Dame Ninette

Ballet dancer and choreographer Dame Ninette de Valois died on 8 March 2001 in London, aged 102.

Born at the end of the 19th century in County Wicklow, Ireland, de Valois had decided on a life in the theatre by age 13, and became principal dancer in the Lyceum Pantomime when she was 16, moving on to Covent Garden and the Russian Ballet.

Determined to create in the UK something of what she had experienced in Russia, she gave up her career to found the Royal Ballet in 1931, collaborating with Constant Lambert and Frederick Ashton, and running the company for more than 30 years. Her second ballet troupe became the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and she also founded the Royal Ballet School.

Posted: 16 March 2001

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