Beryl Gray
Dame Beryl Gray CH , DBE , FRSA (birth name: Beryl Svenson ; born June 11, 1927 in London ) is a former British prima ballerina .
Life
Born as Beryl Svenson, she began ballet at an early age and received a scholarship to Sadler's Wells Ballet School in 1936 at the age of nine . She had her first solo appearance in 1941 in the role of Sabrina in the mask play "Comus" by John Milton in the setting by Thomas Arne .
Between 1942 and 1957 she was engaged as a prima ballerina at Sadler's Wells Ballet and in 1943, as the youngest dancer to date, danced the title role in " Giselle ". As the first English ballerina , she then had guest appearances in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow between 1957 and 1958 . In 1964 came guest appearances at the Chinese Ballet in Beijing .
After finishing her dancing career, she was artistic director of the London Festival Ballet, now the England National Ballet, between 1968 and 1979 .
In 1981 her memoir was published under the title "My Favorite Ballet Stories". In 1988 she was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services .
literature
- David Gillard: Beryl Gray. To biography . Allen, London 1977 ISBN 0-491-02221-2 .
- Una McGovern (Ed.): Chambers Biographical Dictionary . 7th ed. Chambers Press, Edinburgh 2002, p. 642. ISBN 0-550-10051-2 .
- Beryl Gray , in: Internationales Biographisches Archiv 28/1960 from July 4, 1960, in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely available)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gray, Beryl |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Svenson, Beryl (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British ballet dancer and choreographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 11, 1927 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London |