Ninette de Valois
Founder of The Royal Ballet and godmother of English ballet.
Born Edris Stannus in County Wicklow, Ireland, in 1898, Ninette de Valois came from a gentry family with a military and artistic background. She moved to England as a child and began ballet lessons at ten. After training at the Lila Field Academy, she adopted her stage name and made her professional debut in a West End pantomime. By 1919, she was principal dancer for the Beecham Opera at the Royal Opera House, studying under teachers like Enrico Cecchetti and Nicholas Legat.
In 1923, she joined Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, performing across Europe and rising to soloist. She created roles in works such as *Les biches* and *Le Train Bleu*, and mentored the young Alicia Markova. A childhood polio diagnosis forced her to step back from intense dancing in 1924, but she later credited Diaghilev with teaching her how to run a company.
After leaving the Ballets Russes, de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art in London in 1927, aiming to build a repertory company with a distinct British style. That same year, poet W. B. Yeats invited her to Dublin, where she set up the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet. Her students gained stage experience at the Old Vic, and when Lilian Baylis reopened the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 1931, de Valois moved her school there, renaming it the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School. The accompanying Vic-Wells Ballet, initially just six female dancers, performed its first full production that year.
De Valois choreographed steadily, commissioning music from Irish composers like Harold R. White and Arthur Duff. She retired from the stage in 1933 after Markova joined as prima ballerina. Under her direction, the company grew, hiring Frederick Ashton as principal choreographer and Constant Lambert as musical director in 1935. She produced notable works including *Job* (1931). The Vic-Wells Ballet eventually evolved into the Royal Ballet, while the school became the Royal Ballet School, and a touring branch became the Birmingham Royal Ballet. De Valois is remembered as a pivotal force in ballet, often called the godmother of English and Irish dance.
- field
- Ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, director
- nationality
- Irish-born British
- known_for
- Establishing The Royal Ballet, the Royal Ballet School, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet
Lore & Background
At age thirteen she trained at the Lila Field Academy for Children, changed her name to Ninette de Valois, and made her professional debut as a principal dancer in pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre. She mentored Alicia Markova and later said she learned everything about running a ballet company from Diaghilev. After leaving in 1927, she established the Academy of Choreographic Art in London and the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet in Dublin. Her school moved to Sadler's Wells Theatre in 1931, becoming the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, and the Vic-Wells Ballet company formed, predecessors of today's Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Royal Ballet School.
Reader's Guide
Ninette de Valois’s significance stems from her foundational role in establishing a distinctly British ballet tradition. After dancing with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, where she learned company management and created roles in works such as *Les biches* and *Le Train Bleu*, she left regular performance due to damage from childhood polio. In 1927, she founded the Academy of Choreographic Art in London and the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet in Dublin, the latter at the suggestion of poet W. B. Yeats. Her London school aimed to form a repertory company with dancers trained in a uniquely British style, and students gained professional experience performing at The Old Vic. When Lilian Baylis reopened Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 1931, de Valois moved her school there, renaming it the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, and formed the Vic-Wells Ballet. This company began with only six female dancers, with de Valois as lead dancer and choreographer. She retired from the stage in 1933 after Alicia Markova joined as Prima Ballerina. Under her direction, the company became one of the first Western troupes to perform the Imperial Russian classical repertoire while also building a British repertory, engaging Frederick Ashton as Principal Choreographer and Constant Lambert as musical director in 1935. She choreographed notable works including *Job* (1931) and collaborated with Irish composers like Harold R. White and Arthur Duff for Dublin productions. The Vic-Wells company and school evolved into The Royal Ballet, the Royal Ballet School, and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, cementing her legacy as a pivotal architect of English and Irish ballet.
Did You Know?
- She changed her name from Edris Stannus to Ninette de Valois at age thirteen.
- She was a maternal great-granddaughter of diarist Elizabeth Grant Smith.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ninette de Valois?
She was an Irish-born British dancer, choreographer, and teacher best known as the founding director of The Royal Ballet. Fans and scholars often call her the 'godmother of English ballet' for building classical dance into a national institution.
What major ballet companies did Ninette de Valois establish?
She founded The Royal Ballet, the Royal Ballet School, and the touring company that eventually became the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Together, those three organizations formed the backbone of British classical ballet in the twentieth century.
What was Ninette de Valois's connection to the Ballets Russes?
Before creating her own companies, she danced professionally in Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. That early immersion in the world's most celebrated touring troupe shaped her approach to staging and company management.
Why is Ninette de Valois considered so important in ballet history?
She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of ballet because she transformed Britain from a peripheral dance market into a global leader. Her institutions still operate today and continue to produce world-class dancers and choreography.
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