Dame Beryl Elizabeth Grey (née Groom; 11 June 1927 – 10 December 2022) was a British ballet dancer.

Early life

Born in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

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 began dance classes at the age of four while attending Sherbourne Preparatory School, and by age eight was being taught by

Phyllis Bedells Phyllis Bedells (9 August 1893 – 2 May 1985) was a British ballerina and dance teacher. Early life Ethel Phyllis Bedells was born in Knowle, Bristol. Her father was a clerk for the Bristol Gas Company; both parents were musical. Her fat ...

. By the age of nine she had become the star pupil of her school, had been presented a silver medal by

Tamara Karsavina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina (russian: Тамара Платоновна Карсавина; 10 March 1885 – 26 May 1978) was a Russian prima ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and lat ...

and had passed all the examinations of the

Royal Academy of Dancing "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3R ...

it was possible for her to take. Her talent was recognised by

Ursula Moreton Ursula Moreton (13 March 1903 – 24 June 1973) was a British ballerina and teacher, director of the Royal Ballet School from 1952 to 1968. Early life She was born in Southsea on 13 March 1903. Career Dancer Moreton studied with Cecchetti and deb ...

and

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ...

, who offered her a scholarship for four years at the age of ten, with the option of joining their dance company for a further four years. She began to attend the Sadler's Wells School in 1937Fisher, Hugh. ''Beryl Grey''. Adam and Charles Black: London (1955), pp. 5-21 where her teachers were

and

Vera Volkova Vera Volkova (russian: Bepa Boлкoвa; (31 May 1905 – 5 May 1975) was a Russian ballet dancer and expatriate dance teacher. Born near Tomsk, she trained at Petrograd's Akim Volynsky's School of Russian Ballet with Maria Romanova (the mother of G ...

Career

In August 1941, she was taken into the company at the age of fourteen and joined them during a provincial tour, at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

. Her first appearance with the company was in the ''corps de ballet'' of ''Le Lac des Cygnes''. She progressed through the company at a steady rate. Her first solo role was as one of the Blue Skaters in

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositi ...

's '' Les Patineurs''. Her first lead role was as the Serving Maid in ''The Gods Go A-Begging'' "with a charm and style remarkable for a child of fourteen and a half". On her fifteenth birthday, Dame

gave her an inscribed copy of Gordon Anthony's book on 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 T ...

and the opportunity of dancing Odette-Odile in the full-length ''

Le Lac des Cygnes ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

''. In 1942,

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (n ...

created the first role for her in his second ballet ''The Birds'' where she was The Nightingale. In April 1943, she created her first dramatic role as Duessa in Ashton's ballet, ''The Quest'', which was based on

Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (; 1552/1553 – 13 January 1599) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is recognized as one of the premier craftsmen of ...

's ''

The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...

''. On 1 March 1944, she first portrayed the main role 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, ...

'' in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. She then performed the role in London for the first time on her seventeenth birthday. Grey is also known for her interpretation of ''Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis'', which she first performed in 1946. She first performed the role of Princess Aurora in '' The Sleeping Beauty'' on 20 June 1946 at 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 ...

, Covent Garden. From 1957 until the mid-1960s, Grey was an international guest ballerina across Europe, South America, Australasia, the Far East, the United States and Canada. In 1957, she became the first English dancer to appear as a guest ballerina with the Kirov and

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

. Grey was the first Western guest artist to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet (1957–1958), and to appear with the

Peking Ballet } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

and Shanghai Company (with a Chinese partner) in 1964. She was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in April 1974 when she was surprised by

Eamonn Andrews Eamonn Andrews, (19 December 1922 – 5 November 1987) was an Irish radio and television presenter, employed primarily in the United Kingdom from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1960 to 1964 he chaired the Radio Éireann Authority (now the RTÉ A ...

at the London Festival Ballet's Donmar rehearsal studios in London's Covent Garden.

Awards, titles and positions

She held numerous honorary doctorates and had been Vice President of the Royal Academy of Dancing since 1980, was President of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and a Director of the

Birmingham 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 ...

. In September 1997 she was presented with the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award is an honour presented annually by the Royal Academy of Dance, to people who have made a significant contribution to the ballet and dance industry. The award was instituted by Dame Adeline Genee in 1953, t ...

by Dame

Antoinette Sibley Dame Antoinette Sibley (born 27 February 1939) is a British prima ballerina. She joined the Royal Ballet from the Royal Ballet School in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960. She was celebrated for her partnership with Anthony Dowell. After her reti ...

. The Award is given by the Royal Academy of Dancing to individuals in recognition of great contribution to the world of ballet. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. Founded on the same date as the Order of the British Empire, it is sometimes ...

(CH) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

for services to dance. *Honorary Life President,

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is an international dance teaching and examination board based in London, England. The registered educational charity, which was established on 25 July 1904 as the ''Imperial Society of Dance Te ...

* Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (1973) * Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE (1988) *

(1997), presented by the

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

Carl Alan Award Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of te ...

(2010)

References

External links

''Dance Magazine''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Beryl 1927 births 2022 deaths Prima ballerinas 20th-century British ballet dancers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Dancers of The Royal Ballet English National Ballet English ballerinas People from Highgate Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour