Harold King (1949-2020). South African-born dancer, choreographer and director

Harold King was born in Durban, South Africa, in 1949. He studied at the University of Cape Town Ballet School and joined the CAPAB company. After a short time there and military service in South Africa, he moved to London for further study. King joined Western Theatre Ballet and then Scottish Theatre Ballet under Peter Darrell. Both Darrell and Jack Carter created ballets on King, who began to choreograph himself in 1973 with his own Partie de Campagne.

After a return to South Africa, King worked in Britain as a freelance dancer and choreographer. In 1978 he took the decisive step of founding his own company, London City Ballet, with just nine dancers. With no state funding, the company kept working for over 20 years, touring extensively mainly in small theatres, but also abroad. No doubt the active patronage of Princess Diana, which King had managed to secure, helped raise the profile of the company and also get other notable figures into its audience. However, King’s energy and vision as founder and choreographer was obviously its mainstay. It grew to employ 42 dancers at one time, and performed classics such as Giselle and La Sylphide, as well as modern works.

Even after a name change to City Ballet of London, it became impossible for the company to continue. King worked for a short time in Spain as artistic director of the Ballet de Zaragoza. He then returned to South Africa, working as a fundraiser for Cape Town City Ballet. His health declined in later years, and he died in London in 2020.