Anne Heaton (19 November 1930 – 1 May 2020) was a British ballet dancer and teacher.
Anne Heaton was born in
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
in November 1930. She studied in Birmingham from 1937 to 1943, and then with Sadler's Wells Ballet School. She made her debut in 1945 with
Sadler's Wells Opera
English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English. ...
. In 1946 she joined Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet creating roles in Howard's Mardi Gras (1947) and Ashton's Valses nobles et sentimentales (1947) among others.
In 1948, she moved to
Sadler's Wells Ballet
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...
at
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 ...
where she became a principal. She excelled in romantic ballets like ''
Les Sylphides
''Les Sylphides'' () is a short, non-narrative ''ballet blanc'' to piano music by Frédéric Chopin, selected and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov.
The ballet, described as a "romantic reverie","Ballet Theater", until 1955. A compact disk ...
'' in 1948, ''
A Mirror for Witches
''A Mirror for Witches'' is a 1928 novel by American author Esther Forbes, dealing with the witch hunt in 17th Century New England. The book, which precedes by decades the more famous ''The Crucible'' by Arthur Miller, is still popular and remains ...
'' (1952) and ''
Giselle
''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...
'' in 1954, but also created roles in
MacMillan's ''The Burrow'' (1958) and ''
The Invitation'' (1960). She resigned in 1959 due to an injury to her foot, although she made occasional guest appearances until 1962.
After retirement, she taught at the
Arts Educational School
Arts Educational Schools, or ArtsEd, is an independent performing arts school based in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow.
Overview
ArtsEd provides specialist vocational training at secondary, further and higher education level in m ...
and also staged some ballets, including Giselle for
Iranian National Ballet in 1971. She married Royal Ballet principal dancer
John Field John Field may refer to:
*John Field (American football) (1886–1979), American football player and coach
*John Field (brigadier) (1899–1974), Australian Army officer
*John Field (composer) (1782–1837), Irish composer
*John Field (dancer) (192 ...
, who later became director of
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...
in Milan. She was later co-director (with her husband) of the
British Ballet Organisation (now known as bbodance) from 1984 until a month before his death in 1991.
Heaton died in May 2020 at the age of 89.
References
External links
Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's QuestionsAnne Heaton
1930 births
2020 deaths
British ballerinas
People from Rawalpindi
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