Monica Mason
Monica Mason | |
|---|---|
 Monica Mason, 2014 | |
| Born | Monica Margaret Mason 6 September 1941 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 |
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
- Use dmy dates from December 2011
- 1941 births
- National Dance Award winners
- Administrators of The Royal Ballet
- People educated at the Royal Ballet School
- British ballerinas
- British arts administrators
- Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet
- Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Laurence Olivier Award winners
- Living people
- People from London
- People from Johannesburg
- South African ballerinas