Elaine Fifield (28 October 1930 - 11 May 1999) was an Australian ballerina, perhaps best known for creating the title role in
John Cranko
John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet.
Life and career
Early life
Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Tran ...
's comic ballet ''
Pineapple Poll
''Pineapple Poll'' is a Gilbert and Sullivan-inspired comic ballet, created by choreographer John Cranko with arranger Sir Charles Mackerras. ''Pineapple Poll'' is based on "The Bumboat Woman's Story", one of W. S. Gilbert's Bab Ballads, writt ...
'' in 1951.
Early life
Elaine Fifield was born in Sydney, New South Wales on 28 October 1930.
She trained at the Scully School and with Leon Kelloway, in Australia.
In 1945, she won a
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 ...
scholarship, and trained at 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 ...
.
Career
In 1947, Fifield joined
Sadler's Wells Theatre 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 ...
. Her work there included lead dancer in ''Selina'' (1948), a ballet choreographed by
Andrée Howard
Andrée Howard (3 October 1910 – 18 April 1968), originally Andrea, was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. She created over 30 ballets, of which almost nothing remains.
Early life
Andrée Howard was born in London on 3 October 1910. ...
to the music of
Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
, scenario and design by
Peter Williams. She also appeared as a dancer in the 1948
Crown Film Unit
The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in ...
film, ''Steps of the Ballet'', also with choreography by Howard, and music by
Arthur Benjamin
Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of '' Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the '' Storm Clouds Cantata'' ...
, directed by
Muir Mathieson
James Muir Mathieson, OBE (24 January 19112 August 1975) was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on many British films.
Career
Mathieson was born in Stirling, Scotland, in 1911. A ...
.
In 1954 moved to
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 ...
,
where the following year she danced in the
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 ...
ballet (to music by
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
) ''Variations on a Theme of Purcell'', portraying the oboe.
Frederick Ashton Foundation archive
/ref> In 1957, she returned to Australia and joined the Borovansky 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 ...
, which was to form the basis of 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 1964, she returned as a principal artist with The Australian Ballet, having been invited to do so by its artistic director, Peggy van Praagh
Dame Margaret van Praagh (1 September 1910 – 15 January 1990) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher, repetiteur, producer, advocate and director, who spent much of her later career in Australia.
Early life
Peggy van Praagh ...
.
Personal life
In 1952, she married the musician and ballet conductor John Lanchbery
John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor ...
, they had a daughter, and the marriage ended in divorce. In 1960, she married plantation owner Les Farley, and they had two daughters.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifield, Elaine
1930 births
1999 deaths
Australian ballerinas
People from Sydney
People educated at the Royal Ballet School
Australian Ballet principal dancers