Danced by Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1948 to music by Serge Prokofiev in designs by Jean-Denis Malclès, Cinderella was the first full-evening ballet made by a British choreographer. It shows…
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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…
Timeline Event » 1946 – Premiere of Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations for Sadler’s Wells Ballet
Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations was something of a blueprint for British ballet after the narrative-heavy works of the war years. It remains a touchstone for the lyrical and musical ‘British’…
Timeline Event » 1940 – Premiere of Ninette de Valois’ The Prospect Before Us by the Vic-Wells Ballet
In July 1940, Ninette de Valois created a comedy character ballet called The Prospect Before Us. Full of wit and finely drawn characterisations, it required a full range of acting,…
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…
Podcast » Rowena Fayre
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…
Checkmate is one of the only two ballets by Ninette de Valois to survive in the repertoire. It makes allegorical use of a chess game to represent a battle between…
Frederick Ashton choreographed Les Patineurs for the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1937. A group of 15 dancers ‘skate’ their way through this exuberant one-act ballet. An icy pond on the edge…
Podcast » Lucette Aldous
You can hear in her voice how much Lucette Aldous appreciated and revelled in every step of her way from Ballet Rambert to Festival Ballet and The Royal Ballet. With…
Podcast » Pamela May
This ‘voice’ of British Ballet is that of Pamela May. She was born in 1917 and after retiring as a ballerina with The Royal Ballet became the teacher par excellence…