Monica Mason: Difference between revisions

Monica Mason
Monica Mason
	Monica Mason, 2014
Born	Monica Margaret Mason; 6 September 1941 (age 82); Johannesburg, South Africa
Nationality	British
Occupation(s)	Ballet dancer and administrator
Title	Artistic director of the Royal Ballet
Term	2002-2012
Predecessor	Ross Stretton
Successor	Kevin O'Hare

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Monica Mason, DBE, (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and artistic director of the Royal Ballet, England's foremost theatrical dance troupe. In more than fifty years with this company, she established a formidable reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal director, and a capable administrator.^[1] ^[2]

Early life and training

Monica Margaret Mason was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, into a family of British heritage. 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

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 famous 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, not 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.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). She retired from the company in July 2012, having served the company for 54 years.^[5]

Honors and awards

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) .

References

^ Zoë Anderson, The Royal Ballet: 75 Years (London: Faber & Faber, 2006).
^ The Royal Ballet, The Royal Ballet Yearbook, 2010/11 (London: Oberon Books, 2011).
^ 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.
^ John Gruen, "Monica Mason," in the Private World of Ballet (New York: Viking, 1975).
^ name=monica-mason

External links

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[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] =monica-mason

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 ==Performing career==
+Taken into the ''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 famous 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, not 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.
-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==