Robert de Warren (born 1933) is a British former ballet dancer, choreographer. He was the foundering director of the ''National Folklore Society of Iran'' (1971–1976). He served as the artistic director of Northern Ballet in England for 11 years, and Sarasota Ballet of Florida for 13 years.

Biography

Robert de Warren was born in 1933 in Montevideo,

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

to British parents, and his early years were spent in Montevideo and Argentina. His early dance training was in Uruguay, where he met his wife, Jacqueline, a French ballerina. de Warren studied at Sadler's Wells School (now the Royal Ballet School) in London, before joining National Ballet of Uruguay in 1954. He also danced ballet with the Covent Garden Opera Ballet (1958–1960), Stuttgart Ballet (1960–1962), and Frankfurt Ballet (1962–1964).

Iran

De Warren was recommended by

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 ...

to become the Ballet Master and Choreographer to the ''National Ballet of Iran,'' where he served from 1965–1970. At that time the Minister of Culture asked de Warren to found the ''National Folklore Society of Iran'', which he directed until 1978 - with the Empress

Farah Pahlavi Farah Pahlavi ( fa, فرح پهلوی, née Farah Diba ( fa, فرح دیبا, label=none); born 14 October 1938) is the widow of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and was successively Queen and Empress ('' Shahbanu'') of Iran fro ...

as a patron. The performing dance company for the ''National Folklore Society of Iran'' was the ''Mahalli Dancers of Iran'' (also known as the ''Mahalli Folk Dance Troupe''), which toured the world. The school, ''Iranian National and Folkloric Dance Academy'', was associated with training the dancers, which he led. One of his students at the school was noted dancer

Farzaneh Kaboli Farzaneh Kaboli ( fa, فرزانه کابلی, Farzâneh Kâboli; born in Tehran) is an Iranian dancer, choreographer, and actress. She is a leader in the Iranian Folkloric and National Dance Art, and a master of choreography in Iranian theaters. ...

Europe

De Warren joined the

Northern Ballet Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company ...

in England in 1976, after the resignation of Laverne Meyer. He served as the director of Northern Ballet from 1976 to 1987, and under his leadership he made fundamental changes to the company to emphasize classical ballet, and

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

was made a regular guest artist. De Warren was director of the Ballet at Teatro alla Scala Milan, from 1987 to 1994 on recommendation of Rudolf Nureyev.

United States

De Warren joined the

Sarasota Ballet The Sarasota Ballet is an American ballet company based in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1987 by former ballet dancer Jean Weidner Goldstein and is now acclaimed for its performances of Sir Frederick Ashton's ballets under its director Iai ...

as artistic director in 1994, succeeding Eddy Toussaint. He remained at the Sarasota Ballet for 13 years, leaving in 2007 with his role was filled by Ian Webb. De Warren founded the Sarasota International Dance Festival. The proclamation of "Robert de Warren Day" on February 18, 2016 was made by the Vice Mayor of Sarasota, Suzanne Atwell, announcing this recognition of de Warren's 22 year contribution to the cultural life of Sarasota and beyond. The County Council also recognized Robert de Warren. His broad dedication to develop all performing arts was recognized through his many theatrical presentations in creating a repertoire that included the Sarasota Opera, the Sarasota Symphony, Sarasota Circus, the Ringling Museum of Art, to name but a few.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Warren, Robert British male ballet dancers British choreographers Living people Place of birth missing (living people) British expatriates in Iran 1933 births British expatriates in the United States 20th-century British ballet dancers