Rowena Othlie Jackson (also known as Chatfield; born 24 March 1926) is a New Zealand former

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

Early life

Jackson was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

on 24 March 1926 to William Ernest Jackson and Lilian Jane, née Solomon. As a young child her ballet teachers were Stan Lawson and Rosetta Powell in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. She attended primary schools in

(Waihopai School), Dunedin (Musselburgh School) and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

( Maungawhau School), followed by

Epsom Girls' Grammar School , motto_translation = ''Through difficulties to greatness.'' , coordinates = , type = State Single Sex Girls Secondary (Year 9–13) with Boarding Facilities , established = 12 February 1917 , MOE = 64 , principal = Lorraine Pound , colo ...

. In 1939 there was a benefit concert held at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland to raise funds for Jackson to continue her study in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, however because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Jackson and her mother went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

instead. In 1941 Jackson won the first

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 in New Zealand.

Career

In 1946, Jackson joined the

Sadler's 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 i ...

in London. She was notable for her role as Swanhilda in the ballet ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...

'', and danced with

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 (n ...

and her husband

Philip Chatfield Philip Chatfield (2 December 1927 – 25 July 2021) was a British born ballet dancer, choreographer and artistic director. He danced for the Royal Ballet and was artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Early life Chatfield was bor ...

. By February 1954, she had been promoted to

at Sadler's Wells Ballet. She was renowned for her special gift for fast and brilliant turns. In 1940, before she left New Zealand, she set a world record when she performed 121 fouettés ''sur place''. Jackson and Chatfield danced together in the Royal Ballet's production of ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' shortly after they married. The couple retired from the Royal Ballet in 1959 and moved to New Zealand, where she became artistic director of the

Royal New Zealand Ballet The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish ...

company. Each of them served as director of the New Zealand Ballet School. Although Jackson cites the dancing of

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

and

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars duri ...

as being influences on her, it was a visit from the Russian ballerina

Irina Baronova Irina Mikhailovna Baronova FRAD (; 13 March 1919 – 28 June 2008) was a Russian ballerina and actress who was one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, discovered by George Balanchine in Paris in the 1930s. She created ro ...

who inspired her to make ballet her 'life's ambition'.

Personal life

On 4 February 1958, Jackson married the British dancer Philip Chatfield. They had a son Paul (born 1960), and a daughter Rosetta (born 1961). In 1991, they were living in

Te Atatū Te Atatū (from the Māori : "the dawn") is the name of two adjacent suburbs in West Auckland, New Zealand: ''Te Atatū Peninsula'' and ''Te Atatū South''. They are located next to each other some 10 kilometres to the west of the Auckland city ...

. On retirement they moved the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

in Queensland in 1993. Chatfield died in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in July 2021.

Honours and awards

In the 1961 New Year Honours, Jackson was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to ballet. She was the first dancer to receive this honour.

References

External links

The Ballerina Gallery – Rowena Jackson
(archived copy in Internet Archive)
''Our Stars of Ballet'' (1960) - short film on Rowena Jackson and Alexander Grant, NZ On Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Rowena Othlie 1926 births Living people New Zealand ballerinas People from Invercargill Prima ballerinas Dancers of The Royal Ballet New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School 20th-century New Zealand dancers 20th-century ballet dancers