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{{Short description|British ballet dancer and teacher}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = [[Dame]]
| name = Monica Mason
| name = Monica Mason
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DBE|sep=,|size=100%}}
⚫
| image =
| caption =
| image = Royal Ballet editathon, October 2014 03.JPG
⚫
| caption = Monica Mason, 2014
| birth_name = Monica Margaret Mason
| birth_name = Monica Margaret Mason
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|9|6|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1941|9|6|df=y}}
| birth_place = Johannesburg, South Africa
| birth_place = [[Johannesburg]], South Africa
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| residence =
| nationality = British
| nationality = British
| ethnicity =
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Ballet dancer and administrator
| occupation = Ballet dancer and administrator
| years_active =
| years_active =
| salary =
| title = Artistic director of [[The Royal Ballet]]
| title = Artistic director of the [[Royal Ballet]]
| term = 2002–2012
| term = 2002-2012
| predecessor = [[Ross Stretton]]
| predecessor = [[Ross Stretton]]
| successor = [[Kevin O'Hare]]
| successor = [[Kevin O'Hare]]
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}}
}}


'''Dame Monica Mason''' [[Order of the British Empire|DBE]] (born 6 September 1941) is a former [[ballet dancer]], and [[artistic director]] of the [[Royal Ballet]] in London from 2002 to 2012. <ref name=monica-mason>{{cite web|last=MaCaulay|first=Alastair|title=With Departure, a Ballet Director Comes Into Focus|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/arts/dance/monica-mason-reflects-on-leadership-of-royal-ballet.html|publisher=The New York Times|accessdate=12 November 2013}}</ref>
[[Dame]] '''Monica Mason''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|DBE|sep=,|size=100%}} (born 6 September 1941) is a former [[ballet dancer]], teacher, and [[Artistic director|director]] of [[The Royal Ballet]]. In more than fifty years with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal director, and a capable administrator.<ref>Zoë Anderson, ''The Royal Ballet: 75 Years'' (London: Faber & Faber, 2006).</ref><ref>The Royal Ballet, ''The Royal Ballet Yearbook, 2010/11'' (London: Oberon Books, 2011).</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life and training==
Monica Margaret Mason was born in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa, into a family of British ancestry. She studied ballet from a young age with Ruth Inglestone, [[Reina Berman]], and [[Frank Staff]] in her home city and, later, with Nesta Brooking in London. As an advanced student, she entered the [[Royal Ballet School]] in 1956, where she continued her education in both dance and academics.<ref>Barbara Newman, "Mason, Monica", in ''International Encyclopedia of Dance'', edited by [[Selma Jeanne Cohen]] and others (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), vol. 4, p. 306.</ref>
'''Monica Margaret Mason''' was born in [[Johannesburg]], South Africa, in 1941. A talented dancer, she moved to Britain at the age of 14 to join the [[Royal Ballet School]].


==Royal Ballet==
==Performing career==
Taken into the ''[[Corps de ballet|corps]]'' of the Royal Ballet in 1958, Mason was, at 16, the company's youngest member.<ref>[[John Gruen]], "Monica Mason", in ''The Private World of Ballet'' (New York: Viking, 1975).</ref> She soon caught the eye of choreographer [[Kenneth MacMillan]], who had been commissioned to create yet another dance version of ''[[The Rite of Spring]]'', set to [[Igor Stravinsky]]'s score that had caused such a ruckus at its premiere with [[Sergei Diaghilev|Diaghilev]]'s [[Ballets Russes]] in 1913. Impressed by her talent and energy, and conscious, no doubt, of her youth and innocence, he cast her as the Chosen Maiden, around whom the rite evolves. She scored a marked success and thereafter became a particular favorite of MacMillan. Over the years, she danced in almost all his works in the Royal Ballet repertory, creating roles in six of them.<ref>Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell, "Mason, Monica", in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Dance'' (Oxford University Press, 2000).</ref> Besides the Chosen Maiden, they are as follows.
At the age of 16, Mason joined the Royal Ballet as the Company's youngest member, and became a [[principal dancer]] in 1968. She worked closely with the choreographer [[Sir Kenneth MacMillan]], who created the roles of Lescaut's Mistress in ''[[L'histoire de Manon|Manon]]'', Calliope Rag in ''[[Elite Syncopations (ballet)|Elite Syncopations]]'', Summer in ''The Four Seasons'' and the Midwife in ''Rituals'' for her.
* 1974. ''[[L'histoire de Manon|Manon]]'', music by [[Jules Massenet]]. Role: Lescaut's Mistress.
* 1975. ''[[Elite Syncopations (ballet)|Elite Syncopations]]'', music by [[Scott Joplin]]. Role: Calliope Rag.
* 1975. ''[[The Four Seasons (ballet)|The Four Seasons]]'', music by [[Giuseppe Verdi]]. Role: Summer.
* 1975. ''Rituals'', music by [[Béla Bartók]] ([[Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion]]). Role: The Midwife.<ref>[https://www.kennethmacmillan.com/rituals ''Rituals''], kennethmacmillan.com</ref>
* 1981. ''[[Isadora (ballet)|Isadora]]'', music by [[Richard Rodney Bennett]]. Role: Nursey.


Appointed a soloist in 1963, Mason was promoted to principal dancer in 1968. The range of roles in her personal repertory was broad, encompassing the classicism of Odette/Odile in ''[[Swan Lake]]'' and Nikiya in ''[[La Bayadère]]'' as well as the austerity of purely abstract works such as ''[[Song of the Earth (ballet)|Song of the Earth]]'', set by MacMillan to [[Gustav Mahler]]'s meditative ''[[Das Lied von der Erde]]''. She was dramatically effective in such disparate roles as the ruthless Black Queen in ''[[Checkmate (ballet)|Checkmate]]'' by [[Ninette de Valois]], and the gentle Lady Elgar in ''[[Enigma Variations (ballet)|Enigma Variations (My Friends Pictured Within)]]'', by [[Frederick Ashton]]. Coldly implacable as Myrtha in ''[[Giselle]]'' and furiously malevolent as Carabosse in ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]''. She displayed warmth, charm, and grace in such evocative works as ''[[Liebeslieder Walzer (ballet)|Liebeslieder Walzer]]'' by [[George Balanchine]], and ''[[Dances at a Gathering]]'' by [[Jerome Robbins]].<ref>Newman, "Mason, Monica" in ''International Encyclopedia of Dance'' (1998), vol. 4, p. 307.</ref>
Mason was also given the role of the Chosen Maiden in ''[[The Rite of Spring]]'' that had been originally created by Diaghilev for [[Lydia Sokolova]] in the 1920s. Her last leading role was as Nursey in MacMillan's ''[[Isadora (ballet)|Isadora]]'' in 1981, although she continued to appear in mime roles as a guest artist with the [[Royal Ballet]] for some time after that.


==Administrative career==
==Administrator==
After many years on the stage of the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, Mason began a new phase of her career as a ballet mistress and teacher.<ref>Alexander Bland, ''The Royal Ballet: The First Fifty Years'' (London: Threshold Books, 1981).</ref> She was appointed principal ''répétiteur'' (rehearsal director) for MacMillan's ballets in 1980, when she also began teaching classical variations to senior girls at the Royal Ballet School. She became the company's principal ''répétiteur'' in 1984, assistant to the director in 1988, and assistant director, to [[Anthony Dowell]], in 1991. Capping her administrative career, she was named artistic director in 2002.<ref>Dalya Alberge, "Dancers' Joy over Choice of Royal Ballet Director", ''The Times'' (London), 19 December 2002.</ref> After ten years' service, during which she fostered many talents and greatly enriched the repertory, she retired in July 2012.<ref>[[Alastair Macaulay]], "With Departure, a Ballet Director Comes into Focus", ''The New York Times'', 12 November 2013.</ref> [[Peter Wright (dancer)|Peter Wright]] regarded her as the best artistic director since [[Ninette de Valois]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/jun/17/sir-peter-wright-ballet-memoir-rudolf-nureyev|title=Sir Peter Wright memoir reveals monster feuds of ballet greats|first=Dalya|last=Alberge|date=17 June 2016|access-date=2 January 2018|work=The Guardian}}</ref>
Following her retirement as a principal dancer, Mason continued to work for the Royal Ballet company and in 1984 she was appointed Principal [[Répétiteur]] to the company. In 1991 she became Assistant Director of the company under [[Sir Anthony Dowell]]. Following the company's move to its new headquarters at the [[Royal Opera House]] in [[London]]'s [[Covent Garden]], Mason replaced Dowell's successor, Ross Stretton, as Director in late 2002.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article803490.ece|title=Dancers' joy over choice of Royal Ballet director|publisher=The Times
|author=Dalya Alberge|date=19 December 2002
|accessdate=21 August 2009}}</ref>
She retired from the company in July 2012, having served the company for 54 years.<ref>name=monica-mason</ref>


==Honours and awards==
==Damehood==
Mason was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 2002. In the 2008 Birthday Honours she was made [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) .
Mason has received numerous accolades, awards, and honours for her accomplishments during her long career. She was appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in 2002 and elevated to the rank of [[Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (DBE) in 2008.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Monica Mason}}
*[http://www.londondance.com/content/894/monica_mason Londondance.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20051116055014/http://www.londondance.com/content/894/monica_mason/ Monica Mason], londondance.com
*[http://info.royaloperahouse.org/ballet/index.cfm Royal Ballet official site]


{{OlivierAward SpecialAward 2001–2025}}
{{OlivierAward SpecialAward}}

{{Ballet}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Mason, Monica
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
⚫
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = South African ballet dancer
| DATE OF BIRTH = 6 September 1941
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Monica}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Monica}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:1941 births]]
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[[Category:Administrators of The Royal Ballet]]
[[Category:Administrators of The Royal Ballet]]
[[Category:People educated at the Royal Ballet School]]
[[Category:People educated at the Royal Ballet School]]
[[Category:Prima ballerinas]]
[[Category:British ballerinas]]
[[Category:British ballerinas]]
[[Category:British arts administrators]]
[[Category:British arts administrators]]
[[Category:Dancers of The Royal Ballet]]
[[Category:Women arts administrators]]
[[Category:Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners]]
[[Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:Dancers from London]]
[[Category:People from Johannesburg]]
[[Category:People from Johannesburg]]
[[Category:South African ballerinas]]
[[Category:South African ballerinas]]
⚫
[[Category:South African ballet dancers]]
[[Category:South African emigrants to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Fellows of King's College London]]

Latest revision as of 18:35, 15 May 2023

Dame
Monica Mason
DBE
Monica Mason, 2014
Born
Monica Margaret Mason

(1941-09-06) 6 September 1941 (age 82)
Johannesburg, South Africa
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Ballet dancer and administrator
TitleArtistic director of The Royal Ballet
Term2002–2012
PredecessorRoss Stretton
SuccessorKevin O'Hare

Dame Monica Mason DBE (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and director of The Royal Ballet. In more than fifty years with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal director, and a capable administrator.[1][2]

Early life and training[edit]

Monica Margaret Mason was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, into a family of British ancestry. She studied ballet from a young age with Ruth Inglestone, Reina Berman, and Frank Staff in her home city and, later, with Nesta Brooking in London. As an advanced student, she entered the Royal Ballet School in 1956, where she continued her education in both dance and academics.[3]

Performing career[edit]

Taken into the corps of the Royal Ballet in 1958, Mason was, at 16, the company's youngest member.[4] She soon caught the eye of choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, who had been commissioned to create yet another dance version of The Rite of Spring, set to Igor Stravinsky's score that had caused such a ruckus at its premiere with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1913. Impressed by her talent and energy, and conscious, no doubt, of her youth and innocence, he cast her as the Chosen Maiden, around whom the rite evolves. She scored a marked success and thereafter became a particular favorite of MacMillan. Over the years, she danced in almost all his works in the Royal Ballet repertory, creating roles in six of them.[5] Besides the Chosen Maiden, they are as follows.

Appointed a soloist in 1963, Mason was promoted to principal dancer in 1968. The range of roles in her personal repertory was broad, encompassing the classicism of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and Nikiya in La Bayadère as well as the austerity of purely abstract works such as Song of the Earth, set by MacMillan to Gustav Mahler's meditative Das Lied von der Erde. She was dramatically effective in such disparate roles as the ruthless Black Queen in Checkmate by Ninette de Valois, and the gentle Lady Elgar in Enigma Variations (My Friends Pictured Within), by Frederick Ashton. Coldly implacable as Myrtha in Giselle and furiously malevolent as Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty. She displayed warmth, charm, and grace in such evocative works as Liebeslieder Walzer by George Balanchine, and Dances at a Gathering by Jerome Robbins.[7]

Administrative career[edit]

After many years on the stage of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mason began a new phase of her career as a ballet mistress and teacher.[8] She was appointed principal répétiteur (rehearsal director) for MacMillan's ballets in 1980, when she also began teaching classical variations to senior girls at the Royal Ballet School. She became the company's principal répétiteur in 1984, assistant to the director in 1988, and assistant director, to Anthony Dowell, in 1991. Capping her administrative career, she was named artistic director in 2002.[9] After ten years' service, during which she fostered many talents and greatly enriched the repertory, she retired in July 2012.[10] Peter Wright regarded her as the best artistic director since Ninette de Valois.[11]

Honours and awards[edit]

Mason has received numerous accolades, awards, and honours for her accomplishments during her long career. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2002 and elevated to the rank of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2008.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Zoë Anderson, The Royal Ballet: 75 Years (London: Faber & Faber, 2006).
  2. ^ The Royal Ballet, The Royal Ballet Yearbook, 2010/11 (London: Oberon Books, 2011).
  3. ^ Barbara Newman, "Mason, Monica", in International Encyclopedia of Dance, edited by Selma Jeanne Cohen and others (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), vol. 4, p. 306.
  4. ^ John Gruen, "Monica Mason", in The Private World of Ballet (New York: Viking, 1975).
  5. ^ Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell, "Mason, Monica", in The Oxford Dictionary of Dance (Oxford University Press, 2000).
  6. ^ Rituals, kennethmacmillan.com
  7. ^ Newman, "Mason, Monica" in International Encyclopedia of Dance (1998), vol. 4, p. 307.
  8. ^ Alexander Bland, The Royal Ballet: The First Fifty Years (London: Threshold Books, 1981).
  9. ^ Dalya Alberge, "Dancers' Joy over Choice of Royal Ballet Director", The Times (London), 19 December 2002.
  10. ^ Alastair Macaulay, "With Departure, a Ballet Director Comes into Focus", The New York Times, 12 November 2013.
  11. ^ Alberge, Dalya (17 June 2016). "Sir Peter Wright memoir reveals monster feuds of ballet greats". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2018.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monica_Mason&oldid=1154951508"