Ninette de Valois
Encyclopedia
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM
, CH
, DBE, FRAD
, FISTD
(6 June 18988 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet
. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes
, later establishing The Royal Ballet, one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century and one of the leading ballet companies in the world today. She also established the Birmingham Royal Ballet
and Royal Ballet School
. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of ballet and as the 'godmother' of English ballet.
, County Wicklow
, Ireland
. She was the second daughter of Lieutenant Colonel
Stannus (DSO
), a British army officer, and Lillith Graydon-Smith, a distinguished glassmaker. She moved to England in 1905, where she lived with her grandmother in Kent.
De Valois started attending ballet lessons in 1908 at the age of 10. At the age of 13, she began her professional training at the Lila Field Academy for Children. It was at this time that she legally changed her name to Ninette de Valois and made her professional debut as a principal dancer in pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End
. In 1919, at the age of 21, she was appointed principal dancer of the Beecham Opera, which was then the resident opera company at the Royal Opera House
. She continued to study ballet with notable teachers, including Edouard Espinosa
, Enrico Cecchetti
and Nicholas Legat
.
In 1923, de Valois joined the Ballets Russes
, a renowned ballet company founded by the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev
. She remained with the company for three years, being promoted to the rank of Soloist, and creating roles in some of the company's most famous ballets, including Les biches
and Le Train Bleu
. During this time, she was also mentor to Alicia Markova
who was only a child at the time, but would eventually be recognised as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta
and one of the most famous English dancers of all time. Later in her life, de Valois claimed that everything she knew about how to run a ballet company, she learned from working with Diaghilev.
After leaving the Ballets Russes, in 1927, de Valois established the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls. Her ultimate goal was to form a repertory ballet company, with dancers drawn from the school and trained in a uniquely British style of ballet. Students of the school were given professional stage experience performing in opera and plays staged at the Old Vic Theatre, with de Valois choreographing several short ballets for the theatre. Lilian Baylis
was the owner of the Old Vic at that time, and in 1928 she also acquired and refurbished the Sadler's Wells Theatre
, with the intention of creating a sister theatre to the Old Vic. She employed de Valois to stage full scale dance productions at both theatres and when the Sadler's Wells theatre re-opened in 1931, de Valois moved her school into studios there, under the new name, the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. A ballet company was also formed, known as the Vic-Wells Ballet. The Vic-Wells ballet company and school would be the predecessors of today's Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet
and Royal Ballet School
.
as guest star. Its first performance at Sadler's Wells, was on 15 May 1931. As a result of the success of the ballet company, de Valois hired new dancers and choreographers to work with the company. She retired from the stage herself after Alicia Markova
joined the company and was appointed Prima Ballerina in 1933.
Under de Valois' direction, the ballet company flourished in the 1930s, becoming one of the first Western dance companies to perform the classical ballet repertoire made famous by the Imperial Russian Ballet. She also set about establishing a British repertory, engaging Frederick Ashton
as Principal Choreographer and Constant Lambert
as Musical Director in 1935. She also choreographed a number of her own ballets, including her most notable works, Job (1931), The Rake's Progress
(1935) and Checkmate (1937). Eventually the company included many of the most famous ballet dancers in the world, including Margot Fonteyn
, Robert Helpmann
, Moira Shearer
, Beryl Grey, and Michael Somes
. In 1949 the Sadler Wells Ballet was a sensation when they toured the United States. Margot Fonteyn instantly became an international celebrity.
In 1947, de Valois established the first ballet school in Turkey. Formed as the ballet school of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet
in Istanbul
, the school was later absorbed into and became the School of Music & Ballet at Ankara State Conservatory
, a department of the Hacettepe University
.
De Valois was not one to rest on laurels, though. She made sure that her company had a constant supply of talent, and in later years the company had such stars as Svetlana Beriosova
, Antoinette Sibley
, Nadia Nerina
, Lynn Seymour
, and, most sensationally, Rudolf Nureyev
. de Valois also invited choreographers like Sir Kenneth MacMillan and George Balanchine
to work with her company. She formally retired from the Royal Ballet in 1963, but her presence continued to loom large in the company.
She was known as very stern and formidable, and perhaps for that reason someone gave her the nickname 'Madam.' The nickname stuck, and from then on even in formal articles and interviews she was called 'Madam.' She would good-naturedly sign 'Madam' in correspondence.
The Royal Ballet continues to be recognised as Britain's leading classical ballet company and one of the foremost companies of the 20th century and is based at the Royal Opera House
in Covent Garden
, London.
In 1935, she married Arthur Connell, an Irish surgeon who died in 1986. They did not have children. Ninette de Valois was the cousin of author Wei Wu Wei
.
She continued to make public appearances until her death at age 102 in London
.
, which had no prior history with the art form. The Turkish Government invited de Valois to research the possibility of establishing a ballet school in the country and she subsequently visited the country in the 1940s, opening a school following the same model as her Sadler's Wells Ballet School in London. Initially, very few people took the project seriously, but the school did become firmly established and led to the development of the Turkish State Ballet
.
After training the first set of pupils at the new Turkish Ballet School, de Valois subsequently produced a number of early performances by the state ballet company, permitting guest appearances by Royal Ballet dancers including Margot Fonteyn
, Nadia Nerina
, Anya Linden
, Michael Somes
and David Blair
. She mounted productions of the traditional classical repertoire including Coppélia
, Giselle
, Don Quixote
, Swan Lake
and The Nutcracker
, as well as the contemporary ballets Les Patineurs
, Les Rendezvous
and Prince of the Pagodas by Frederick Ashton, and her own ballets The Rake's Progress, Checkmate and Orpheus.
In 1965, de Valois produced and choreographed the first full length ballet created for the new Turkish State Ballet. Titled Çeşmebaşı (At the Fountain), the ballet was the first to feature music composed by a Turkish Composer Ferit Tuzun and with choreography incorporating elements of Turkish folk dance. Further ballets followed and the ballet company continued to develop. Today, ballet continues to be a thriving art form in Turkey, with the ballet school that de Valois established now forming part of the State Conservatory for Music and Drama at the Ankara State Conservatory.
as the company's first Principal Choreographer in 1935., they collaborated to produce a series of signature ballets, which are recognised as cornerstones of British ballet. These included her other famous works, The Rake’s Progress (1935) and Checkmate (1937).
, orchestrations by Constant Lambert
and designs by Gwendolen Raverat. The libretto for the ballet was written by Geoffrey Keynes
and is based on William Blake
's engraved edition of the Book of Job
from the Hebrew Bible
. Consisting of eight scenes, the ballet is inspired by Blake's engravings and so de Valois choreographed the ballet using predominantly mimed actions to create a simple decorative effect. Despite the choreography of the ballet being described as 'uneven', Job features a number of well known dances, which continue to be performed regularly. The most recognised extracts are Satan's Dance, an acrobatic solo for a male dancer, the dance of Job's comforters, and the satirical expressionist dances representing War, Pestilence and Famine. Job had its world premiere on 5 July 1931, and was performed for members of the Camargo Society at the Cambridge Theatre
, London. The first public performance of the ballet took place on 22 September 1931 at the Old Vic Theatre.
and became Dame Commander (DBE) on 1 January 1951.
She was appointed Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour
(CH) on 31 December 1981
and was admitted into the Order of Merit
on 2 January 1992.
She was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur on 1 May 1950
and received the Turkish Republic Honour of Merit (Liyakat Nişani) on 2 January 1998.
She was the first recipient of the Royal Academy of Dance
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
in 1953–1954.
She was made Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance
on 19 July 1963
and of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
on 8 March 1964
In 1964 she received the Royal Society of Arts
Albert Medal
and in 1974, the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation Erasmus Prize
.
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
was awarded on 7 June 1977
and the Royal Opera House
Long Service medal in 1979.
She received the Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts
in 1989
and the Society of London Theatre Laurence Olivier Award Special Award in 1992.
In the United States, she received the Dance Theatre of Harlem
Emergence Award on 27 July 1981.
in 1947, the University of Sheffield
on 29 June 1955,
Trinity College, Dublin
in 1957 and Durham University
in 1982.
She received DLitt. from the University of Reading
in 1951, the University of Oxford
in 1955 and the University of Ulster
in 1979.
In 1958 she received an LLD from the University of Aberdeen
and on 5 July 1975 Doctor of Letters from the University of Sussex
.
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
, CH
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
, DBE, FRAD
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
, FISTD
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is a leading dance teaching and examination board based in London, England and operating internationally. Established on 25 July 1904 as the Imperial Society of Dance Teachers, it changed to its current name in 1925 and is now a registered educational...
(6 June 18988 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet
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...
. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's 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...
, later establishing The Royal Ballet, one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century and one of the leading ballet companies in the world today. She also established 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....
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...
. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of ballet and as the 'godmother' of English ballet.
Biography
Ninette de Valois was born Edris Stannus on 6 June 1898, near the town of BlessingtonBlessington
Blessington, historically known as Ballycomeen , is a town in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on the N81 road, which connects Dublin to Tullow.- History :...
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
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...
. She was the second daughter of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
Stannus (DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
), a British army officer, and Lillith Graydon-Smith, a distinguished glassmaker. She moved to England in 1905, where she lived with her grandmother in Kent.
De Valois started attending ballet lessons in 1908 at the age of 10. At the age of 13, she began her professional training at the Lila Field Academy for Children. It was at this time that she legally changed her name to Ninette de Valois and made her professional debut as a principal dancer in pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. In 1919, at the age of 21, she was appointed principal dancer of the Beecham Opera, which was then the resident opera company 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...
. She continued to study ballet with notable teachers, including Edouard Espinosa
Edouard Espinosa
Edouard Espinosa was co-founder and Principal Examiner of the Association of Operatic Dancing. Born in Moscow - the son of Léon Espinosa and Mathilda Oberst...
, Enrico 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...
and Nicholas Legat
Nicholas Legat
Nikolai Gustavovich Legat , was a dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1888 to 1914 and was the main successor to the rôles of the great ballet dancer, Pavel Gerdt....
.
In 1923, de Valois joined 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...
, a renowned ballet company founded by the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
. She remained with the company for three years, being promoted to the rank of Soloist, and creating roles in some of the company's most famous ballets, including Les biches
Les Biches
Les biches is a ballet by Francis Poulenc, premiered by the Ballets Russes in 1924. The composer, who was at the time relatively unknown, was asked by Serge Diaghilev to write a piece based on Glazunov's Les Sylphides, written seventeen years earlier...
and Le Train Bleu
Le Train Bleu
Le Train Bleu , officially the Calais-Mediterranée Express, was a luxury French night express train which operated from 1922 to 2007. It gained international fame as the preferred train of wealthy and famous passengers between Calais and the French Riviera in the two decades before World War II...
. During this time, she was also mentor to 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...
who was only a child at the time, but would eventually be recognised as a 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....
and one of the most famous English dancers of all time. Later in her life, de Valois claimed that everything she knew about how to run a ballet company, she learned from working with Diaghilev.
After leaving the Ballets Russes, in 1927, de Valois established the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls. Her ultimate goal was to form a repertory ballet company, with dancers drawn from the school and trained in a uniquely British style of ballet. Students of the school were given professional stage experience performing in opera and plays staged at the Old Vic Theatre, with de Valois choreographing several short ballets for the theatre. 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...
was the owner of the Old Vic at that time, and in 1928 she also acquired and refurbished the Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
, with the intention of creating a sister theatre to the Old Vic. She employed de Valois to stage full scale dance productions at both theatres and when the Sadler's Wells theatre re-opened in 1931, de Valois moved her school into studios there, under the new name, the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. A ballet company was also formed, known as the Vic-Wells Ballet. The Vic-Wells ballet company and school would be 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...
.
Vic-Wells Ballet
At its formation, the Vic-Wells ballet had only six female dancers, with de Valois herself working as lead dancer and choreographer. The company performed its first full ballet production on 5 May 1931 at the Old Vic, with Anton DolinAnton 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...
as guest star. Its first performance at Sadler's Wells, was on 15 May 1931. As a result of the success of the ballet company, de Valois hired new dancers and choreographers to work with the company. She retired from the stage herself after 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...
joined the company and was appointed Prima Ballerina in 1933.
Under de Valois' direction, the ballet company flourished in the 1930s, becoming one of the first Western dance companies to perform the classical ballet repertoire made famous by the Imperial Russian Ballet. She also set about establishing a British repertory, engaging 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...
as Principal Choreographer and 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...
as Musical Director in 1935. She also choreographed a number of her own ballets, including her most notable works, Job (1931), The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress (ballet)
The Rake's Progress is a short 1935 ballet, based on the drawings of William Hogarth, with music by Gavin Gordon , choreography by Ninette de Valois, and set design by Rex Whistler....
(1935) and Checkmate (1937). Eventually the company included many of the most famous ballet dancers in the world, including Margot Fonteyn
Margot 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...
, Robert Helpmann
Robert Helpmann
Sir 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...
, Moira Shearer
Moira Shearer
Moira 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...
, Beryl Grey, and Michael Somes
Michael Somes
Michael 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....
. In 1949 the Sadler Wells Ballet was a sensation when they toured the United States. Margot Fonteyn instantly became an international celebrity.
In 1947, de Valois established the first ballet school in Turkey. Formed as the ballet school of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet
Turkish State Opera and Ballet
The State Opera and Ballet is the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, with venues in Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Antalya and Samsun...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, the school was later absorbed into and became the School of Music & Ballet at Ankara State Conservatory
Ankara State Conservatory
The Ankara State Conservatory, the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.- Notable attendees :* Paul Hindemith* Carl Ebert* Evelyn Baghtcheban* Samin Baghtcheban...
, a department of the Hacettepe University
Hacettepe University
Hacettepe University is a major state university in Ankara, Turkey.The University has two main campuses. The first is located in the old town of Ankara and hosts the Medical Centre, and the second is the Beytepe Campus, which is 13 km from the city centre...
.
De Valois was not one to rest on laurels, though. She made sure that her company had a constant supply of talent, and in later years the company had such stars as Svetlana Beriosova
Svetlana Beriosova
Svetlana Beriosova was a British prima ballerina who danced with the Royal Ballet of England for more than 20 years....
, Antoinette Sibley
Antoinette Sibley
Dame 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...
, Nadia Nerina
Nadia Nerina
Nadia 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...
, Lynn Seymour
Lynn Seymour
Lynn Seymour is a retired Canadian ballerina and choreographer.She was born Lynn Springbett and studied ballet in Vancouver....
, and, most sensationally, Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf 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...
. de Valois also invited choreographers like Sir Kenneth MacMillan and George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George 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...
to work with her company. She formally retired from the Royal Ballet in 1963, but her presence continued to loom large in the company.
She was known as very stern and formidable, and perhaps for that reason someone gave her the nickname 'Madam.' The nickname stuck, and from then on even in formal articles and interviews she was called 'Madam.' She would good-naturedly sign 'Madam' in correspondence.
The Royal Ballet continues to be recognised as Britain's leading classical ballet company and one of the foremost companies of the 20th century and is 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.
In 1935, she married Arthur Connell, an Irish surgeon who died in 1986. They did not have children. Ninette de Valois was the cousin of author Wei Wu Wei
Wei Wu Wei
Terence James Stannus Gray , better known by the pen name Wei Wu Wei, was a 20th century Taoist philosopher and writer.-Background:...
.
She continued to make public appearances until her death at age 102 in 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...
.
Turkish State Ballet
As with ballet in the United Kingdom, de Valois exerted a great deal of influence on the development of ballet in TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, which had no prior history with the art form. The Turkish Government invited de Valois to research the possibility of establishing a ballet school in the country and she subsequently visited the country in the 1940s, opening a school following the same model as her Sadler's Wells Ballet School in London. Initially, very few people took the project seriously, but the school did become firmly established and led to the development of the Turkish State Ballet
Turkish State Opera and Ballet
The State Opera and Ballet is the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, with venues in Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Antalya and Samsun...
.
After training the first set of pupils at the new Turkish Ballet School, de Valois subsequently produced a number of early performances by the state ballet company, permitting guest appearances by Royal Ballet dancers including Margot Fonteyn
Margot 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...
, Nadia Nerina
Nadia Nerina
Nadia 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...
, Anya Linden
Anya Linden
Anya Linden, Lady Sainsbury of Preston Candover is a retired English ballerina. She spent her childhood in California, where she received her early training with Koslov in Hollywood. She returned to England in 1947 and studied at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, joining the company in 1951. She...
, Michael Somes
Michael Somes
Michael 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....
and David Blair
David 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....
. She mounted productions of the traditional classical repertoire including 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...
, 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...
, Don Quixote
Don Quixote (ballet)
Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
, 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...
, as well as the contemporary ballets Les Patineurs
Les 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 Rendezvous
Les Rendezvous
Les 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...
and Prince of the Pagodas by Frederick Ashton, and her own ballets The Rake's Progress, Checkmate and Orpheus.
In 1965, de Valois produced and choreographed the first full length ballet created for the new Turkish State Ballet. Titled Çeşmebaşı (At the Fountain), the ballet was the first to feature music composed by a Turkish Composer Ferit Tuzun and with choreography incorporating elements of Turkish folk dance. Further ballets followed and the ballet company continued to develop. Today, ballet continues to be a thriving art form in Turkey, with the ballet school that de Valois established now forming part of the State Conservatory for Music and Drama at the Ankara State Conservatory.
Choreography
Ninette de Valois first established herself as a choreographer producing several short ballets for the Old Vic Theatre, London. She also provided choreography for plays and operas at the theatre, all of which were performed by her own pupils. After forming the Vic-Wells ballet, her first major production, Job (1931), was the first ballet to define the future of the British ballet repertoire. Later employing Frederick AshtonFrederick 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...
as the company's first Principal Choreographer in 1935., they collaborated to produce a series of signature ballets, which are recognised as cornerstones of British ballet. These included her other famous works, The Rake’s Progress (1935) and Checkmate (1937).
Job (1931)
The oldest ballet in the Royal Ballet repertoire, Job is regarded as a crucial work in the development of British ballet and was the first ballet to be produced by an entirely British creative team. The ballet was produced and choreographed by de Valois, with a commissioned score titled Job, a Masque for Dancing, written by Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams
Ralph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
, orchestrations by 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...
and designs by Gwendolen Raverat. The libretto for the ballet was written by Geoffrey Keynes
Geoffrey Keynes
Sir Geoffrey Langdon Keynes was an English biographer, surgeon, physician, scholar and bibliophile...
and is based on William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's engraved edition of the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
from the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. Consisting of eight scenes, the ballet is inspired by Blake's engravings and so de Valois choreographed the ballet using predominantly mimed actions to create a simple decorative effect. Despite the choreography of the ballet being described as 'uneven', Job features a number of well known dances, which continue to be performed regularly. The most recognised extracts are Satan's Dance, an acrobatic solo for a male dancer, the dance of Job's comforters, and the satirical expressionist dances representing War, Pestilence and Famine. Job had its world premiere on 5 July 1931, and was performed for members of the Camargo Society at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
, London. The first public performance of the ballet took place on 22 September 1931 at the Old Vic Theatre.
Other works
Ninette de Valois' other works include:- Bar aux Folies-Bergère (1934), for The Ballet Club
- The Rake's ProgressGavin Gordon (composer)Gavin Gordon was a Scottish bass singer, actor and composer, best known for his 1935 Hogarthian ballet The Rake's Progress.-Biography:Gavin Gordon was born in Ayr, Scotland in 1901, as Gavin Muspratt Gordon Brown...
(1935) - As You Like It (1936)
- Checkmate (1937)
- Every Goose Can
- The Gods Go A-Begging
- Barabau
- The Prospect Before Us (1940)
- Keloğlan (1950)
- At the Fountain Head (1963)
- Çeşmebaşı (1965), for the Turkish State Opera and BalletTurkish State Opera and BalletThe State Opera and Ballet is the national directorate of opera and ballet companies of Turkey, with venues in Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Mersin, Antalya and Samsun...
- Sinfonietta (1966)
Honours
Ninette de Valois was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 1 January 1947and became Dame Commander (DBE) on 1 January 1951.
She was appointed Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Order of the Companions of Honour
The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V in June 1917, as a reward for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, music, science, politics, industry or religion....
(CH) on 31 December 1981
and was admitted into the Order of Merit
Order of Merit
The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
on 2 January 1992.
She was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur on 1 May 1950
and received the Turkish Republic Honour of Merit (Liyakat Nişani) on 2 January 1998.
Awards
Ninette de Valois received the Bronze award presented for services to Ballet from the Irish Catholic Stage Guild in 1949.She was the first recipient of the Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award is an honour presented annually by the Royal Academy of Dance, to people who have made a significant contribution to the ballet and dance industry. The award was instituted by Dame Adeline Genee in 1953, to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and her...
in 1953–1954.
She was made Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
on 19 July 1963
and of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing
The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing is a leading dance teaching and examination board based in London, England and operating internationally. Established on 25 July 1904 as the Imperial Society of Dance Teachers, it changed to its current name in 1925 and is now a registered educational...
on 8 March 1964
In 1964 she received the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
Albert Medal
Albert Medal (RSA)
The Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts was instituted in 1864 as a memorial to Prince Albert, who had been President of the Society for 18 years. It was first awarded in 1864 for "distinguished merit in promoting Arts, Manufactures and Commerce"...
and in 1974, the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation Erasmus Prize
Erasmus Prize
The Erasmus Prize is an annual prize awarded by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation, a Dutch non-profit organization, to individuals or institutions that have made notable contributions to European culture, society, or social science. The Praemium Erasmianum Foundation was founded on 23 June 1958 by...
.
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II...
was awarded on 7 June 1977
and 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...
Long Service medal in 1979.
She received the Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts
Critics' Circle Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts
Each year since 1988 The Critics' Circle has presented an award for Distinguished Service to the Arts, voted for by all members of the Circle, embracing Dance, Drama, Film, Music, Visual Arts and Architecture....
in 1989
and the Society of London Theatre Laurence Olivier Award Special Award in 1992.
In the United States, she received the Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a ballet company and school of the allied arts founded in Harlem, New York City, USA in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook...
Emergence Award on 27 July 1981.
Honoris causa degrees
Ninette de Valois received Doctor of Music degrees from the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
in 1947, the University of Sheffield
University of Sheffield
The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
on 29 June 1955,
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
in 1957 and Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
in 1982.
She received DLitt. from the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
in 1951, the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
in 1955 and the University of Ulster
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
in 1979.
In 1958 she received an LLD from the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
and on 5 July 1975 Doctor of Letters from the University of Sussex
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
.
External links
- London Ballet Circle
- The Ballerina Gallery - Ninette de Valois
- Ninette de Valois at Encarta Archived 2009-11-01
- Ninette de Valois Object History
- Dame Ninette de Valois Obituary at The Independent
- Ninette de Valois, Royal Ballet Founder, Dies at 102
- Biography: Ninette de Valois
- Kathrine Sorley Walker, "The Festival and the Abbey: Ninette de Valois' Early Choreography, 1925-1934, Part One", Dance Chronicle, Vol. 7, No. 4 (1984 - 1985), pp. 379-412
- Ninette de Valois at Princess Grace Irish Library, Monaco
- Call Her 'Madame'