Alan Richard Alder (14 September 1937 - 15 July 2019) was an Australian ballet dancer and

ballet teacher Dance education is a practice whereby students are taught a broad understanding of dance as an art form or trained professionally in specific dance genres. Dance education also encompasses a research area in which scholars conduct original resear ...

. Alder was born in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1937. After training that included a scholarship to the

Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

, twelve months with the Covent Garden Opera Ballet and touring internationally as soloist with

Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...

, Alder returned to Australia in 1963 and rose to principal artist and then guest artist with the

Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson's, J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teache ...

. He married fellow artist

Lucette Aldous Lucette Aldous (26 September 1938 – 5 June 2021) was an Australian prima ballerina during her performing years. She was the resident principal dancer with The Australian Ballet, and well known for performing the role of Kitri in the film of Ru ...

in 1972. Alan held the position Head of Dance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

from 1983 to 1991. Alder died on 15 July 2019 aged 82.

References

External links

* 1937 births 2019 deaths People educated at the Royal Ballet School Australian male ballet dancers People from Canberra Ballet teachers {{Australia-bio-stub