1949 – Festival Ballet established in London

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 Cone-Ripman School. With the support of impresario Julian Braunsweg, Festival Ballet – the name chosen by Alicia Markova in reference the imminent Festival of Britain in 1951 – gave its first performance at the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh, on 9 October, 1950, followed by a London season at the Stoll Theatre that ran until January 1951. Later that year, Festival Ballet was the first British company invited to perform in Monte Carlo; a successful tour in America followed. What marked the company out from the beginning were the starry names assembled for stagings of the classics (mounted by ballet master Nicholas Beriozoff) and ballets by Mikhail Fokine. The dancers included Sonia Arova, Yvette Chauviré, Alexandra Danilova, Mia Slavenska, Tamara Toumanova, Violette Verdy, Oleg Briansky and Harald Lander. Markova and Dolin also appeared with the company.

Braunsweg left his association with the company in 1965 after sudden bankruptcy, with impresario Donald Albery stepping in to form a trust to ensure the company’s continuation. Festival Ballet mounted a production of The Sleeping Beauty in 1967, and Beryl Grey was made artistic director in 1968.