The Cone Sisters School of Dancing was founded in 1919 by Gracie, Valli and Lily Cone. In 1944, the school integrated with the Ripman School, an organisation established by Olive…
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…
Beryl Grey talks to Frank Freeman about her early training, first with Madeleine Sharp and then with Phyllis Bedells before going to the Sadler’s Wells School at the age of…
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…
Born in 1921 Rowena Fayre combined a career in ballet with a very different sort of life. After boarding school in Hertfordshire, and daily lessons at Sadler’s Wells School with…
From a start in Flamenco, Greek dancing and a bit of ballet, Anita Landa describes here not only how her dancing life took off, but how Festival Ballet started. The…
In this podcast featuring Donald MacLeary, the ballerina Darcey Bussell makes a fascinating and full introduction to her friend and mentor. She stresses the importance of a coach who is…
Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin returned to Britain in 1949 after dancing in the United States of America and resumed touring the country, at first using dancers taken from the…
In 1946 the Sadler’s Wells Ballet opened their first season at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with a new production of The Sleeping Beauty. The scenery and costumes were…
Anne Heaton’s career coincided with an upsurge in creative talent at the Sadler’s Wells Ballet. Observant and wide ranging she reflects on many things, not least the enigmatic choreographer, Andrée…
This gorgeous couple, infectiously happy and loving and warm, not surprisingly became special “voices” for British ballet. They were stars of The Royal Ballet at a remarkable point of that…
Originally created for American Ballet Caravan, George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial was performed by Sadler’s Wells Ballet for the first time at the Royal Opera House in 1950. Danced to Pyotr…
Created by Frederick Ashton to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, Birthday Offering is a one-act divertissement for seven ballerinas and their partners, and includes solo variations…
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 Skeaping’s…
Following the departure of Beryl Grey, John Field was appointed the new artistic director of London Festival Ballet….