Podcast » Violette Verdy
This interview with Violette Verdy is introduced by the dance critic and historian Alastair Macaulay. Violette Verdy’s laughter and intelligence shine through in this discussion with Clement...
companies » London Festival Ballet
Timeline Event » 1935 – Founding of the Markova-Dolin Ballet
An established partnership, Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin set up their own ballet company in London in 1935, backed by Laura Henderson of the Windmill Theatre, famous for its ‘nude’ revues. The...
London Festival Ballet gave its first season at the newly opened Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank in 1952, where it continued to appear regularly, often twice a year, until well into the...
Etudes is a ballet of mounting excitement as choreographer Harald Lander takes the audience and the dancers through the progress of classical dance technique culminating in a spectacular finale of...
Timeline Event » 1957 – London Festival Ballet dances Jack Carter’s The Witch Boy for the first time
Jack Carter’s The Witch Boy, originally created for the Ballet der Lage Landen in 1956, was first performed by London Festival Ballet at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, in 1957. The music was by...
Timeline Event » 1962 – John Gilpin becomes director of London Festival Ballet
John Gilpin, a major star with London Festival Ballet, was appointed the company’s new director in 1962. He remained in position until 1965.
Timeline Event » 1964 – London Dance Theatre founded
In 1964, Jack Carter and Norman McDowell launched a small company, London Dance Theatre, for which Carter created Agrionia. It featured McDowell as a Dionysos, who punishes three sisters for refusing...
Timeline Event » 1966 – London Festival Ballet dances Serge Lifar’s Noir et blanc for the first time
Serge Lifar’s spectacular and enchanting Noir et blanc (later called Suite en blanc), offering multiple technical and stylistic challenges and opportunities to shine, established itself as a firm...
Timeline Event » 1968 – Beryl Grey becomes director of London Festival Ballet
After a period of instability, London Festival Ballet appointed Beryl Grey as the company’s new artistic director. She commissioned a number of important productions for the company, including Mary...
For her production of Giselle for London Festival Ballet in 1971, Mary Skeaping attempted to return to ballet as far back to its original sources as possible. With choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules...
Rudolf Nureyev’s version of Romeo and Juliet for London Festival Ballet is highly cinematic, sumptuous and colourful, and emphasises the inevitability of the couple’s tragic fate while also...
Timeline Event » 1979 – John Field becomes director of London Festival Ballet
Following the departure of Beryl Grey, John Field was appointed the new artistic director of London Festival Ballet.
John Cranko created Onegin in 1965 for his company, Stuttgart Ballet, using his star dancers Marcia Haydée and Ray Barra to create the roles of Tatiana and Onegin respectively, with Egon Madsen as...
Timeline Event » 1984 – Peter Schaufuss becomes director of London Festival Ballet
Appointed as the company’s new artistic director, Peter Schaufuss widened London Festival Ballet’s repertoire, inviting Frederick Ashton to mount his Romeo and Juliet on the company in 1985, and...
With music by Philip Chambon, Christopher Bruce’s Swansong is a stark male trio that evokes the physical and mental torture of political prisoners. The ballet was first performed in 1987 on tour by...
Timeline Event » 1989 – London Festival Ballet renamed English National Ballet
Peter Schaufuss was instrumental in changing London Festival Ballet’s name to English National Ballet. It better reflected the company’s touring schedule, spending less time in London and...