Ninette de Valois
Founder of The Royal Ballet and godmother of English ballet.
She danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and later established The Royal Ballet, one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century, as well as the Royal Ballet School and the touring company that became the Birmingham Royal Ballet. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of ballet and as the 'godmother' of English and Irish ballet.
- field
- Ballet
- nationality
- Irish-born British
- known_for
- Establishing The Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet School, and Birmingham Royal Ballet
Lore & Background
At age thirteen she trained at the Lila Field Academy for Children, changed her name to Ninette de Valois, and made her professional debut as a principal dancer in pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre. She mentored Alicia Markova and later said she learned everything about running a ballet company from Diaghilev. In 1927 she established the Academy of Choreographic Art in London and the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet in Dublin. The London school moved to Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1931, becoming the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, and the Vic-Wells Ballet company was formed.
Reader's Guide
Ninette de Valois's significance lies in her foundational role in creating a distinctly British ballet tradition. Through the Vic-Wells Ballet, later The Royal Ballet, she built a company that performed classical Russian repertoire while fostering British choreographers like Frederick Ashton and composers like Constant Lambert. Her insistence on a school feeding the company ensured a steady supply of talent, producing stars such as Margot Fonteyn, Robert Helpmann, and Rudolf Nureyev. Beyond Britain, she established ballet in Turkey, opening a school in the 1940s that led to the Turkish State Ballet. Her legacy endures in the Royal Ballet, Royal Ballet School, and Birmingham Royal Ballet, as well as in the Irish and Turkish ballet institutions she helped create. Her influence shaped 20th-century ballet internationally, making her a pivotal figure in the art form's development.
Did You Know?
- She changed her name from Edris Stannus to Ninette de Valois at age thirteen.
- She was a maternal great-granddaughter of diarist Elizabeth Grant Smith.
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