Leslie George Edwards (6 August 1916 – 8 February 2001) was a British ballet dancer and ballet master. He was one of the final links with

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 Russ ...

's original pre-war Vic-Wells Ballet. Apart from two years of military service during the Second World War, his entire 60-year career was effectively spent with what became 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 ...

organisation, until his final retirement from the stage in 1993.

Early years

Edwards was born on 6 August 1916 and trained with

Marie Rambert Dame Marie Rambert, Mrs Dukes DBE (20 February 188812 June 1982) was a Polish-born English dancer and pedagogue who exerted great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher. Early years and background Born to a liberal Lithuan ...

after leaving school at the age of 15. He then joined the Vic-Wells Ballet School. He also trained with

Margaret Craske Margaret Craske (26 November 1892 – 18 February 1990) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher of ballet. Life Margaret Craske was born on 26 November 1892 in Norfolk, England,Debra Craine, Judith Mackrell (2010). ''The Oxford Di ...

, Stanislav Idzikowski 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 ...

. He debuted at Rambert's Ballet Club in 1932.

Performing career

Edwards was a cast member in the original production of

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

's ''

Jardin aux Lilas ''Jardin aux lilas'' (''Lilac Garden'') is a ballet in one act choreographed by Antony Tudor to a composition by Ernest Chausson entitled ''Poème (Chausson), Poème'', Op. 25. With scenery and costumes designed by Hugo Stevenson, it was first pre ...

'' in 1936. He first danced with the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1933, however, he only officially joined the company in 1937. With the Vic-Wells Ballet, he was a member of the first cast of Frederick Ashton's '' Les Patineurs''. Edwards was known for his character roles rather than classical technique and later enjoyed purely mime roles. He taught mime 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 ...

while still a principal with the

. His career began in the supporting male roles before graduating to the villains. His niche, however, was in "the meatier roles in the mime and character repertory" such as the Red King in De Valois's '' Checkmate'' and as the American tourist in Massine's ''

La Boutique fantasque ''La Boutique fantasque'', also known as ''The Magic Toyshop'' or ''The Fantastic Toyshop'', is a ballet in one act conceived by Léonide Massine, who devised the choreography for a libretto written with the artist André Derain, a pioneer of ...

''. Edwards's success grew, however, after Frederick Ashton created the amiable role of Arthur for him in his '' A Wedding Bouquet'' of 1937. Edwards as the Beggar in

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 ( ...

's 1944 ballet ''

Miracle in the Gorbals ''Miracle in the Gorbals'' (1944) is a one-act ballet choreographed by Robert Helpmann to a story by Michael Benthall, with music by Arthur Bliss. The setting is the 1940s slums in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. It became a staple of the Royal Ball ...

'' was deemed irreplaceable and he thus appeared in all 92 performances of the ballet. He was also notable as the farmer Thomas in Ashton's ''

La Fille Mal Gardée LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

'' of 1960. He had an unusually long 60-year career, which was interrupted only for two years of war service during the Second World War. However, he returned, after being invalided out, to create many more roles and he appeared in dozens of ballets. His most famous role was as Catalabutte in ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...

''.

Roles created for him

* Arthur in Ashton's '' A Wedding Bouquet'', 1937 * Lawyer in de Valois's '' The Prospect Before Us'', 1940 * Archimago in Ashton's '' The Quest'', 1943 * the Beggar in Helpmann's ''

'', 1944 * Chauffeur in Ashton's '' Les Sirènes'', 1946 * Bilby in Howard's '' A Mirror for Witches'', 1952 * Hypnotist in MacMillan's '' Noctambules'', 1956 * Oedipus in Cranko's ''

Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...

'', 1959 * farmer Thomas in Ashton's ''

'', 1960 * Basil G. Nevinson in Ashton's ''

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

'', 1967

Later years

Edwards worked as a rehearsal director for the

from 1959 to 1970. He was the first director of the newly formed Royal Ballet Choreographic Group from 1967 to 1987. Here he assisted many emerging British choreographers, including

Ronald Hynd Ronald Hynd (born 22 April 1931) is an English choreographer, and in his youth was a ballet dancer. In the Royal Ballet in the late 1940s he began to dance with Annette Page, whom he later married. Page died on 4 December 2017. They have a daugh ...

Geoffrey Cauley Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

David Bintley Sir David Julian Bintley (born 17 September 1957) is an English former ballet dancer, the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company. Early life Bintley was born ...

and

Michael Corder Michael Corder (born 17 March 1955) is a British choreographer and director. Corder trained at the Royal Ballet School and joined the Royal Ballet itself in 1973. References British choreographers British male ballet dancers 1955 births ...

. He also served as ballet master for the Royal Opera from 1970 to 1990. He was described as "gentle, unassuming, kindly, very distinguished in bearing – a senior civil servant among dancers – yet happily possessed of a wicked but never malicious sense of humour". He died at his home in London on 8 February 2001 after suffering from cancer. His autobiography, ''In Good Company: Sixty Years with the Royal Ballet'', was published posthumously in 2003.

References

Obituaries