To Dame Ninette de Valois, the Royal Ballet owes its place in the dance world's pecking order, and Covent Garden its role in the cultural merry-go-round.
Born Edris Stannus (6 June 1898, in Baltiboys, County Wicklow, Ireland), her tenacity in pursuit of an original vision, undertaken often in the face of chronic ill health, enabled her to accomplish what many at the time considered impossible.
She founded the Royal Ballet, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School. During early 1950s, she also helped establishing the first ballet school of Turkish State Opera and Ballet in İstanbul.
She modelled her company, the Sadler Wells Ballet, after the Imperial Ballet of Russia, and emphasized dancing a mix of classical ballets and contemporary works. She cultivated talents slowly. Eventually, her company became one of the starriest in the world, with dancers like 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.
The statue of the young dancer, facing the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, created by Enzo Plazzotta, represents Ninette de Valois.
She died 8 March 2001, aged 102, in Barnes, London, England.
photo by Mo, http://aglimpseoflondon.blogspot.com/
