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
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. Her father was a clerk for the Bristol Gas Company; both parents were musical. Her father founded the Bristol Amateur Operatic Society, and both Phyllis and her mother appeared in the society's productions. She attended a theatrical school in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
. She studied ballet with Malvina Cavallazzi, Alexander Genée,
Adolph Bolm
Adolph Rudolphovich Bolm (russian: Адольф Рудольфович Больм; September 25, 1884 – April 16, 1951) was a Russian-born American ballet dancer and choreographer, of German descent.
Biography
Bolm graduated from the Rus ...
,
Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in Ro ...
, and
Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th ...
.
Career
From 1907 Bedells was a dancer at the
London Empire Theatre and became the first British prima ballerina there in 1914.
She left in 1916 to dance in
West End musical revues and in opera ballets 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 ...
. She appeared in two silent films, ''Fairyland'' (1916) and ''The Land of Mystery'' (1920). She was a founding member of 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 ...
in 1920 and helped to draw up its first syllabus. She was also a member of the
Camargo Society The Camargo Society was a London society which created and produced ballet between 1930 and 1933, giving opportunity to British musicians, choreographers, designers and dancers. Janet Leeper (1945). ''English Ballet'', King Penguin Its influence ...
. In 1931, she appeared as a guest artist with the
Vic-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 ...
.
Bedells retired from performing in 1935, giving a farewell performance at the
London Hippodrome
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...
.
She became a ballet teacher and an examiner for 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 ...
. She published her autobiography, ''My Dancing Days'', in 1954. In 1976, she recorded an interview for the Dance Oral History Project at the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. In 1979, the annual Phyllis Bedells Bursary was established in her honour.
Personal life
Bedells married Major Ian Gordon McBean in 1918. They had a son and a daughter.
Their daughter, Jean Bedells (1924-2014), was also a dancer, as was Jean's daughter, Anne Bedells. She died in 1985, in
Henley on Thames
Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Bucking ...
, aged 91 years. There is a collection of her papers in the Royal Academy of Dance Archives.
A ballet costume worn by Bedells in 1933 is in the collection of the
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
.
References
External links
Dictionary of Dance: Phyllis BedellsPortraits of Phyllis Bedells from 1916 to 1919, in the
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
*National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
*National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...
.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedells, Phyllis
English ballerinas
1893 births
1985 deaths