1941 – The Ballet Guild established, giving rise to the Embassy Ballet

Established as a “non-profit making organisation to encourage and develop the art of ballet”, the founding members of The Ballet Guild included Christmas Humphreys, Keith Lester, Derrick Lynham, Molly Lake, Leighton Lucas, Alice Lidderdale and Hélène Wolska. The Guild aimed to produce income by staging occasional performances featuring ballets by young choreographers with designs by new artists, and staging ballets not performed by any other company. Further ambitious aims were to open a Library and Museum of Dance, to produce lectures and exhibitions, and open a school. The Ballet Guild’s first performance was given in Bath, and it acquired premises in St John’s Wood in 1942. ENSA (the Entertainments National Service Association) approached the Guild in 1944 to produce camp shows in a tour that encompassed all parts of Britain, France, Belgium and Germany.

Later, The Embassy Ballet – headed by Molly Lake, Mary Honer, Travis Kemp and Jack Carter – absorbed the Guild’s repertory and gave performances at the Embassy and Granville Theatres in London. The Guild operated quite separately until 1947 when it ceased operations.