Phyllis Spira
South African ballet dancer, first Prima Ballerina Assoluta of her country.
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Phyllis Spira (18 October 1943 – 11 March 2008) was a South African ballet dancer who started out with England’s Royal Ballet. After coming back to South Africa, she served as prima ballerina of CAPAB Ballet in Cape Town for twenty-eight years. In 1984, she became the first—and so far the only—South African to be named Prima Ballerina Assoluta. Spira was born in Johannesburg, the first daughter and second child of Lazar and Fanny Pauline (Rosen) Spira, working-class parents living in a modest home in the suburb of Orange Grove.
She began ballet classes at age four and showed early talent. After a Hebrew nursery school, she attended Orange Grove Primary School and Waverly High School for Girls, where ballet and eisteddfod training were extracurriculars. At fifteen, her headmistress, recognizing her exceptional ability, got official permission for her to leave school after tenth grade to focus on dance. Soon after, she was offered a spot at the Royal Ballet School in London.
Her parents worried about their teenage daughter living alone in a big foreign city, but they let her go. Arriving in London in May 1959, Spira started training at the Royal Ballet School at sixteen. Her distinctive movement quickly drew notice. Ninette de Valois, the school’s director, called her “a baby Markova,” comparing her to the famous British ballerina Alicia Markova.
She earned a scholarship and moved swiftly through the program. Within months, she made her debut in Swan Lake at Covent Garden, dancing in the act 1 pas de trois, as a cygnet in acts 2 and 4, and in the Neapolitan Dance in act 3. Thereupon she was invited to join the Royal Ballet touring company. She was 17 years old at the time.
England
Spira remained with the touring group of the Royal Ballet for three years, from 1960 to 1963. Promoted to soloist in 1961, she performed across the English provinces, continental Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and the Far East, with occasional TV appearances in England and Japan. Her roles included the pas de trois in Frederick Ashton’s Les Rendezvous and Kenneth MacMillan’s Danses Concertantes, the title role in John Cranko’s Pineapple Poll, and Phyllis in Alan Carter’s Toccata, a part created for her in 1962. She had a promising future, but homesickness led her to return to South Africa in 1964.
Lore & Background
Phyllis Bernice Spira was born in Johannesburg, the first daughter and second child of working-class parents Lazar and Fanny Pauline (Rosen) Spira. She began ballet at age four and showed early talent. After attending a Hebrew nursery school, she was educated at Orange Grove Primary School and Waverly High School for Girls. At 15, her headmistress obtained permission for her to leave school after tenth grade to pursue dance training.
She then went to London in May 1959 to train at the Royal Ballet School at age 16. Ninette de Valois called her 'a baby Markova.' Awarded a scholarship, she progressed quickly and made her debut in Swan Lake at Covent Garden, dancing in the pas de trois in act 1, as a cygnet in acts 2 and 4, and in the Neapolitan Dance in act 3. At 17, she joined the Royal Ballet touring company. Spira remained with the Royal Ballet touring group from 1960 to 1963, becoming a soloist in 1961.
She performed across the English provinces, continental Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East, and the Far East, and appeared on television in England and Japan. Among her roles were the pas de trois in Frederick Ashton's Les Rendezvous and Kenneth MacMillan's Danses Concertantes, the title role in John Cranko's Pineapple Poll, and Phyllis in Alan Carter's Toccata, a role created for her in 1962. Despite a promising future, she returned to South Africa in 1964.
South Africa
She joined PACT Ballet in Johannesburg but soon moved to CAPAB Ballet in Cape Town after a salary dispute. She and partner Gary Burne left temporarily in 1967–1968 to dance with the National Ballet of Canada, then returned to CAPAB. After Burne left in 1971, she partnered with Eduard Greyling for seventeen years until her retirement. Her repertory ranged from lyrical (Les Sylphides) to dramatic (Romeo and Juliet) to technically spectacular (Don Quixote).
She danced the Betrayed Girl in The Rake's Progress, the Young Girl in The Two Pigeons, and the title role of La Sylphide. Burne choreographed The Doves (1966) and The Birthday of the Infanta (1971) for her. She was also a gifted Spanish dancer, appearing in The Three-Cornered Hat (1966) and Fiesta Manchega (1973). Peter Williams of Dance and Dancers wrote that 'Spira looked uncannily like Markova as well as having a flavor of Fonteyn, but with an approach of her own.' She led CAPAB Ballet until 1988, when an injury on the opening night of a new production of Giselle ended her dance career.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Phyllis Spira (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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