1957 – Western Theatre Ballet established

Peter Darrell, an original member of Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, left the company in 1947 to dance in musicals whilst choreographing for Marie Rambert’s Ballet Workshop amongst other choreographic engagements. Darrell co-founded Western Theatre Ballet in 1957 with Elizabeth West, who had been born in Italy in 1927 before she later moved to Britain, where she trained with Edouard Espinosa. The pair established Western Theatre Ballet in Bristol, and the company gave its first performance at Dartington Hall, Devon, in June 1957. The company’s name signified its founders’ belief that theatre should be just as important as ballet to the company’s identity. West died in 1962, thus Darrell became sole artistic director of the company they formed together. Western Theatre Ballet’s last performance took place at Theatre Royal, Bath, in March 1969. It was then invited by the Scottish Arts Council to move north and to become Scottish Theatre Ballet (renamed Scottish Ballet 1972).