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

. 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