Ballet History: Ninette de Valois

With it being Women’s History Month, I knew that I wanted to feature a notable female figure in ballet. While ballet is still considered a “female” art form, many company directors, choreographers, and leaders are male, even in 2022. In spite of this, there are women throughout ballet’s history that have left their mark. Ninette de Valois is one of those women. She is one of the most important figures in British ballet in the last century, and we can still see her legacy in action to this day. So: who is Ninette de Valois and what is her history?

Who is Ninette de Valois…?

The name Ninette de Valois might imply that she was born in France, but that isn’t the case. Edris Stannus was born on 6 June 1889 in Baltiboys, County Wicklow- yes, in Ireland. Her parents were part of the gentry class, and she had a relatively comfortable life in Ireland. She moved to Kent in 1905 to live with her grandmother, and in 1908, she started taking ballet classes. As a young teenager, she undertook more serious training at the Lila Field Academy for Children. In London, she was able to train under Enrico Cecchetti, Edouard Espinosa, and countless other ballet masters, which would serve her well in her career. 

Embed from Getty Images

Becoming Ninette de Valois

It was when she started studying at the Lila Field Academy that Edris became Ninette de Valois. We have seen dancers (and performers everywhere) take a stage name countless times, but this is one of the more dramatic transformations. 

While studying in London, she started performing in dance halls and various theatres. De Valois was made a principal dancer for the Beecham Opera in 1919 when she was just 21 years old. (It was the resident company at the Royal Opera House at the time.)

Embed from Getty Images

The Ballets Russes

From 1923 to 1925, de Valois danced with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Established in 1909, the touring company performed a wide variety of works. Many of their productions drew on classical ballet technique but also modern dance and national folk dances. De Valois learned a great deal during her time with the Ballets Russes and was inspired to start her own company as a result of it. However, while Diaghilev’s company did not have a permanent home base, de Valois sought out a different type of company. 

Embed from Getty Images

An English Ballet Company

De Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Arts for girls in London, and a sister school in Dublin in 1926. She understood the connection between school and company, and used her own training as a basis. 

She knew Lilian Baylis who owned both the Old Vic Theatre and the Sadlers Wells Theatre; Baylis asked de Valois to perform at both theatres, but their working relationship progressed past that. 

De Valois formed both the Vic-Wells Ballet and the Vic-Wells Ballet School in 1931 when the theatre reopened. The Ballets Russes folded in 1929, and de Valois took full advantage of that- she hired several Ballets Russes dancers to lead her new company, including Alicia Markova (Britain’s first Jewish prima ballerina). She also hired Constant Lambert to be her musical director; he would go on to play a significant role with the Royal Ballet. When the Old Vic closed in 1939, the school and the company were both renamed the Sadler’s Wells Ballet and Sadler’s Wells Ballet School. 

Sir Frederick Ashton- A Strong Partnership

From 1932 to 1939, de Valois hired Nikolay Sergeyev from the Ballets Russes to stage many Russian classics on the company. (This was particularly strategic, as prior to the Russian Revolution, Sergeyev had worked as a teacher, choreographer, and director with the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg.) 

In 1935, de Valois made a choice that had lasting impacts for the company- she hired British dancer Frederick Ashton to be the company’s resident choreographer. He immediately started working with the young company and creating new ballets. And as early as 1935, he was creating roles for a young Margot Fonteyn. Several of his ballets are still performed by the Royal Ballet to this day, including Marguerite and Armand, The Two Pigeons, and Le fille mal gardée. 

The Royal Ballet

The Sadler’s Wells Ballet became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 1946. And in 1956, it received one of the highest honours in Britain- it received a royal charter and was henceforth known as the Royal Ballet. De Valois served as the first Royal Ballet director until 1963, when she stepped down to serve as the director of the Royal Ballet School until 1970. Ashton served as the subsequent director of the Royal Ballet from 1963 to 1970. 

A Global Influence on Ballet

While de Valois clearly left her mark on British ballet, her influence was not limited to the United Kingdom. She served as patron and/or founder for several different ballet companies. As one might expect, she continued to play a role in the Irish ballet community, and acted as a patron Cork Ballet Company and the Irish National Ballet.

In the 1940s, she was invited by the Turkish government to form a ballet school modelled on her own, and the school then led to the founding of the Turkish State Ballet. Several notable dancers from the Royal Ballet performed with the Turkish State Ballet, including Fonteyn, Michael Somes, and Nadia Nerina. 

Recognised By Many

While she was known in the ballet world (and still is), she was given several external honours. In 1947, she was made a Commander of the British Empire; in 1983, she was made a Companion of Honour; and in 1992, she was given the Order of Merit. She died at the age of 102 on 8 March 2001. 

♠

Want to read more on Ninette de Valois? Visit her ROH page here! 

Were you familiar with Ninette de Valois? And how will you be be marking Women’s History Month? 

Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest