Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois OM CH DBE (1898–2001) was the Irish-born founder of the Royal Ballet, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the Royal Ballet School. She lived at 14 The Terrace in Barnes for twenty years and remained in the area until her death at the age of 102. An English Heritage blue plaque marks the house.
Early Life
Born Edris Stannus on 6 June 1898 at Baltyboys House, Blessington, County Wicklow, Ireland, she was the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Stannus, a British Army officer later killed in action in 1917 during the First World War. The family left Ireland in 1905 when she was seven, settling in Walmer, Kent.
She adopted the stage name “Ninette de Valois” in 1913, at the age of thirteen, upon entering the Lila Field Academy for Children — whose alumni also included Noel Coward. Her first professional performance came that same year with “The Wonder Children” touring company.
Career
Ballets Russes
In September 1923, de Valois joined Serge Diaghilev’s celebrated Ballets Russes as a soloist, creating roles in Les biches and Le Train Bleu. She left performing at the age of 26, in 1924, after doctors detected damage from a previously undiagnosed case of childhood polio.
Founding the Royal Ballet
The institutions she created represent her greatest legacy:
- 1926 — Founded the Academy of Choreographic Art in London
- 1927–1935 — Worked with W. B. Yeats at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, producing dances and founding the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet
- May 1931 — Established the Vic-Wells Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre under the patronage of Lilian Baylis, with an initial company of six women
- 1931 — Founded the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School (later the Royal Ballet School)
- 1945–1946 — Company transferred to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
- 1956 — The Sadler’s Wells Ballet received a Royal Charter and was renamed The Royal Ballet
She nurtured generations of world-class dancers and choreographers, including Margot Fonteyn, Frederick Ashton, John Cranko, and Kenneth MacMillan. In 1961, she invited Rudolf Nureyev to join the company following his defection from the Soviet Union, orchestrating his debut with Fonteyn in February 1962.
She also worked with Gustav Holst’s circle — Holst had lived at 10 The Terrace from 1908 to 1913, making The Terrace home to two of the most significant figures in British performing arts.
International Work
De Valois founded national ballet institutions abroad, including the Turkish School of Ballet (1948), the Turkish State Ballet (1956), and the Iranian National Ballet (1958).
She retired as director of the Royal Ballet in 1963 and continued as head of the Royal Ballet School until 1972.
Connection to Barnes
De Valois married Dr Arthur Blackall Connell, a general practitioner in Barnes, on 5 July 1935 at Windsor. The couple settled in Barnes, and she lived at 14 The Terrace from 1962 to 1982 — a Grade II listed Georgian house facing the Thames. After 1982, she moved to Elm Bank Mansions, also on The Terrace, where she remained until her death.
During the Second World War, de Valois helped her husband at his Barnes surgery on weekends, despite the demanding schedule of running the ballet company. The couple shared a fascination with Sufism and hosted weekly Sufi gatherings.
Her husband died in July 1987 after more than fifty years of marriage.
Honours
| Year | Honour |
|---|---|
| 1951 | Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) |
| 1964 | Albert Medal, Royal Society of Arts — first woman to receive it since Marie Curie in 1910 |
| 1974 | Erasmus Prize |
| 1982 | Companion of Honour (CH) |
| 1992 | Order of Merit (OM) |
She also received honorary degrees from the Universities of London, Oxford, Reading, Sheffield, Dublin, and Aberdeen, among others.
Legacy
De Valois died in her sleep on 8 March 2001, at the age of 102. Her 100th birthday in 1998 was celebrated at the Royal Ballet School, with the Royal Ballet performing a season in her honour.
Before her work, there was no national ballet company in Britain. She established classical ballet as a permanent institution and arranged for her posthumous production revenues to benefit the Royal Ballet School.
An English Heritage blue plaque was erected at 14 The Terrace in 2006, reading: “Dame NINETTE DE VALOIS O.M. 1898–2001 Founder of the Royal Ballet lived here 1962–1982.”
Image sources
- ninette-de-valois.webp — Ninette de Valois, 1920s. Public domain. Source
Sources
- Ninette de Valois — Wikipedia
- Ninette de Valois Blue Plaque — English Heritage
- Ninette de Valois — Britannica
- 14 The Terrace, Barnes — Wikipedia