Beryl Fleur Karney (31 December 1930 – 11 October 2022), also known as Beryl Goldwyn, was an English

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer. Born near

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, she started dancing at the age of three. She attended 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 ...

and performed with the

Royal 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 ...

in ''The Sleeping Princess'' ('' The Sleeping Beauty''), with Dame

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

, when the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

reopened after the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1946. Goldwyn danced with the Anglo Polish Ballet in 1949, and she joined the Ballet Rambert in 1950, later becoming its

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

. Goldwyn danced numerous roles, including ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', Gala Performance, and '' The Sleeping Beauty'', but her most celebrated was the part of ''

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, ...

''. She performed in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States, and at the Baalbek festival in Lebanon, where she shared the programme with the Lebanese singer

Fairuz Nouhad Wadie' Haddad ( ar, نهاد وديع حداد, ; born November 21, 1934), known as Fairuz ( ar, فيروز, ; also spelled Fairouz, Feyrouz or Fayrouz), is a Lebanese singer. She is considered by many as one of the leading vocalists a ...

. In 1996–97, she performed again with the

at the

in ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', with

Sylvie Guillem Sylvie Guillem (; born 23 February 1965) is a French ballet dancer. Guillem was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She has ...

, fifty years after her first performance there. For the 90th birthday celebrations of the Ballet Rambert, she took part in the "Rambert at 90 Oral History Project".

Personal life and death

Goldwyn was briefly married to Christopher Norwood. In 1969, she married scientist, engineer and businessman

Andrew Karney Andrew Karney, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, FIET, Chartered Engineer, CEng, FRSA (born 24 May 1942) is a British electrical engineer, businessman and company director. He is also an accredited European Engineer. Car ...

; their son Peter was born in 1972. Goldwyn died of breast cancer on 11 October 2022, at the age of 91.

References

External links

Beryl Goldwyn Karney
1930 births 2022 deaths English ballerinas People educated at the Royal Ballet School Prima ballerinas Rambert Dance Company dancers {{Ballet-bio-stub