Adeline Genée (1878-1970). Danish ballerina and founder-president of the Royal Academy of Dance

Adeline Genée was born Anina Jensen in Hinnerup, Denmark in 1878. At the age of three she started taking dancing lessons from her uncle Alexander Genée and his wife Antonia Zimmerman, who were both pupils of Marius Petipa and Christian Johansson. They adopted her when she was eight and Anina Jensen then became Adeline Genée. At the age of ten she performed for her uncle’s company in Christiana (Oslo). In 1895 she became a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet, going on to perform in Berlin and Munich. In 1896 she made her debut as Swanilda in Coppélia, which became her most famous role.

In 1897 Genée appeared at the Empire Theatre in London, initially for six weeks, but she was offered the position of prima ballerina, and stayed on for ten years. In 1907 she went to the United States of America, and thereafter alternated between the USA and London. She was offered a contract by Diaghilev in 1910 but turned it down. In her work as a dancer – which included choreography – she looked to the past rather than to the revolutionary developments of her time. She had a strong technique, combined with charm and what was described as a ‘porcelain’ beauty. She toured Australia and New Zealand in 1913, and, despite a ‘farewell’ season in 1914, continued dancing in London until 1917. Thereafter she danced sporadically in charity performances until 1933 when she made her final appearance, partnered by Anton Dolin, in The Love Song, a suite of dances based on a painting by Arthur Devis.

In 1920, in conjunction with Philip J S Richardson, the editor of The Dancing Times, Genée founded what became the Royal Academy of Dance. She remained its President until 1954. The Genée International Ballet Competition, attracting young dancers from all over the world, was started in 1931, but was renamed The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition in 2019.

Adeline Genée married Frank Isitt in 1910. In 1923 she was awarded the Ingenio et Arti medal by the King of Denmark. She was appointed Dame of the British Empire in 1950, and died in Esher, Surrey, in 1970.