Alice Ivy Elliott Ballet Teacher and Choreographer

Alice Ivy Elliott (14 October 1950 – 3 February 2015) was a ballet teacher and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian descent.

Early life

She was born into the royal household of the Omanhene of Sefwi Bekwai and given her cultural name Awuraba Ama Samma.

Career

After a brief education in Ghana, she travelled with her father,

John Banks Elliott John Banks Elliott (9 February 1917 – 18 July 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat and statesman. He was Ghana's first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Soviet Union, serving from 1960 to 1966. Early life Born in 1917 to Gerald ...

, who served as Ghana’s first Ambassador to Moscow from 1960 to 1966. In

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, she joined the

Bolshoi Ballet School The Moscow State Academy of Choreography (russian: Московская государственная академия хореографии), commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, is one of the oldest and most prestigious schools of ball ...

, graduated as a ballet instructor, and performed several character parts at the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

. After moving to the United Kingdom, Elliott worked with dance companies including the

Redroofs Theatre School Redroofs Theatre School is an independent part-time theatre training school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The school was established in 1947 in London and moved to Littlewick Green in 1964 into a house that was once the home of Ivor Novell ...

for the Performing Arts in Maidenhead, the

Central School of Ballet Central School of Ballet is a classical ballet school based in London, with students from countries all over the world. The school was established in 1982 by Ann Stannard and Christopher Gable. It established a touring company, ''Ballet Centra ...

in London, and

Pineapple Dance Studios Pineapple Dance Studios' is a dance studio complex, performing arts school, and associated dancewear, clothing, and eyewear brand, based in London, England. Origin Pineapple Studios was founded by former model Debbie Moore, who had started danc ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

. She later set up her own ballet school in Maidenhead. Later, while working in London, she earned a spot with

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

, in addition to a contract to direct ballet in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. During her career as a

répétiteur A (from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. A feminine form, , also appears but is comparatively rare. Opera In opera, a is the person ...

, she worked with companies including

Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

, the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (The Monte Carlo Ballet) is a classical ballet company established in 1985 by Caroline, Princess of Hanover, the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco. I ...

, The Goteborg Opera & Ballet,

La Scala Theatre Ballet The La Scala Theatre Ballet ( it, Corpo di ballo del Teatro alla Scala) is the resident classical ballet company at La Scala in Milan, Italy. One of the oldest and most renowned ballet companies in the world, the company pre-dates the theatre, bu ...

, Hawaii State Ballet,

Alberta Ballet Company Alberta Ballet (also known as the Alberta Ballet Company) was founded by Muriel Taylor and Dr. Ruth Carse in 1958 and became a professional company in 1966. The company is a resident company of both the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmo ...

, The

Cairo Opera Ballet Company The Cairo Opera Ballet Company is the resident ballet company of the Cairo Opera House and a ballet school affiliated to Egypt's Higher Institute of Ballet. Its foundation began in 1958 during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser through the effor ...

, Centro de Danza y Arte de Madrid, and

Ballet British Columbia Ballet BC is a contemporary ballet company located in Vancouver, British Columbia. History Ballet BC is a professional contemporary ballet company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company was founded as Ballet British Columbia b ...

. Elliott's most prominent job was as a teacher at the Zurich Opera House, where she worked with the artistic director and choreographer

Uwe Scholz Uwe Scholz (31 December 1958 – 21 November 2004) was a German ballet dancer, director, and choreographer. Life Scholz was born in Jugenheim (now Seeheim-Jugenheim) in Hesse, Germany on 31 December 1958, and moved as a child to the Landestheater ...

. She moved to Greece, where she staged her favorite ballet,

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters an ...

’s ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especiall ...

,'' for the

Greek National Opera The Greek National Opera ( el, Εθνική Λυρική Σκηνή, ''Ethniki Lyriki Skini'') is the country's state lyric opera company, located in the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center at the south suburb of Athens, Kallithea. It is a ...

(2001) under the auspices of the Arts Council of Greece. The scene "The Kingdom of the Shades" was particularly acclaimed. She enrolled at The

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

(School of Performing Arts) with the desire to integrate the Ghanaian dance of "

Adowa Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...

" with classical ballet, but she did not meet this aspiration.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Alice Ivy Ballet teachers Ballet choreographers Ghanaian dancers 1950 births 2015 deaths