of David Webster
David Webster (opera manager)
Sir David Webster was the chief executive of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 1945 to 1970. He played a key part in the establishment of the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera companies....
. The company relocated to the opera house the same year in 1946, with their first production at the venue being The Sleeping Beauty.
Following the relocation of the company, the school moved to its own premises in 1947. A sister company was established to continue performances at Sadler's Wells, called Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, under the direction of John Field
John Field (dancer)
John Field was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, director and teacher. He was a renowned member of the Vic-Wells Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet and was also Artistic Director of the La Scala Theatre Ballet.- Biography :Born John Greenfield in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1921,...
. In 1955, the sister company temporarily lost its link with Sadler's Wells and returned to the Royal Opera House as a touring unit of the main company.
In 1956, a Royal Charter was granted for both companies and the school: they were subsequently renamed the Royal Ballet, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School.
The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells theatre in 1970, whilst continuing to tour the country, however in 1987, the company was invited to be come the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome
Birmingham Hippodrome
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including visiting opera and ballet companies, touring West End...
. It relocated to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in 1990, being renamed Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
and it ceased to be part of the Royal Ballet in 1997 when it was made independent of the Royal Opera House, with Sir Peter Wright as Artistic Director. Birmingham Royal Ballet retains close relationships with both the Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School, although it now has its own associate ballet school, Elmhurst School for Dance
Elmhurst School for Dance
Elmhurst School for Dance is one of the foremost classical ballet schools in the United Kingdom and is the official associate school of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. First established in Camberley, Surrey, the school is the oldest established vocational dance school in the United Kingdom and...
.
In 1964 the Royal Ballet established "Ballet for All" under the direction of Peter Brinson. Between 1964 and 1979 "Ballet for All" toured throughout the country presenting around 150 performances per year and reaching around 70,000 people each year. In 1976 the Royal Opera House established its schools matinee programme.
Today, the Royal Ballet remains the resident ballet company at the Royal Opera House, conducting its own tours internationally and it continues to be the parent company of the Royal Ballet School, which is now based at White Lodge, Richmond Park and premises in Floral Street
Floral Street
Floral Street is a street located in the Covent Garden area of London. It runs east from Garrick Street to Bow Street and contains a number of fashion stores, including Paul Smith.-History:...
which are adjacent to and have direct access to the Royal Opera House.
Sergeyev
During its formative years, the Sadler's Wells Ballet would become one of the first ballet companies outside the Soviet Union to stage full productions of ballets by Marius PetipaMarius Petipa
Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
and Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet....
, which were central to the repertory of the Imperial Russian Ballet. To stage these ballets with her newly formed company, de Valois employed Nicholas Sergeyev, a former régisseur of the Imperial. He staged productions of Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty; Petipa and Ivanov's Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
and The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
; Petipa and Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in...
's production of Coppélia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
; and Petipa's Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
. Created with the aid of choreographic notation written in St. Petersburg at the turn of the 20th century, these works have been included in the repertoire of the Royal Ballet ever since. The company now uses Peter Wright's 1984 production of The Nutcracker, which uses some of Sergeyev's notation. Sergeyev's revivals of these ballets in London are regarded as the foundation point of the traditional classical ballet repertoire, and led to their being restaged throughout the world. Sergeyev is considered to have made one of the most significant contributions to the popularity of ballet worldwide. His choreographic notation and other materials relating to it have been preserved in the Sergeyev Collection
Sergeyev Collection
The Sergeyev Collection is a collection of choreographic notation, music, photos, décor and costume designs, theatre programs and various other materials relating to the repertory of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at the turn of the 20th century...
, part of the theatre collection of the Harvard University Library.
Prima Ballerina Assoluta
The Royal Ballet is one of the few ballet companies in the world to have staged performances by three dancers considered to be Prima Ballerinas Assoluta, the two 20th-century dancers having studied at the Royal Ballet School. The first was Dame Alicia Markova who, having been mentored by Ninette de Valois as a member of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets RussesBallets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
, was invited to become one of the founder dancers of the Royal Ballet. She was designated the company's first Prima Ballerina, and was later recognised as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta. Margot Fonteyn spent her entire career dancing with the company and was appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta by Queen Elizabeth II. Alessandra Ferri
Alessandra Ferri
Alessandra Ferri is a retired Italian prima ballerina assoluta. She received her training at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School...
began her career with the Royal Ballet; she was later appointed Prima Ballerina Assoluta of La Scala Theatre Ballet in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. The Royal Ballet has staged performances by Roberto Bolle
Roberto Bolle
Roberto Bolle is an Italian ballet dancer. He is currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and also holds guest artist status with The Royal Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet, making regular appearances with both companies.- Overview :...
, one of the male dancers to hold the nearest male equivalent of the title, Etoile (Star) of La Scala Theatre Ballet, title also used at the Paris Opera Ballet.
Structure
The Royal Ballet has six ranks of dancers in ascending order:- Artist: the lowest rank in the company and dancers at this level form the Corps de balletCorps de balletIn ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
. There are more dancers at Artist level than any other rank in the Royal Ballet and nearly all are trained at the Royal Ballet School, with most graduates of the school entering the company at this level. - First Artist: a rank for the most senior members of the Corps de Ballet. Dancers at this level have the opportunity to perform some of the Corps de Ballet's more featured rôles, such as the Dance of the Cygnets in Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
. First Artists will occasionally be cast in minor Soloist rôles if they are being considered for promotion. - Soloist: there are normally 15-20 soloists in the company. As the title suggests, dancers at this level perform the majority of the solo and minor rôles in a ballet, such as MercutioMercutioMercutio a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. He is a close friend of Romeo, and Romeo's cousin Benvolio, and also a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, being neither a Montague nor a Capulet, Mercutio is one of the few in Verona...
in Romeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)Romeo and Juliet is a ballet by Sergei Prokofiev based on William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. It is one of the most enduringly popular ballets...
or one of the Fairies in The Sleeping Beauty. - First soloist: the rank where dancers are being considered for promotion to principal level. A dancer at this rank will dance a varied repertoire of the most featured soloist rôles, whilst understudying and having the opportunity to perform leading rôles when a Principal dancer is either injured or unavailable.
- Principal character artist: the rank given to members of the company who perform important character rôles in a ballet. These rôles are normally very theatrical and often include character danceCharacter danceCharacter Dance is a specific subdivision of Classical Dance. It is the stylised representation of a traditional folk or national dance,mostly from a European country, and uses movements and music which have been adapted for the theatre....
and ballet mimeMimeThe word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
. Examples include CarabosseWicked fairy godmotherThe wicked fairy godmother, a figure rare in fairy tales, is nevertheless among best-known figures from such tales because of her appearance in one of the most widely known tales, Sleeping Beauty, and in the ballet derived from it...
in The Sleeping Beauty or Drosselmeyer in The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
. Most Principal Character Artists in the Royal Ballet are older dancers who have been high ranking members of the company. - Principal: the highest rank in the Royal Ballet and dancers at this level generally perform the leading and most featured rôles in a ballet. To be a principal is to be recognised as one of the leading dancers in the company and a number of the world's most celebrated dancers have been principals with the company.
The Royal Ballet also has special ranks for visiting dancers, they are "guest artist and "principal guest artist".
The Company
The Royal Ballet employs approximately 100 dancers and a complete list is shown below.The company also has an Executive, Artistic and Music staff, including the following:
- Director - Dame Monica MasonMonica MasonDame Monica Mason DBE is a ballet dancer and has been the director of The Royal Ballet, since 2002.-Early life:Monica Margaret Mason was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1941...
DBE, a graduate of the Royal Ballet School and former Principal dancer and Senior Répétiteur with The Royal Ballet - Associate Director - Jeanetta Laurence, a graduate of the Royal Ballet School and former dancer with the Royal Ballet Touring Company, the New Group and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet
- Administrative Director - Kevin O'HareKevin O'HareKevin O'Hare is a former professional ballet dancer who is now the Administrative Director of The Royal Ballet.-Biography:Kevin was born to Irish parents in Kingston upon Hull , where he trained at the Vera Skelton School of Dance. He also attended classes with Louise Browne, at what would become...
, a graduate of the Royal Ballet School and former dancer with The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet - Music Director – Barry WordsworthBarry WordsworthBarry Wordsworth is a British conductor.From 1989 to 2006, Wordsworth was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and now holds the title of conductor laureate. From 1990 to 1995, Wordsworth was music director of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. He began his second tenure in that post in...
, a British conductor and junior alumnus of the Trinity College of MusicTrinity College of MusicTrinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren... - Company Manager – Andrew Hurst, a Royal Ballet School graduate who was previously General Manager for Phoenix Dance Company.
- Resident Choreographer - Wayne McGregor CBEWayne McGregorWayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer of contemporary modern dance. His work is highly distinctive in its vocabulary of movement, for its integration of dance with film and visual art, and for his active interest and incorporation of computer technology and biological science...
, an award-winning choreographer, most noted in the field of contemporary dance and as Artistic Director of Random Dance company.
Principal Dancers
| Name | Nationality | Training | Other Companies (inc. guest performances) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Acosta Carlos Acosta Carlos Acosta is a Cuban ballet dancer. He has danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre... Principal Guest Artist |
Cuban National Ballet School Cuban National Ballet School The Cuban National Ballet School in Havana, with 4,350 students is the biggest ballet school in the world and the most prestigious ballet school in Cuba, directed by Ramona de Sáa... |
English National Ballet English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the four major ballet companies in Great... National Ballet of Cuba Houston Ballet Houston Ballet The Houston Ballet, operated by the Houston Ballet Foundation, is the fourth-largest professional ballet company in the United States, based in Houston, Texas. The foundation also maintains a ballet academy, the Ben Stevenson Academy, which trains more than half of the company's dancers... |
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| Leanne Benjamin Leanne Benjamin Leanne Benjamin is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.Born in Rockhampton, Australia in 1964, she trained at the Royal Ballet School and won the Adeline Genée Gold Medal and Prix de Lausanne. She joined the Company in 1992 becoming a Principal by the spring of that Season... |
Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet.... English National Ballet English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the four major ballet companies in Great... Deutsche Oper Ballet |
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| Federico Bonelli Federico Bonelli Federico Bonelli is an Italian ballet dancer and a Principal of the Royal Ballet in London, England.-Biography:Federico Bonelli was born in Genoa, Italy. He trained in classical ballet at the Turin Dance Academy before graduating into Zurich Ballet, a professional ballet company based at the... |
Turin Dance Academy | Zürich Ballet Dutch National Ballet Dutch National Ballet Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdams Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company has been directed by Sonia Gaskell , Rudi van Dantzig , Wayne Eagling and is currently directed by Ted Brandsen. It is the largest dance company in the Netherlands and attracts many... |
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| Alina Cojocaru Alina Cojocaru Alina Cojocaru is a female principal dancer with The Royal Ballet of London.-Early years:Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She has one sister. From a young age she studied gymnastics... |
Kiev Ballet School Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
Kiev Ballet | |
| Lauren Cuthbertson Lauren Cuthbertson Lauren Cuthbertson is an English ballerina and a Principal of the Royal Ballet in London, England.-Biography:Lauren Cuthbertson was born in Devon, England... |
Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
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| Mara Galeazzi Mara Galeazzi Mara Galeazzi is an internationally recognized ballet dancer, currently a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London, England.-Biography:... |
La Scala Theatre Ballet School Scuola di Ballo del Teatro alla Scala La Scala Theatre Ballet School is one of the leading classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of La Scala Theatre Ballet, an international ballet company based at La Scala in Milan, Italy... |
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| Nehemiah Kish | National Ballet of Canada School | National Ballet of Canada National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical... Royal Danish Ballet Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, it originates from 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded, and was finally organized in 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and Italian styles of dance... |
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| Johan Kobborg Johan Kobborg Johan Kobborg is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.-Early Life:Johan Kobborg was born in Odense, Denmark into an artistic family; his mother is a former showgirl and actress and his brother is an actor... |
Royal Danish Ballet School Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, it originates from 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded, and was finally organized in 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and Italian styles of dance... |
Royal Danish Ballet | |
| Sarah Lamb Sarah Lamb Sarah Lamb is a principal ballet dancer in the Royal Ballet, London, England. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, she trained with Madame Tatiana Legat at Boston Ballet School. She was awarded a Gold Medal in 1998 by U.S. President Bill Clinton after being named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts... |
Boston Ballet School | Boston Ballet Boston Ballet Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes... |
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| Roberta Marquez | Maria Olenewa State Dance School | Municipal Theatre Ballet, Rio de Janeiro | |
| Steven McRae | Hilary Kaplan Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
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| Laura Morera | Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
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| Marianela Núñez Marianela Nunez Marianela Núñez is an Argentine dancer. She is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London.-Biography:Núñez was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina... |
Colón Theatre Ballet School Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
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| Rupert Pennefather Rupert Pennefather Rupert Pennefather is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet Company. He was promoted to principal status alongside his pas-de-deux partner Lauren Cuthbertson in June 2008, following well-received performances in Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Opera House.... |
Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... The Arts Educational School, Tring Park The Arts Educational School, Tring Park Tring Park School for the Performing Arts is an independent co-educational school specialising in dance and performing arts. The school was renamed in January 2009 and was previously known as the Arts Educational School, Tring Park.-Overview:... |
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| Sergei Polunin Sergei Polunin - Biography :He was born in the Ukraine and joined the British Royal Ballet School in 2003 at the age of 13. He became a First Soloist at the Royal Ballet in 2009.- Work :... |
Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
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| Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo is a Spanish prima ballerina, and is currently a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.Rojo was born in Montreal, Canada, to Spanish parents who moved back to Spain when she was four months old... |
Victor Ullate Ballet School David Howard & Renato Paroni |
English National Ballet English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the four major ballet companies in Great... |
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| Thiago Soares Thiago Soares Thiago Soares is a Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, London.-Biography:Soares trained at the Centre for Dance, Rio de Janeiro before joining the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theatre Ballet in 1998; his repertoire included the Prince in The Nutcracker, Siegfried in Natalia Makarova's Swan Lake,... |
Centre for Dance, Rio de Janeiro | Municipal Theatre Ballet, Rio de Janeiro | |
| Edward Watson Edward Watson (dancer) Edward Watson, born in Bromley, in 1976, trained at The Royal Ballet School, he joined the Royal Ballet company in 1994 he is a principal dancer and at the National Dance Awards in 2008 won 'Best Male Dancer'.-Early years:... |
Royal Ballet School Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London... |
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| Zenaida Yanowsky Zenaida Yanowsky Zenaida Yanowsky is a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.-Early life:Both of her parents, Anatol Yanowsky and Carmen Robles, were dancers with the Lyon Opera Ballet. Later, the family moved to settle in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, where her parents set up a dance school... |
Anatol Yanowsky & Carmen Robles | Paris Opera Ballet Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it... |
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Principal Character Artists
- Gary AvisGary AvisGary Avis is an English ballet dancer and Principal Character Artist with The Royal Ballet, a leading classical ballet company based in London, England. Born in Ipswich, he began studying dance locally at the age of 12, later attending the Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts in Sidcup, Kent...
(Assistant Ballet Master) - Alastair MarriottAlastair MarriottAlastair Marriott is an English ballet dancer and Principal Character Artist of the Royal Ballet-Biography:Marriott was born in St Margaret-at-Cliffe, Kent, England. He began studying dance at the Deal Dance Centre, before entering professional ballet training at the Royal Ballet School...
- Elizabeth McGorian
- Genesia Rosato
- Christopher Saunders (Ballet Master)
First Soloists
- Ricardo Cervera
- Deirdre Chapman
- Yuhui Choe
- Helen Crawford
- Bennet Gartside
- Valeri Hristov
- Hikaru Kobayashi
- José Martin
- Itziar Mendizabal
- Johannes Stepanek
Soloists
- Christina Arestis
- Melissa Hamilton
- Ryoich Hirano
- Jonathan Howells
- Paul Kay
- Kenta Kura
- Iohna Loots
- Emma Maguire
- Brian Maloney
- Laura McCulloch
- Kristen McNally
- David Pickering
- Samantha Raine
- Akane Takada
- Eric Underwood
- Thomas Whitehead
First Artists
- Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani
- Claire Calvert
- Leanne Cope
- Olivia Cowley
- Francesca Filpi
- Nathalie Harrison
- Elizabeth Harrod
- James Hay
- Pietra Mello-Pittman
- Fernando Montaño
- Erico Montes
- Sian Murphy (Assistant Ballet Mistress)
- Ludovic Ondiviela
- Romany Pajdak
- Liam Scarlett
- Michael Stojko
- Dawid Trzensimiech
- Lara Turk
- Andrej Uspenski
- Jonathan Watkins
- Sabina Westcombe
- James Wilkie
- Valentino Zuchetti
Artists
- Ruth Bailey
- Sander Blommaert
- Camille Bracher
- Jacqueline Clark
- Claudia Dean
- Celisa Diuana
- Tristan Dyer
- Benjamin Ella
- Kevin Emerton
- Hayley Forskitt
- Elsa Godard
- Meaghan Grace-Hinkis
- Sung-Woo Han (Prix de Lausanne dancer)
- Francesca Hayward
- Fumi Kaneo
- Tomas Mock
- Yasmine NaghdiYasmine NaghdiYasmine Naghdi is a ballet dancer with The Royal Ballet and winner of the 2009 Young British Dancer of the Year.Born in London, she started training at the Royal Ballet School as a Junior Associate in 2002 and joined The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge, in 2004, aged 12...
- Demelza Parish
- Gemma Pitchley-Gale
- Beatriz Stix-BrunellBeatriz Stix-BrunellBeatriz Stix-Brunell is a ballet dancer presently dancing with The Royal Ballet. She previously danced with Morphoses.Stix-Brunell trained at the School of American Ballet from 2000 to 2005, when she was admitted to L'Ecole de Danse de l'Opera de Paris where she danced in the Demonstrations de...
- Leticia Stock
- Patricia Zhou (Prix de Lausanne dancer)
Repertoire
- Swan LakeSwan LakeSwan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
- GiselleGiselleGiselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
- La Fille mal gardéeLa Fille Mal GardéeLa Fille mal gardée is a comic ballet presented in two acts, inspired by Pierre-Antoine Baudouin's 1789 painting, La réprimande/Une jeune fille querellée par sa mère...
- Onegin
- SylviaSylvia (ballet)Sylvia, originally Sylvia, ou La nymphe de Diane, is a full-length ballet in two or three acts, first choreographed by Louis Mérante to music by Léo Delibes in 1876. Sylvia is a typical classical ballet in many respects, yet it has many interesting features which make it unique...
- The Sleeping Beauty
- CinderellaCinderella"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
- ManonManonManon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
- (L'histoire de ManonL'histoire de ManonL'histoire de Manon is a ballet comprising the music of Jules Massenet, arranged and partially orchestrated by British composer Leighton Lucas, re-orchestrated entirely by conductor Martin Yates in 2011...
) - Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
- (Romeo and Juliet (MacMillan)Romeo and Juliet (MacMillan)In 1965 choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan's production of Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet for the Royal Ballet premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden....
) - MayerlingMayerlingMayerling is a small village in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat River, in the Wienerwald , 15 miles southwest of Vienna...
- The Prince of the PagodasThe Prince of the PagodasThe Prince of the Pagodas is a ballet created for The Royal Ballet in 1957, by choreographer John Cranko, with music commissioned from Benjamin Britten. The ballet was later revived in a new production by Kenneth MacMillan in 1989, achieving widespread acclaim for Darcey Bussell's premiere in a...
- A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country (ballet)A Month in the Country is a narrative ballet created in 1976 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Frédéric Chopin arranged by John Lanchbery...
- Winter DreamsWinter Dreams"Winter Dreams" is a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald that first appeared in Metropolitan Magazine in December 1922, and was collected in All the Sad Young Men in 1926. It is considered one of Fitzgerald's finest stories and is frequently anthologized...
- The Tales of Beatrix PotterThe Tales of Beatrix PotterTales of Beatrix Potter is a 1971 ballet film with a plot based on the children's stories of English author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. The film was directed by Reginald Mills, choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton , and starred artists of the Royal Ballet...
- Peter and the WolfPeter and the WolfPeter and the Wolf , Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story , spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra....
- The NutcrackerThe NutcrackerThe Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
- Les PatineursLes Patineurs (ballet)Les patineurs is a ballet created in 1937 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Giacomo Meyerbeer arranged by Constant Lambert, for the Vic-Wells company, with designs by William Chappell.-Performance history:...
- La ValseLa ValseLa valse, un poème choréographique pour orchestre , is a work written by Maurice Ravel from February 1919 until 1920 ; it was conceived as a ballet but is now more often heard as a concert work...
- Theme and VariationsTheme and Variations (ballet)Theme and Variations is a ballet by George Balanchine to the final movement of Tschaikovsky's Suite No. 3 for Orchestra in G major, Op. 55 . The premiere took place November 26, 1947, with Ballet Theatre at City Center of Music and Drama. Theme and Variations was conceived specially for Alicia...
- Invitus Invitam
- Rhapsody
- SensoriumSensoriumThe term sensorium refers to the sum of an organism's perception, the "seat of sensation" where it experiences and interprets the environments within which it lives. The term originally enters English from the Late Latin in the mid-17th century, from the stem sens-...
- The Rite of SpringThe Rite of SpringThe Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
- Ballo Della ReginaBallo della ReginaBallo della Regina is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine, set to music of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Don Carlos. Its premiere performance was on January 12, 1978, by the New York City Ballet at New York State Theater in Lincoln Center...
- DGV
- Scenes de Ballet (Ashton)Scènes de ballet (Ashton)Scènes de ballet is a one-act ballet choreographed by Frederick Ashton, who created the ballet during 1947–48. The first performance was given at London's Royal Opera House, with music by Igor Stravinsky.-Creation, choreography and design:...
- Voluntaries
- Still Life at the Penguin CafeStill Life at the Penguin CafeStill Life at the Penguin Cafe is the name of a ballet choreographed by David Bintley and featuring music composed by Simon Jeffes, founder of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It is also the title of the accompanying album. Geoffrey Richardson co-wrote one of the pieces.The ballet's debut production...
- Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in WonderlandAlice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures...
- La BayadereLa BayadèreLa Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadère was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...
- The FirebirdThe FirebirdThe Firebird is a 1910 ballet created by the composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Michel Fokine. The ballet is based on Russian folk tales of the magical glowing bird of the same name that is both a blessing and a curse to its captor....
- AgonAgonAgon is an ancient Greek word with several meanings:*In one sense, it meant a contest, competition, especially the Olympic Games , or challenge that was held in connection with religious festivals....
- Symphony in C (ballet)Symphony in C (ballet)Symphony in C, originally titled Le Palais de Cristal, is a ballet made by New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine to Bizet's Symphony in C , which he wrote at the age of 17 while studying with Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatory...
- OndineOndine (ballet)Ondine, ou La naïade is a ballet with choreography by Jules Perrot and music by Cesare Pugni, with a libretto inspired by the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Pugni dedicated his score to the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Augusta, a long-time balletomane and patron of the arts in...
- ConcertoConcertoA concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
- Elite Syncopations
- The Judas TreeThe Judas TreeThe Judas Tree is a 1961 novel by A. J. Cronin. It begins with the story of David Moray, his early career as an ambitious young doctor away on business. He has promised to return to marry a woman he loves, Mary Douglas. Early on in the story he is introduced to successful people and is invited to...
- CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
- LimenLimenIn physiology, psychology, or psychophysics, a limen or a liminal point is a threshold of a physiological or psychological response.Liminal, as an adjective, means situated at a sensory threshold, hence barely perceptible....
- ChromaChroma (ballet)Chroma is a one act contemporary ballet, created by Wayne McGregor for the Royal Ballet. The ballet received its premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 17 November 2006. The ballet is performed to a combination of original music by Joby Talbot and arrangements of music by Jack White...
- Asphodel MeadowsAsphodel MeadowsThe Asphodel Meadows is a section of the Ancient Greek underworld where indifferent and ordinary souls were sent to live after death.-Geography:...
- SphinxSphinxA sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
- As OneAs OneAs One is a Korean pop duo consisting of Korean Americans Min Young Lee and Crystal Chae. Their first hit was the song "너만은 모르길," released in 1999 on Rock Records Between their fourth and fifth albums, their contract with Rock Records expired and they signed with EMI Korea; a label which also...
- Electric CounterpointElectric CounterpointElectric Counterpoint is a minimalist composition written by American composer Steve Reich. The piece consists of three movements, "Fast", "Slow", and "Fast"...
- Tryst
- Song of the EarthSong of the EarthSong of the Earth is a novel by Alexander Cordell, first published in 1969. It is the final book of Cordell's "Mortymer Trilogy".Cordell's 3rd book in the lives of the Mortimer family, after Rape of the Fair Country and Hosts of Rebecca. It is a prequel to Rape of the Fair County with the Mortymer...
- AnastasiaAnastasiaAnastasia is a personal name and the female form of the Greek male name Anastasius/Anastasios meaning "resurrection." The name, and its male counterpart, were often given to Greek children born around December 2 or around Easter during the early days of Christianity. It is the name of several...
- The Dream
Sir Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick Ashton was the founder choreographer of the Royal Ballet. Previously a dancer with the Ballet Rambert, Ashton started his career as a choreogapher under the direction of Dame Marie Rambert, before joining the Royal Ballet as its associate choreographer when the company was founded in 1931. He created the majority of the company's early works and staged their first performance at the Royal Opera House, a production of The Sleeping Beauty in 1946. Ashton was appointed Artistic director of the Royal Ballet from 1963–1970, when he retired from the post. He continued to work as a choreographer internationally, with his final work being the Nursery Suite, for a gala performance by the Royal Ballet SchoolRoyal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
at the Royal Opera House in 1986. His numerous ballets have since been staged by leading dance companies worldwide and feature strongly in the programming of the Royal Ballet today.
Choreographic works
Ashton created over 100 original ballet works and numerous other productions, some of the most notable including:- A Month in the CountryA Month in the Country (ballet)A Month in the Country is a narrative ballet created in 1976 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Frédéric Chopin arranged by John Lanchbery...
- Birthday Offering
- Cinderella
- Dante Sonata
- Daphnis and Chloë
- Façade
- La Fille mal gardéeLa Fille Mal GardéeLa Fille mal gardée is a comic ballet presented in two acts, inspired by Pierre-Antoine Baudouin's 1789 painting, La réprimande/Une jeune fille querellée par sa mère...
- Les PatineursLes Patineurs (ballet)Les patineurs is a ballet created in 1937 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Giacomo Meyerbeer arranged by Constant Lambert, for the Vic-Wells company, with designs by William Chappell.-Performance history:...
- Les RendezvousLes RendezvousLes Rendezvous is an abstract ballet created in 1933 with choreography by Frederick Ashton, to the music of Daniel François Esprit Auber arranged by Constant Lambert and with designs by William Chappell...
- Marguerite and ArmandMarguerite and ArmandMarguerite and Armand is a ballet danced to Franz Liszt's B minor piano sonata. It was created in 1963 by renowned choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton specifically for world-famous dancers Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margot Fonteyn...
- Nocturne
- Ondine
- Regatta
- Rhapsody
- Romeo and Juliet
- Symphonic VariationsSymphonic Variations (Franck)The Symphonic Variations , M. 46, is a work for piano and orchestra, written in 1885 by César Franck. It has been described as "one of Franck's tightest and most finished works", "a superb blending of piano and orchestra", and "a flawless work and as near perfection as a human composer can hope to...
- The Dream
- Varii capricci
Sir Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 1929 – 29 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977.Although a talented dancer, MacMillan is best known for his choreography, and particularly for his work with the Royal Ballet. He also worked with the American Ballet Theatre (1956-7) and the Deutsche Oper, Berlin (1966–69). He succeeded Frederick Ashton as Director of the Royal Ballet in 1970 and resigned after seven years, frustrated at balancing the conflicting demands of creating ballets with administration. He continued as Principal Choreographer to the Royal Ballet until his death in 1992.
Choreographic Works
His full-length works include:
- Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
[1965] — made on Lynn SeymourLynn SeymourLynn Seymour is a retired Canadian ballerina and choreographer.She was born Lynn Springbett and studied ballet in Vancouver....
and Christopher GableChristopher GableChristopher Gable, CBE was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and actor.Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1957...
, but the premiere was danced by Margot FonteynMargot FonteynDame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
and Rudolf NureyevRudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he... - AnastasiaAnastasiaAnastasia is a personal name and the female form of the Greek male name Anastasius/Anastasios meaning "resurrection." The name, and its male counterpart, were often given to Greek children born around December 2 or around Easter during the early days of Christianity. It is the name of several...
— made on Lynn SeymourLynn SeymourLynn Seymour is a retired Canadian ballerina and choreographer.She was born Lynn Springbett and studied ballet in Vancouver.... - ManonManonManon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
— made on Antoinette SibleyAntoinette SibleyDame Antoinette Sibley, DBE is an English prima ballerina. She joined the Royal Ballet in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960. During her time there she was the Royal Ballet's most popular star...
, Anthony DowellAnthony DowellSir Anthony James Dowell, CBE is a retired English ballet dancer and former Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet. He studied at the Hampshire School and The Royal Ballet Schools, before joining the Royal Ballet in 1961...
and Jennifer Penney - MayerlingMayerlingMayerling is a small village in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat River, in the Wienerwald , 15 miles southwest of Vienna...
- IsadoraIsadoraIsadora is a 1968 biographical film which tells the story of celebrated American dancer Isadora Duncan. It stars Vanessa Redgrave, James Fox and Jason Robards....
- The Prince of the PagodasThe Prince of the PagodasThe Prince of the Pagodas is a ballet created for The Royal Ballet in 1957, by choreographer John Cranko, with music commissioned from Benjamin Britten. The ballet was later revived in a new production by Kenneth MacMillan in 1989, achieving widespread acclaim for Darcey Bussell's premiere in a...
[1989] — made on Darcey BussellDarcey BussellDarcey Andrea Bussell CBE is a retired English ballerina. Trained at the Arts Educational School and the Royal Ballet School, she was later employed by the Royal Ballet, where she was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer and would become recognised as one of the greatest English ballerinas of...
and Jonathan Cope.
MacMillan's one-act ballets include:
- Danses Concertantes — commissioned by Dame Ninette de Valois in 1955
- Different Drummer
- The Invitation — made on Lynn SeymourLynn SeymourLynn Seymour is a retired Canadian ballerina and choreographer.She was born Lynn Springbett and studied ballet in Vancouver....
and Christopher GableChristopher GableChristopher Gable, CBE was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and actor.Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1957...
, 1960 - The Rite of SpringThe Rite of SpringThe Rite of Spring, original French title Le sacre du printemps , is a ballet with music by Igor Stravinsky; choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky; and concept, set design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich...
— made on Monica MasonMonica MasonDame Monica Mason DBE is a ballet dancer and has been the director of The Royal Ballet, since 2002.-Early life:Monica Margaret Mason was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1941... - Elite Syncopations
- My Brother, My Sisters
- La Fin du Jour
- Valley of Shadows — made on Alessandra FerriAlessandra FerriAlessandra Ferri is a retired Italian prima ballerina assoluta. She received her training at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School...
- Gloria
- Noctambules
- Song of the EarthSong of the EarthSong of the Earth is a novel by Alexander Cordell, first published in 1969. It is the final book of Cordell's "Mortymer Trilogy".Cordell's 3rd book in the lives of the Mortimer family, after Rape of the Fair Country and Hosts of Rebecca. It is a prequel to Rape of the Fair County with the Mortymer...
- Solitaire
- Requiem
- Winter Dreams — based on Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters"
- The Judas Tree 1992 — his last ballet, made on Viviana DuranteViviana DuranteViviana Durante is an Italian-born English prima ballerina who is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest and most dramatic ballerinas of her time. She was formerly a Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet. She has performed internationally as a Guest Principal, since 2003 predominantly in Japan...
and Irek MukhamedovIrek MukhamedovIrek Mukhamedov OBE is a Soviet-born ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced with the Bolshoi Ballet & the Royal Ballet He trained at the Moscow Choreographic Institute under the guidance of Alexander Prokofiev between 1970 and 1978. Upon graduation he joined the Classical Ballet Company, ...
.
Wayne McGregor
Prior to his appointment as Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet, Wayne McGregor has already established himself as an award-winning dancer, choreographer and director. His first choreography for the Royal Ballet, was Fleur de Peux, a solo work created in 2000 on Viviana Durante. This led to further commissions by the Royal Ballet, including Symbiont(s) in 2001, Qualia in 2003 and Engram in 2005. He also created the ballet brainstate in 2001, as a collaboration between the Royal Ballet and his own company, Random DanceWayne McGregor Random Dance Company
Wayne McGregor | Random Dance was founded in 1992, then Random Dance, and became the instrument upon which Wayne McGregor evolved his drastically fast and articulate choreographic style...
. McGregor was appointed Resident Choreographer of the Royal Ballet in 2006, the first person to hold the post in sixteen years, and the first to be selected from the world of contemporary dance
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
.
Choreographies
McGregor's works for the Royal Ballet include:- Fleur de Peux
- Symbiont(s)
- Qualia
- Engram
- Chroma
- Limen
- Nimbus
- Infra
- Live Fire Exercise
Fonteyn-Nureyev
First performing together with the Royal Ballet in Giselle on February 21, 1962, Margot FonteynMargot Fonteyn
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
and Rudolph Nureyev would form what has been called the greatest ballet partnership of all time. The partnership would lead to both dancers being noted amongst the most famous ballet dancers of all time and came at the peak of what is now widely regarded as the most successful period in the Royal Ballet's history.
On March 12, 1963, the couple premiered Sir Frederick Ashton
Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at...
's Marguerite and Armand, the first ballet created for them and one which become their signature piece. Performed to a piece of piano music by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, the ballet starts with Marguerite on her deathbed, and the story is told in flashback until the moment Armand arrives to hold her for the last time before she dies. Ashton had planned the piece specifically for Fonteyn, and it was critically acclaimed as Fonteyn's dramatic peak, with fifty photographers attending the dress rehearsal and twenty-one curtain calls at the premiere performance. The final performance of the ballet starring Fonteyn and Nureyev was staged at a gala at the London Coliseum in 1977 and it was not performed again until 2003. Against the wishes of Frederick Ashton that it not be performed by any other dancers than Fonteyn and Nureyev, it was revived as part of a Royal Ballet triple-bill, starring Nureyev's protegee Sylvie Guillem
Sylvie Guillem
Sylvie Guillem CBE is a French ballet dancer. She was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She is currently performing contemporary dance as an Associate Artist of London's Sadler's...
and the Royal Ballet star Jonathan Cope.
The Fonteyn-Nureyev partnership lasted for many years until Fonteyn's retirement from the Royal Ballet in 1979, aged 60. In 1970 after Frederick Ashton retired as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet, there were many calls for Nureyev to be announced as his successor. However, Kenneth MacMillan was given the position, and Nureyev left the Royal Ballet as a Principal soon after to be a guest dancer internationally, later becoming Artistic Director of the Paris Opera Ballet in 1983. Fonteyn and Nureyev had a lifelong relationship both on and offstage and were close friends until Fonteyn's death in 1991. Nureyev is quoted as saying of the partnership that they danced with "one body, one soul".
Notable former dancers
- Svetlana BeriosovaSvetlana BeriosovaSvetlana Beriosova was a British prima ballerina who danced with the Royal Ballet of England for more than 20 years....
- David BlairDavid Blair (dancer)David Blair was a renowned British ballet dancer and a leading star of the Royal Ballet company in London during the 1950s and 1960s....
- Darcey BussellDarcey BussellDarcey Andrea Bussell CBE is a retired English ballerina. Trained at the Arts Educational School and the Royal Ballet School, she was later employed by the Royal Ballet, where she was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer and would become recognised as one of the greatest English ballerinas of...
, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Jose Manuel CarreñoJose Manuel CarreñoJosé Manuel Carreño is a retired Cuban ballet dancer, who performed as a principal dancer with the English National Ballet, Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre....
- John CrankoJohn CrankoJohn Cyril Cranko was a choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet....
- Sir Anton DolinAnton DolinSir Anton Dolin was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay but was generally known as Patrick Kay. He joined Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921, was a principal there from 1924, and was a principal...
- Sir Anthony Dowell, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Viviana DuranteViviana DuranteViviana Durante is an Italian-born English prima ballerina who is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest and most dramatic ballerinas of her time. She was formerly a Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet. She has performed internationally as a Guest Principal, since 2003 predominantly in Japan...
- Alessandra FerriAlessandra FerriAlessandra Ferri is a retired Italian prima ballerina assoluta. She received her training at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School...
- John FieldJohn Field (dancer)John Field was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, director and teacher. He was a renowned member of the Vic-Wells Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet and was also Artistic Director of the La Scala Theatre Ballet.- Biography :Born John Greenfield in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1921,...
- Miyako YoshidaMiyako YoshidaMiyako Yoshida is a Japanese ballet dancer. She was a Principal Guest Artist of The Royal Ballet as well as a Principal dancer in K-ballet, Japan.-Biography:...
- Dame Margot Fonteyn, Prima Ballerina AssolutaPrima ballerina assolutaPrima ballerina assoluta is a rank or title given to notable female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta is a very rare honour, reserved only for the most exceptional soloists, usually those who have achieved international acclaim....
- Christopher GableChristopher GableChristopher Gable, CBE was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and actor.Born in London, Gable studied at the Royal Ballet School, joining the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1957...
- John GilpinJohn Gilpin (dancer)John Brian Gilpin was a leading English ballet dancer and actor.He was born in Southsea, Hampshire, England, and began as a child actor in films, such as They Were Sisters and The Years Between, opposite Michael Redgrave...
- Alexander GrantAlexander Grant (dancer)Alexander Grant was a ballet dancer noted as a founder member of the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet and as a dancer with The Royal Ballet.- Overview :...
- Dame Beryl GreyDame Beryl GreyDame Beryl Elizabeth Grey , DBE, DMus, DLitt, Ed.D, FRSA is a retired English ballerina. She began dance classes at the age of 4 while attending Sherbourne Preparatory School, and by age 8 was being taught ballet by Phyllis Bedells...
, DBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - Sylvie GuillemSylvie GuillemSylvie Guillem CBE is a French ballet dancer. She was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She is currently performing contemporary dance as an Associate Artist of London's Sadler's...
, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - Sir Robert Helpmann, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Wayne SleepWayne SleepWayne Philip Colin Sleep OBE is a British dancer, director, choreographer and panelist. He was a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet and has appeared as a Guest Artist with several other ballet companies.-Early life:...
, OBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - Rowena JacksonRowena JacksonRowena Othlie Jackson MBE is a New Zealand prima ballerina. Jackson was born in Invercargill, to William Ernest Jackson and Lilliane Jane, née Solomon. She attended Epsom Girls' Grammar School, in Auckland, and in 1941 won the first Royal Academy of Dancing Scholarship in New Zealand. In 1946 ...
, MBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - Gillian LynneGillian LynneGillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...
, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - Natalia MakarovaNatalia MakarovaNataliya Romanovna Makarova is the legendary Soviet-Russian-born prima ballerina. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that “Her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation.” She has also won awards as an...
- Dame Alicia Markova, DBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Dame Monica MasonMonica MasonDame Monica Mason DBE is a ballet dancer and has been the director of The Royal Ballet, since 2002.-Early life:Monica Margaret Mason was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1941...
, DBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - Nadia NerinaNadia NerinaNadia Nerina was a South African ballerina. She moved to England and joined the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, where she became a prima ballerina at the age of 25. She was one of the first western dancers to appear with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow during the Cold War...
- Rudolph Nureyev
- Dame Merle Park, DBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Ivan PutrovIvan PutrovIvan Putrov is a Ukrainian-born ballet dancer, an independent dance artist, he was a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet from 2002 until July 2010.- Biography :...
- Lynn SeymourLynn SeymourLynn Seymour is a retired Canadian ballerina and choreographer.She was born Lynn Springbett and studied ballet in Vancouver....
- Dame Antoinette Sibley, DBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
- Moira ShearerMoira ShearerMoira Shearer, Lady Kennedy , was an internationally famous Scottish ballet dancer and actress.-Early life:She was born Moira Shearer King in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the daughter of actor Harold V. King...
, Lady KennedyLudovic KennedySir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United... - Michael SomesMichael SomesMichael George Somes CBE , was a leading English ballet dancer. He was a principal danseur of the Royal Ballet, London, and was the frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn....
, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
guest dancers
- Roberto BolleRoberto BolleRoberto Bolle is an Italian ballet dancer. He is currently a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre and also holds guest artist status with The Royal Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet, making regular appearances with both companies.- Overview :...
- Angel CorellaAngel CorellaÁngel Corella is a Spanish dancer, currently the Artistic Director and principal dancer of Corella Ballet Castilla Y León as well as principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre...
- Ethan StiefelEthan StiefelEthan Stiefel is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre . His fiance is Gillian Murphy, also a principal dancer with ABT.-Biography:...
- Igor Zelensky
choreographers
- Sir Frederick AshtonFrederick AshtonSir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at...
, Founder Choreographer - David BintleyDavid BintleyDavid Bintley, CBE, is a former English ballet dancer, the current artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company.- About :...
, CBEOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... - John CrankoJohn CrankoJohn Cyril Cranko was a choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet....
- Sir Robert HelpmannRobert HelpmannSir Robert Helpmann CBE was an Australian dancer, actor, theatre director and choreographer.-Early years:He was born Robert Murray Helpman in Mount Gambier, South Australia and also boarded at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. From childhood, Helpman had a strong desire to be a dancer...
- Sir Kenneth MacMillanKenneth MacMillanSir Kenneth MacMillan was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977.-Early years:...
- Wayne McGregorWayne McGregorWayne McGregor CBE is a British choreographer of contemporary modern dance. His work is highly distinctive in its vocabulary of movement, for its integration of dance with film and visual art, and for his active interest and incorporation of computer technology and biological science...
- Christopher WheeldonChristopher WheeldonChristopher Wheeldon is an international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Born in Somerset, England, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at the age of 8. He attended the Royal Ballet School between the ages of 11 and 18...
artistic directors
- 1931-1963, Dame Ninette de Valois
- 1963-1970, Sir Frederick Ashton
- 1970-1977, Sir Kenneth MacMillan
- 1970-1971, John FieldJohn Field (dancer)John Field was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, director and teacher. He was a renowned member of the Vic-Wells Ballet and Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet and was also Artistic Director of the La Scala Theatre Ballet.- Biography :Born John Greenfield in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1921,...
(Co-director) - 1977-1986, Norman Morrice
- 1986-2001, Sir Anthony Dowell
- 2001-2002, Ross StrettonRoss StrettonRoss Stretton was an Australian ballet dancer and artistic director. As a dancer, he performed with the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre...
- 2002–Present, Dame Monica Mason
Ross Stretton
Born in CanberraCanberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Australia in 1952, Ross Stretton
Ross Stretton
Ross Stretton was an Australian ballet dancer and artistic director. As a dancer, he performed with the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre...
trained at the Australian Ballet School
Australian Ballet School
The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scott. It is part of the Australian Ballet Centre, which is located in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, Southbank in Melbourne, Victoria...
, later becoming a Principal dancer with the Australian Ballet company. He then moved to America, where he danced with the Joffrey Ballet
Joffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
and as a Principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
before retiring as a dancer in 1990. He was appointed Regisseur of American Ballet Theatre, becoming Assistant Director of the company in 1993. After returning to Australia, he was Artistic Director of the Australian Ballet from 1997-2001.
Following Sir Anthony Dowell's retirement as Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet in 2001, the board of the Royal Opera House announced Stretton as his successor, with a three year contract, however he resigned the post after 13 months, in September 2002. Stretton's appointment and subsequent departure from the Royal Ballet generated an unprecedented level of media attention for the Royal Ballet in recent years, due to controversy caused by his management of the company. Following his resignation, Stretton returned to Australia where he worked as a teacher and consultant until his death from cancer in 2005.
A number of controversial issues and allegations as well as resistance to organisational change lead to Stretton's departure from the Royal Ballet:
- Principal dancer Sarah WildorSarah WildorSarah Wildor is an English ballerina and theatre dancer. She is most noted as a former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.- Overview :...
quit the company after a dispute over casting. Stretton had both historically and during his tenure with The Royal Ballet favoured athletic, speedy dancers as opposed to those with a more lyrical style, such as Wildor. - Stretton sometimes chose corps de ballet members for principal roles, leading to numerous arguments with Principal dancers
- Principal Character Artist David Drew declared Stretton's appointment as "a disaster for the company" in the Mail on Sunday
- Lady MacMillan threatened to withdraw performing rights to works by her late husband Sir Kenneth MacMillan
- Stretton's programming was badly received by critics
- Dancers let it be known they were considering strike action; however, talks between Equity, the dancers' union, and the Royal Opera House's executive director Tony Hall, averted industrial action
- Rumours and allegations were made that Stretton engaged in sexual liaisons and affairs with various dancers. Royal Opera House spokesman Christopher Millard said "there have been no informal or formal complaints to management of Royal Opera House about this" http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/27/1032734315215.html.
Johan Kobborg
On 17 March 2007, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, published an article announcing that the Royal Ballet's Principal dancer Johan Kobborg
Johan Kobborg
Johan Kobborg is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London.-Early Life:Johan Kobborg was born in Odense, Denmark into an artistic family; his mother is a former showgirl and actress and his brother is an actor...
may be the primary candidate to become the next Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet when Monica Mason
Monica Mason
Dame Monica Mason DBE is a ballet dancer and has been the director of The Royal Ballet, since 2002.-Early life:Monica Margaret Mason was born in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1941...
's tenure as Director ends in 2012. Mason has been Director of the Royal Ballet since 2002, following the brief Directorship of the late Ross Stretton
Ross Stretton
Ross Stretton was an Australian ballet dancer and artistic director. As a dancer, he performed with the Australian Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre...
. Mason was due to leave the Royal Ballet in 2010, but her contract has been extended until 2012, when London will host the Olympic Games
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
. Johan Kobborg joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal in 1999 and continues to be one of the companies leading stars. In 2007, he turned down the invitation to bid for the Directorship of the Royal Danish Ballet
Royal Danish Ballet
The Royal Danish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, it originates from 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded, and was finally organized in 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and Italian styles of dance...
but in the article he is quoted as saying of the Royal Ballet:
"Of all the companies in the world, leaving aside the special case of Paris, the Royal Ballet can do anything they want. Many, many people want to run it. It is the most secure place on earth. It doesn't have to do The Nutcracker or Jack and the Magic Beanstalk to survive. All the possibilities are there. If I was asked to run it, I would say yes, definitely."
Royal Opera House, Manchester
The Royal Opera House and Manchester City CouncilManchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
are currently in the planning stages of a new development known as Royal Opera House, Manchester. The proposal is for the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its 'sister' theatre the Manchester Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent...
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to receive an £80m refurbishment, creating a first-class theatre capable of staging productions by both the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera. The Royal Opera House would take residence of the theatre for an annual 18 week season, staging 16 performances by the Royal Opera, 28 performances by the Royal Ballet and other small scale productions. The proposals would establish the Palace Theatre as a designated base for the Royal Opera House companies in the North of England, as a producing house for new ballet and opera, and as a training centre for all aspects of theatre production. The proposals could potentially lead to the creation of 700 hundred jobs for local people.
The proposals have been approved by Andy Burnham MP the Secretary of State for Culture, and accepted by a number of public bodies. However the plans are currently being revised to address the concerns put forward by those who are opposed to the plans. Issues that have been raised include:
- How will the refurbishment of the Palace Theatre be funded?
- Will the proposals impact negatively on The LowryThe LowryThe Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex situated on Pier 8 at Salford Quays, in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early-20th century painter, L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England...
, a theatre and arts complex in nearby SalfordCity of SalfordThe City of Salford is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It is named after its largest settlement, Salford, but covers a far larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton-Pendlebury, Walkden and Irlam which apart from Irlam each have a population of over...
? - Will the Manchester season present the same standard of performance as the Royal Opera House in London?
Laurence Olivier Awards
The Royal Ballet company is a multiple Laurence Olivier Award winning company. The following is a complete list of awards won by the company and its staff since the awards were established in 1978. These include awards presented to the company for a production of a particular ballet, to individual dancers for their performance in a specific rôle, to designers for their work on a specific production and to other members of the Royal Ballet staff for achievements in dance.- 1978 - Production of the Year in Ballet, for a production of Sir Frederick Ashton's A Month in the Country
- 1980 - Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Ballet, for a production of Gloria
- 1981 - Outstanding First Achievement of the Year in Ballet, awarded to Bryony Brind for her performance in The Royal Ballet's Dances of Albion
- 1983 - Outstanding Individual Performance of the Year in a New Dance Production, awarded to Alessandra FerriAlessandra FerriAlessandra Ferri is a retired Italian prima ballerina assoluta. She received her training at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School and the Royal Ballet School...
for her performance in the Royal Ballet's Valley of Shadows - 1983 - Outstanding New Dance Production of the Year, for a production of Sir Frederick Ashton's Requiem
- 1992 - Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Dance, for a production of William ForsytheWilliam Forsythe (dancer)William Forsythe is an American dancer and choreographer resident in Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. He is known internationally for his work with the Ballett Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company...
's In The Middle, Somewhat Elevated - 1992 - Society of London Theatre Special Award, awarded to the Royal Ballet's founder and director Dame Ninette de Valois in recognition of her achievements in dance
- 1993 - Best New Dance Production, for a production of Sir Kenneth MacMillan's The Judas Tree
- 1995 - Best New Dance Production, for their production of Fearful Symmetries
- 1995 - Outstanding Achievement in Dance, awarded to lighting designer Peter Mumford for the Royal Ballet's Fearful Symmetries
- 2007 - Best New Dance Production, for their new production Chroma, choreographed by Wayne McGreggor
- 2008 - Best New Dance Production, for the company premiere of George BalanchineGeorge BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's ballet JewelsJewels (ballet)Jewels is an award-winning ballet in three parts created for New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday,... - 2008 - Outstanding Achievement in Dance, for the company premiere of George BalanchineGeorge BalanchineGeorge Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's ballet JewelsJewels (ballet)Jewels is an award-winning ballet in three parts created for New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday,...
See also
- Royal Ballet SchoolRoyal Ballet SchoolThe Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
, the associate school of the company - Birmingham Royal BalletBirmingham Royal BalletBirmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
, the Royal Ballet's sister company- Elmhurst School for DanceElmhurst School for DanceElmhurst School for Dance is one of the foremost classical ballet schools in the United Kingdom and is the official associate school of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. First established in Camberley, Surrey, the school is the oldest established vocational dance school in the United Kingdom and...
, the associate school of Birmingham Royal Ballet
- Elmhurst School for Dance
- English National BalletEnglish National BalletEnglish National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin and based at Markova House in South Kensington, London, England. Along with the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the four major ballet companies in Great...
, the leading rival of the Royal Ballet companies- English National Ballet SchoolEnglish National Ballet SchoolEnglish National Ballet School is a specialist classical ballet school based in London in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1988, the school is the official associate school of the English National Ballet, with many graduates becoming dancers with the company...
, the associate school of English National Ballet
- English National Ballet School
- Scottish BalletScottish BalletScottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the four leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet...
, the national ballet company of Scotland - Rambert Dance CompanyRambert Dance CompanyRambert Dance Company, is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it would exert a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingdom, and today, as a contemporary dance company, it continues to be one of the...
, a ballet company contemporaneous to the Royal Ballet during the latter's formative years (now a modern dance company)
External links
- Royal Opera House official website
- Royal Ballet School official website
- Royal Ballet Cuba Pics photos by Caridad, Havana Times, July 17, 2009