Podcast » Monica Ratcliffe
Monica Ratcliffe, one of British ballet’s earliest voices, shares a wonderful collection of memories and anecdotes with Patricia Linton. She talks about her years, in the 1920s, at Ninette de…
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The ballet writer Gerald Dowler is joined in a special episode of Voices of British Ballet by Monica Mason (former Royal Ballet student, principal dancer and director), Jane Pritchard (curator…
Podcast » Antoinette Sibley
Antoinette Sibley talks with Alastair Macaulay. Her wonderful mix of enthusiasm, appreciation and practicality typify the glorious mercurial talent that has beguiled a generation of dancers and public alike. Sibley…
The dance writer, and former dancer, Deborah Weiss is joined in the studio for a special Voices of British Ballet round table discussion. Anita Landa, Pamela Hart, Joyce Lyndon and…
Timeline Event » 1919 – Lydia Kyasht opens her school
Lydia Kyasht (1885-1959). Russian dancer, teacher, director and choreographer Born in St Petersburg in 1885, Lydia Kyasht studied under Pavel Gerdt in a class alongside Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina….
Timeline Event » 1912 – Anna Pavlova buys Ivy House and settles in London
Anna Pavlova was born in St Petersburg in 1881, and entered the Imperial Ballet School in 1891. In 1897 she first danced on the Maryinsky stage, and graduated in 1899….
Timeline Event » 1912 – Winifred Edwards joins Anna Pavlova’s company
Most famous for the work she did with many dancers of The Royal Ballet towards the end of her career, the fascinating early life of Winifred Edwards (1895-1989) is often…
Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes (1909-1929) That Serge Diaghilev believed in Russian art and its spirit can never be doubted. His company, the Ballets Russes, exploded every myth about dance. From…
Podcast » Gillian Lynne
The great choreographer and director Gillian Lynne tells Lynn Wallis how it was a giant, but ultimately rewarding step, to leave Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1951. We have a ten-minute…
Timeline Event » 1910 – Cyril Beaumont, dance historian, writer and publisher, opens his antiquarian bookshop and his Beaumont Press at 75, Charing Cross Road, London
Cyril Beaumont (1891-1976) was a bookseller, writer, critic and historian. For half a century, 75 Charing Cross Road was a magnet for anyone interested in classical ballet. This is where…
Timeline Event » 1906 – Phyllis Bedells makes her London debut
Phyllis Bedells (1893-1985) was a British dancer and teacher, and founder of the Royal Academy of Dance. She rose to ballerina level using her own English name at a time…
Timeline Event » 1922 – Formation of The Cecchetti Society
The Cecchetti Society was founded in 1922 to perpetuate the system of teaching established by the Italian dancer and ballet master Enrico Cecchetti (1851-1928). Based in Russia for many years,…
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Ninette de Valois’ Academy for Choregraphic Art in March 1926, and to mark 25 years since her death, Patricia Linton talks…
Timeline Event » 1929 – Nicolas Legat sets up his school
Nicholas Legat was a Russian dancer, choreographer and teacher who was born in St Petersburg. In 1888 he joined the Maryinsky Ballet, where he was an outstanding dancer and partner,…