Ninette de Valois

Ninette de Valois was a famous dancer.

She was born in Ireland. Later, she moved to England.

She loved to dance on stage. She also made her own dance moves. These moves are called choreography.

Ninette started many big dance groups. She helped start The Royal Ballet. This is a very famous group.

She also opened dance schools. She helped people in Turkey learn to dance. She helped dance grow in many lands.

Ninette worked hard for many years. She lived to be 102 years old. She was a great leader for dance.

Ninette de Valois was a great leader in the world of ballet. She was born in Ireland in 1898.

Later, she moved to England to study dance.

She began her career as a dancer. She even joined a famous group called the Ballets Russes. She danced in many places across Europe. Later, she became a teacher and a maker of dance moves. We call this making dance moves choreography.

Ninette wanted to build a special style of dance in Britain. She started dance schools in London and Dublin. She also helped form the Vic-Wells Ballet. This group grew to become The Royal Ballet.

This is one of the most famous ballet groups in the world. She also helped start the Royal Ballet School to train new dancers.

Ninette shared her love of dance with other countries too. She helped start the first ballet school in Turkey. She even worked with dance groups in Ireland. She lived a very long life. She was 102 years old when she died in 2001.

Ninette de Valois was a very important leader in the world of ballet. She was a dancer, a teacher, and a maker of dance moves called a choreographer. Many people call her the "godmother" of ballet in Ireland and England. She did not just dance on stage, but she also built the schools and companies that keep ballet alive today. Her work helped create a special British style of dance that people still love.

Her journey in dance began with many different roles. First, she trained as a dancer and joined a famous group called the Ballets Russes. She traveled all over Europe and performed in well-known ballets like Les biches. Later, she moved from dancing to leading. She started dance schools in London and Dublin to teach young girls. She also created the Vic-Wells Ballet, which was a new group of dancers. This group grew and changed over many years into the famous Royal Ballet we know today.

Ninette was born Edris Stannus on June 6, 1898. She was born in a large house in County Wicklow, Ireland. Her family was well-known, and her father was a British Army officer. When she was ten years old, she moved to live in England. At age thirteen, she began her professional training. She even chose a new name, Ninette de Valois, for her career. She worked very hard to learn from the best dance teachers in the world.

Throughout her life, she reached many big goals. In 1927, she opened dance schools in both London and Dublin. Her ballet company performed its first big show at the Old Vic in 1931. In 1947, she even helped start the very first ballet school in Turkey. By 1956, her company was given a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth II. This meant it was officially linked to the Royal Family. She lived to be 102 years old, passing away in 2001.

Ninette's work connects the past of ballet to the present. She took the grand styles from Russia and helped create a new way for British dancers to move. She worked with famous dancers like Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. She also worked with talented choreographers to make new dances. Many of the famous ballets performed today started because of her ideas. Because of her, ballet is a thriving art form in many different countries around the world.

Dame Ninette de Valois was a foundational figure in the history of classical ballet. She was a dancer, a teacher, a choreographer, and a director. Many people call her the "godmother" of English and Irish ballet. She did not just perform on stage. She built the institutions that define ballet today. Her work established the Royal Ballet, one of the world's leading companies. She also founded the Royal Ballet School and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

De Valois began her life as Edris Stannus. She was born on June 6, 1898, in County Wicklow, Ireland. Her family was part of the gentry. Her father was a British Army officer named Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stannus. In 1905, she moved to England to live with her grandmother. She began ballet lessons in 1908 at age ten. By age thirteen, she started professional training at the Lila Field Academy for Children. At this time, she changed her name to Ninette de Valois. She made her professional debut as a principal dancer in pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre.

Her early career was marked by rapid growth and intense study. In 1919, she became a principal dancer for the Beecham Opera. She studied under famous teachers like Enrico Cecchetti and Nicholas Legat. In 1923, she joined the Ballets Russes. This was a famous company led by Sergei Diaghilev. She performed across Europe for three years. She rose to the rank of Soloist. She created roles in famous ballets like Les biches and Le Train Bleu. During this time, she mentored the young Alicia Markova. However, her dancing career changed in 1924. Doctors discovered she had undiagnosed childhood polio. This forced her to step back from intense dancing.

De Valois used her experience to build new dance systems. In 1927, she founded the Academy of Choreographic Art in London. She also started the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet in Dublin. The Dublin school was suggested by the poet W. B. Yeats. In London, her goal was to create a unique British style of ballet. She worked with Lilian Baylis at the Old Vic theatre. In 1931, she moved her school to the Sadler's Wells Theatre. This became the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. She also formed the Vic-Wells Ballet company. These institutions eventually became the Royal Ballet and its related schools.

The Vic-Wells Ballet grew through careful leadership and talent. At first, the company had only six female dancers. De Valois was both the lead dancer and the choreographer. The company's first full production was on May 5, 1931. It featured the guest star Anton Dolin. In 1933, de Valois retired from the stage. This allowed Alicia Markova to become the company's Prima Ballerina. De Valois then focused on building a British repertoire. She hired Frederick Ashton as Principal Choreographer in 1935. She also hired Constant Lambert as musical director. She choreographed important works like Job, The Rake's Progress, and Checkmate.

Her influence reached far beyond the United Kingdom. In 1947, she helped establish the first ballet school in Turkey. She visited the country to research how to build a school there. This school later became part of the Hacettepe University. She helped produce the first performances for the Turkish State Ballet. These included classics like Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. In 1965, she choreographed Çeşmebaşı for the Turkish company. This ballet used music by Ferit Tuzun and Turkish folk dance. Her work helped create a new culture of dance in a country with no prior ballet history.

In 1956, the company received a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth II. This formally linked the ballet company and the school. Under her direction, the company included many famous stars. These included Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, and Robert Hellemann. She also worked with choreographers like George Balanchine. De Valois retired from her directorship in 1963. She retired from the school in 1970. She lived a long life and died in London in 2001 at age 102. Her legacy remains in the dancers and schools she created.