Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are taking
a deep exploration into the life of, well, one
of the 20th century's most formidable cultural
architects. That's a great way to put it. We're
studying the woman who really armed with a strategic
vision and an almost unnerving ambition built
an entire national culture from the ground up.
And not just in one country. That's the key.
Right. Not just once, but twice in two very,
very different nations. Our subject is Dame Nanette
de Valois, born Idris Stannis. And she. She truly
deserves the title of the godmother of English
and Irish ballet. Oh, that title is entirely
earned because what our sources reveal is not
the story of a great performer, though she was
one. It's the history of a relentless, systematic
campaign of institution building. Institution
building. That's the perfect phrase. It is. DeVauvois
didn't just, you know, establish a successful
dance company. She engineered a comprehensive
self -sustaining mechanism, a blueprint, really,
for perpetually generating world -class talent,
unique choreography, and an enduring artistic
infrastructure. So this deep dive is dedicated
to extracting that blueprint, the specific, maybe
even replicable strategy she used to completely
revolutionize the art form. Exactly. And the
scale of her legacy is, it's genuinely staggering.
I mean, when we talk about Nina de Valois, you
are discussing the primary founder of what...
became the Royal Ballet. Which is today one of
the world's absolute foremost classical companies.
Absolutely. And also the Royal Ballet School
and the major touring company that, you know,
eventually evolved into the Birmingham Royal
Ballet. And that's just the UK. That's just the
UK. But her influence, as we mentioned, didn't
stop there. She was also the driving, the foundational
force behind the establishment of the Turkish
State Ballet. So our mission today is... She
achieved her greatest professional successes,
her architectural successes, after having to
step away... from the intense demands of being
a regular principal dancer and pretty early in
her career, too. Right. And this was because
of a previously undiagnosed case of childhood
polio. The damage from it was finally detected
in 1924. So the immediate critical question we
face is. Did that medical necessity, that forced
pivot off the stage, did that ultimately enable
her to become the institutional giant we remember?
Or was the blueprint already there, just sort
of waiting for the opportunity to be activated?
It's a great question. Let's unpack this. We
have to start at the very foundation. The dancer's
origins and her transformation from Idris Stannis.
So Idris Stannis was born on June 6, 1898, in
Blessington County, Wicklow, Ireland. This was,
of course, a time when Ireland was still wholly
part of the United Kingdom. And crucially, her
background was not one of struggle. Not at all.
It was one of gentry, of high expectation. Right.
Her father was Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Stannis,
a decorated British Army officer. Her mother,
Elizabeth Graydon Smith, was an accomplished
glassmaker known professionally as Lilith Stannis.
This family environment is. It's more important
than it might seem on the surface. The sources
really show that she came from a lineage characterized
by deep intellectual and political connection.
Can you elaborate on that a bit? Sure. Her mother's
family included the famous diarist Elizabeth
Grant Smith as a great -grandmother and the Scottish
politician John Peter Grant as a great -great
-grandfather. So this isn't just trivia? No,
not at all. This background, it seems, instilled
a sense of rigorous discipline, social confidence,
and a unique perspective on documentation and
legacy. These are qualities that are absolutely
essential for someone who would spend her life
meticulously documenting and building institutions.
It provides the intellectual framework for an
ambitious life, certainly. She moved from Ireland
to England, specifically to Kent in 1905, to
live with her grandmother. And it wasn't until
age 10 in 1908 that she started attending formal
ballet lessons. Which, as you noted, by today's
hyper -competitive standards, that's considered
a relatively late start. But her trajectory just...
It accelerated with astonishing speed. That acceleration
really speaks to a formidable focused work ethic,
doesn't it? It does. By age 13, she was already
transitioning from recreational classes to professional
training at the Lila Field Academy for Children.
And it's right at this juncture that she executes
this fascinating definitive pivot away from her
gentry identity. She changes her name. She changes
her name to Nanette de Valois. That decision.
To adopt a name that sounds, I don't know, slightly
French, slightly exotic, certainly more theatrical
than Idris Stannis, that's a statement in itself,
isn't it? It signals her full commitment to the
stage. It's a total transformation into a professional
artist, absolutely. And the professional debut
followed immediately. Using this new persona,
Ninette de Valois, she secured a position as
a principal dancer in a major West End pantomime
at the Lyceum Theatre. A principal dancer in
London while still a teenager. It's a truly massive
early achievement. It signifies not just technical
skill, but remarkable stage presence and dramatic
ability. And she didn't stop there. She dedicated
herself to mastering the classical tradition,
continuing her advanced studies under a triumvirate
of the greatest names in classical ballet pedagogy
at the time. Edward Espinosa, Enrico Schichetti,
and Nicolas Legat. What did that kind of training
give her? Well, this is perhaps the most critical
foundation for her later architectural work.
Think of it this way. These three men represented
the absolute pinnacle and, crucially, three slightly
different schools of classical training, French,
Italian, and Russian. So she didn't just train
in one lineage. No. She absorbed a multifaceted
approach. This depth of understanding allowing
her to synthesize the best of each method is
precisely what she would later codify and refine
into the British style taught at the Royal Ballet
School. She wasn't building a copy. She was building
a hybrid, you know, robust enough to withstand
the scrutiny of the world stage. And this preparation
led to a really important pre -ballet Rose's
milestone. By 1919, at the age of 21, she cemented
her early professional status by being appointed
principal dancer of the Beecham Opera, the resident
opera company at the Royal Opera House. So she
had achieved success, but the true masterclass
was yet to come. Precisely. That success qualified
her for the next most crucial step in her education,
which brings us to the three years that defined
her entire future career trajectory. The years
that transformed the ambitious dancer into the
organizational titan. The single most formative
chapter for Devaloy, the director, was without
a doubt her time spent with the ballet Russes.
She joined Serge Diaghilev's legendary company
in 1923. And our sources confirm this experience
was basically equivalent to attending the world's
most intense, demanding, and visionary business
school, just with a spectacular artistic overlay.
Diaghilev's company was. It was a laboratory
of genius, but it was also one of chaos. She
remained there for three rigorous years, performing
all across Europe, and she rose quickly to the
rank of soloist. So she was creating original
roles. Yes. In signature works that are still
celebrated today, things like Les Biches and
Le Train Bleu, she was operating at the absolute
cutting edge of modern art and technique. She
was clearly thriving as a performer on the world
stage, traveling constantly. But she wasn't just
performing, was she? We see an early glimmer
of her future institutional role even then. You're
talking about Alicia Markova. Exactly. She took
on a mentorship role for the young Alicia Markova,
who was just a child at the time. It was already
showing this prodigious talent. This detail is
pivotal. It really is. It shows her instinct
for talent development was innate. She wasn't
focused solely on her own performance. She recognized
the need to nurture the next generation, a trait
that would define the longevity of her institutions.
And Markova, of course, went on to become a prima
ballerina assoluta. So Di Valois was developing
the stars of tomorrow, even while she herself
was still performing. But the real critical takeaway,
the aha moment that illuminates the source of
her later genius, it comes from her own testimony.
Our sources repeatedly cite de Beauvoir's own
retrospective analysis. Right. Where she stated
quite clearly that everything she knew about
how to run a ballet company. Everything. From
logistics to repertoire balance, from financial
structures to handling immense artistic personalities.
She learned it all entirely from working with
Diaghilev. This is the organizational blueprint
laid bare. It is. And we have to elaborate on
what that truly meant. Diaghilev's company was
internationally famous. But it was also incredibly
financially precarious. It constantly had to
innovate or die. So Duval all learned not just
artistic excellence, but also practical management.
Like what, specifically? Well, first, repertoire
balance. Diaghilev masterfully balanced the shock
of the new, you know, Stravinsky -Picasso avant
-garde work with a core of established bankable
classics. The Valois would import this exact
strategy. Okay, that makes sense. Then logistics.
The company was a traveling circus, constantly
touring across countries with huge sets and costumes.
She learned the mechanics of international movement,
contracts, and the company discipline necessary
for survival. And finances. The third point.
She witnessed the peril of relying solely on
wealthy patrons. Diaghilev's model was high risk,
high reward. She would later seek institutional
state support. the direct opposite of Diaghilev's
sometimes chaotic private financing. So she took
the artistic blueprint and strategically corrected
the administrative flaws. That's a perfect way
to put it. Yeah. She absorbed the vision. but
rejected the instability. And that need for stability
became acutely personal with what we referred
to as the forced pivot. In 1924, only a year
into her ballet's Russ's tenure, doctors finally
detected residual damage caused by a previously
undiagnosed case of childhood polio. This was
a seismic event. It meant she had to step back
drastically from the sheer physical intensity
required of a world -class soloist. It wasn't
a minor injury. It was a physical necessity that
curtailed her performing future. You have to
imagine being at the pinnacle of the performing
world and realizing your body just, it couldn't
sustain it. And the sources don't dwell on the
emotional toll, but the strategic outcome is
crystal clear. Instead of allowing this diagnosis
to end her career, Devalois channeled her immense
ambition and her newly acquired organizational
knowledge. The Diaghilev blueprint. The Diaghilev
blueprint toward choreography and more importantly,
direction and institutional founding. If she
couldn't dance the future of ballet on the world
stage, she was absolutely determined to build
the platform upon which the next hundred years
of British ballet would stand. This forced pivot
turned a brilliant dancer into an unstoppable
architect. The urgency she showed immediately
afterward, establishing institutions almost overnight,
confirms that she had found a new, necessary
outlet for her energy. The speed of her transition
is just. It's remarkable. She leaves Ballet Russes
in 1926, armed with the organizational blueprint,
constrained physically but strategically focused,
and by 1927 she immediately sets up not one but
two simultaneous national schools. Two at the
same time. In London, she established the Academy
of Choreographic Art, a rigorous dance school
for girls. And concurrently, she founded the
Abbey Theatre School of Ballet in Dublin. This
duality really highlights the breadth of her
ambition and her connection to her Irish roots.
The London project was always the main goal.
To form a repertory ballet company, sourced entirely
from the dancers trained in her school. And to
cultivate a uniquely British style of classical
ballet. Yes, one that could stand as an equal
to the Russian and French traditions. But let's
spend a moment on the Dublin Project, because
it illustrates the geopolitical sensitivity she
possessed, which is so crucial to the Blueprint's
success. It's a fascinating part of the story.
This project wasn't self -initiated. It was suggested
to her by the great poet and playwright W .B.
Yeats, the co -founder of the Abbey Theatre,
in May 1927 while she was visiting Dublin. And
the timing is critical here. This was newly independent
Ireland in the 1920s and 30s. Establishing a
national cultural institution was inherently
linked to national identity, to political aspiration.
So Diffelaw wasn't just imposing a foreign art
form. Not at all. She was collaborating with
Yeats and others to plant the seed of a national
ballet. The project ran until June 1933, and
though it was temporary, the sources show its
impact was profound. How significant was it really,
given that it was temporary? Was it just a side
project? No, I don't think so. It was a successful
proof of concept for her model of training. Of
the 16 students in the final class, seven continued
dancing, and most importantly, two of those students,
Sarah Payne and Joan Denise Moriarty, they went
on to found the next major national project.
the abbey school of ballet so she didn't just
teach them to dance She taught them how to build
an institution. She was seeding the future infrastructure
of Irish dance, fulfilling her architectural
mandate. And she employed the same cultural integration
strategy here that she would later perfect globally.
During those years, she actively focused on commissioning
music from Irish contemporary composers for her
choreographic works. She used Harold R. White's
The Fawn in 1928 and later Arthur Duff's The
Drinking Horn and John F. Larcher's Bluebeard
in 1933. She was ensuring that the new art form
was intertwined with native music and cultural
narratives right from the very beginning. It's
incredibly smart. Meanwhile, the groundwork for
the permanent institution in London required
a different kind of strategic patronage. Students
from her Academy of Choreographic Art gained
necessary, invaluable professional stage experience
performing in operas and plays at the Old Vic.
And de Valois herself choreographed short ballets
specifically designed to showcase her students.
This is where Lillian Bayliss enters the story,
the theatrical manager who owned the Old Vic.
A powerhouse in her own right. Definitely. She
was driven. by this desire to bring serious drama
and opera to a wider working class audience.
So Bayless was the infrastructure provider and
DiVello was the content expert. Bayliss acquired
and refurbished the derelict Sadler's Wells Theater,
intending it to be a sister theater to the Old
Vic, specifically for opera and dance. And this
gave de Valois the permanent, dedicated home
she needed to scale her vision beyond just a
small academy. Exactly. So when Sadler's Wells
reopened in 1931, the picket was complete. De
Valois moved her school there, renaming it the
Sadler's Wells Ballet School. The accompanying
permanent company was formally founded at that
moment. The Vic Wells Ballet. And this simultaneous
founding of the Permanent School and the Permanent
Company is the true moment of origin for the
entire Royal Ballet organization. It is. And
it's crucial to understand that her success was
predicated on Lillian Bayliss's trust and financial
support. She successfully convinced a major patron
that dance, as a serious art form, deserved its
own home, separate from being merely an adornment
for opera. That ability to secure critical infrastructure
is perhaps the first great structural win of
her blueprint. I think you're right. So the Vic
Wells Ballet, the direct ancestor of the Royal
Ballet, began life, well, incredibly humbly.
When it was formed, the sources indicate it started
with only six female dancers, just six. And Deville
Wall was still trying to work as the lead dancer,
choreographer, and director. It was a hand -to
-mouth operation driven purely by her iron will.
Their first major production on May 5th, 1931
at the Old Vic was a statement of intent, even
with those humble resources. Right. They brought
in external talent, Anton Dolan, as a guest star
to inject immediate star power and legitimacy.
But the moment Duvalard truly formalized the
shift from dancer to director came two years
later. In 1933, she successfully secured Alicia
Markova, her former Ballet Russes protege, to
join the company. And she appointed her as prima
ballerina. A huge recruitment coup. Massive.
And following this, de Valois retired fully from
the stage herself. That decision is textbook
institutional strategy. She realized the company
needed world -class performing talent to thrive,
and she had to step away entirely to dedicate
her time to management and creation. So by retiring,
she sent a clear signal. A very clear signal
that the company was no longer dependent on her
physical performance. It was dependent on her
administrative and artistic direction. So she
had the school -feeding dancers and a world -class
principal leading the company. Now the focus
shifted to building the British identity. Which
had to be achieved on two fronts. the Classical
Foundation, and original British modern works.
So in the short term, throughout the 1930s, the
company flourished by performing the classical
ballet repertoire works like Swan Lake, Giselle,
and The Sleeping Beauty. Works made famous by
the Imperial Russian Ballet. And this was strategically
essential. You can't define a new national style
unless your dancers possess a world -class classical
technique capable of executing the existing global
standards. They had to earn their credibility
first. Exactly. But the truly strategic, forward
-looking step, the signature move of the Devalois
blueprint, was establishing a pipeline for a
distinct British repertory. She knew that simply
performing Russian classics would leave them
perpetually derivative. To forge that unique
style, she engaged the crucial artistic triumvirate
in 1935. Yes. Frederick Ashton is principal choreographer
and Constant Lambert as musical director. This
triod of law providing the structural architecture,
Lambert the musical vision, and Ashton the choreographic
voice, this guaranteed a distinctly British artistic
identity that could finally move beyond imitation.
And the success of this system is so evident
in the talent that flowed from the school and
into the company. It became a star making factory.
It really did. Nurturing dancers who would become
global icons. Margot Fontaine, Robert Heltman,
Moira Shearer, Beryl Gray, Michael Soames. Devalois
built the system and the system produced the
legends. And the ultimate external validation
of this system occurred in 1949. The sources
all highlight. the 1949 U .S. tour sensation.
Right. The Sadler's Wells Ballet toured the United
States, and the immediate overwhelming success
of Margot Fonteyn made her an instant, massive
international celebrity. That moment wasn't just
a successful tour. It was a cultural diplomatic
triumph. Post -war Britain had proved that it
had not only rebuilt, but had created a world
-class exportable art form. It confirmed, decades
after her vision began, that her system for training,
management, and commissioning new work had resulted
in a world -class powerhouse capable of generating
international sensations. And it also showed
her commercial acumen. She knew that Fontaine,
in particular, was the face that could sell the
entire company to a global audience. It was a
strategic intersection of high art and high profile.
But she wasn't only the visionary director commissioning
work. She was also an exceptional choreographer
herself, which brings us to her single most important
early creation. One that solidified the British
style right from the start. Let's dedicate some
time to Job, which premiered in 1931. Yes, it
was her first major production for the Vic Wells
Ballet and its significance. is just, it's profound.
The sources confirm it literally defined the
future aesthetic of the British ballet repertoire.
Its historical importance cannot be overstated.
Jobe remains the oldest ballet still actively
performed in the royal ballet repertoire. And
crucially for her national vision, it was the
first full -length ballet produced by an entirely
British creative team. She was creating a British
statement. Culturally and artistically, just
as the company was taking its first steps. And
that British creative team was meticulously chosen
to ensure cultural resonance. Absolutely. The
sources detail the dedication to using native
talent. The score, titled Job, a mask for dancing,
was commissioned from the monumental British
composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. It was orchestrated
by her musical director, Constant Lambert, and
the designs were handled by Gwendolyn Reverat.
And the source material for the libretto was
profoundly unique in the ballet world. It was
written by Jeffrey Keynes. based on William Blake's
famous engraved edition of the Book of Job from
the Hebrew Bible. So why was using Blake in the
Book of Job so significant for this nascent British
style? Well, it was a conscious rejection of
the popular ballet's Russ's aesthetic. Diaghilev
often leaned towards Russian exoticism, Orientalism,
or bright modern colors. de Valois went for something.
Something reserved, weighty, profoundly intellectual
and based in the Protestant tradition. So it
was seeking to explore moral allegory and high
drama rather than just sensational spectacle.
That's it exactly. So how did that intellectual
source material translate into her actual choreographic
style? The sources describe it as having a simple
decorative effect using mimed actions. That sounds
a bit simplistic for a major work. The term mimed
actions here isn't simple in the sense of crude.
It's simple. the sense of stylized, clear, dramatic
intent. Dave Lua structured the work into eight
scenes, directly inspired by the static poses
and powerful gestures of Blake's engravings.
So the choreography was less about virtuoso steps.
And more about conveying theological and narrative
meaning. through powerful, defined poses and
tableau. It linked the visual, the literary,
and the musical arts in a deeply narrative and
expressionist way, setting a tone of dramatic
weight for the emerging British repertoire. That
makes sense. It established a tone of English
reserve and dramatic seriousness that contrasted
sharply with continental flashiness. Precisely.
And while the overall tone was reserved, it contained
moments of powerful, dramatic dance that are
still performed as classics today. The sources
highlight Satan's dance, an acrobatic solo for
a male dancer that requires incredible power.
The stylized dance of Job's comforters. And the
satirical expressionist dances representing the
destructive forces of war, pestilence, and famine.
Right. These extracts show her capability for
both dramatic subtlety and powerful physical
expression. And just for those tracking the timeline,
the world premiere was for the Camardo Society
on July 5, 1931, followed quickly by the first
public performance on September 20, 1931 at the
Old Vic. A clear, confident statement of national
intent just months after the company's formal
founding. And this commitment to defining the
British voice continued throughout the 1930s.
Her genius was not just in her own work, but
in her partnership with Ashton. Yes. She ensured
the company quickly amassed a signature British
repertory. Their collaborations resulted in crucial
cornerstones of British ballet, including the
famous Hogarthian satire The Rake's Progress
in 1935. And the dramatic psychological thriller
Checkmate in 1937. She was a factory of creation,
filling the repertoire while simultaneously managing
the entire institutional structure. To briefly
round out her extensive output during those formative
years, we should mention The Haunted Ballroom,
The Prospect Before Us, and of course the later
works she created specifically for the Turkish
stage. Her ability to maintain this level of
creative output while also being the administrative
head is, well, it's unprecedented. That relentless
work ethic, combined with decades of artistic
success, finally culminated in the ultimate institutional
security. In 1956, the company and school were
granted a royal charter by Queen Elizabeth II.
Formally linking the two organizations under
the official patronage of the crown, this was
the ultimate realization of the blueprint's goal,
sustainability. So the change wasn't just aesthetic.
Not at all. It fundamentally changed the funding
and perceived status of the company. The Vic
Wells Ballet became the Royal Ballet. De Valois
had successfully elevated the performing art
from a niche activity into a recognized, permanently
institutionally -backed component of Jewish national
culture. And this stability immediately paid
dividends in terms of securing future talent
flow, which was the core structural strength
of her model. Right. She ensured the company
maintained a constant supply of stars trained
entirely within her school's synthesized British
technique. I mean, think of the incredible roster.
Svetlana Barisova, Antoinette Sibley, Nadia Norena,
Lynn Seymour. And she proved her strategic vision
was not insular by integrating global talent,
like the explosive arrival of Rudolf Nureyev
in the 1960s. She knew the institution needed
both the homegrown foundation and the electrifying
international star power. Critically, she also
demonstrated a lack of artistic defensiveness.
She didn't just rely on Ashton and her own work,
did she? No, she actively invited external world
-class choreographers to enrich the repertoire.
The sources specifically note that she invited
the highly modern Sir Kenneth MacMillan and the
ultimate master of neoclassicism, George Balanchine,
to work with the company. This is a perfect example
of adaptive strategy. She was committed to her
unique British style, but not so dogmatic that
she closed off the institution to necessary evolution.
She provided the stability so that great artists
felt secure enough to create daring new work.
Her formal direct involvement began to wind down
in the early 1960s. She formally retired from
the Royal Ballet Directorship in 1963 and from
the school in 1970. But the sources emphasize
that she remained the unofficial looming matriarch.
Her presence continued to exert enormous influence
over the institutions for decades, ensuring that
the founding principles were never forgotten.
OK, now let's turn our attention to the second
major triumph of her institutional blueprint,
one that confirms its portability and universal
effectiveness, the establishment of the Turkish
State Ballet. This project is perhaps even more
remarkable than the Royal Ballet's founding.
Why do you say that? because Turkey, at the time
she became involved, had no prior history whatsoever
with the classical art form. The Turkish government,
driven by Ataturk's secular modernizing reforms,
invited her in the late 1940s to establish a
ballet school. What were the risks and challenges
of essentially importing an entire cultural tradition
wholesale into a country where it had no roots?
Well, the sources suggest that initial institutional
skepticism was high, and few people took the
project seriously. The challenge was immense.
Not only did she need to establish a school,
but she had to convince the public and the government
that this was a legitimate, worthy national art
form. She opened the school in 1947, modeling
it exactly on her successful Sadler's Wells template
in London. and the model eventually stabilized
under the direction of her appointed staff. The
sources mention Molly Lake and Travis Kemp, who
took over the running of the school from 1954
at de Villois' request, leading directly to the
formation of the Turkish State Ballet. And her
commitment to ensuring this new institution thrived
was total. Absolutely. She acted as a vital cultural
bridge, permitting royal ballet stars, including
Fontaine, Michael Soames, and Nadia Norena, to
perform in Ankara as guest artists. This instantly
lent immense international prestige and credibility
to the nascent company. She mounted all the great
traditional classical works, Coppelia, Giselle,
Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, along with her own
ballets like Checkmate and The Rake's Progress.
But the ultimate success, the defining feature
of the localized blueprint, was the integration
of national culture. This is the moment where
the strategic genius she first tested in Dublin
came to full fruition. In 1965? In 1965, de Valois
choreographed and produced the first full -length
work created specifically for the Turkish state
ballet. That work was Shmebasha or At the Fountain?
Correct. And it was meticulously designed to
put down national roots. It was the first ballet
to feature music composed entirely by a Turkish
composer, Ferit Tuzun. And crucially, the choreography
incorporated elements of... Turkish folk dance.
She understood that for ballet to survive and
be claimed as a national possession, it had to
integrate native cultural material. She successfully
grafted a European art form onto Turkish cultural
soil. And the legacy is undeniable. The school
she established is now fully integrated into
the State Conservatory for Music and Drama at
the Ankara State Conservatory. She didn't just
start a project that eventually closed. She embedded
a permanent, self -sustaining educational and
cultural system into a sovereign nation. She
truly exported her blueprint successfully. It's
remarkable. Now, despite her life being so public
and professionally intense, de Valois rigorously
maintained a clear separation from her private
life. Very clear. In 1935, she married Dr. Arthur
Blackall Connell. a physician and surgeon working
as a GP in Barnes, London, where they made their
home. She was his second wife. The union was
childless, but she gained two step -sons. However,
for all her organizational output, the sources
note that in her extensive autobiographical writings,
she made only the most fleeting, brief references
to her marriage. This reinforces the idea that
the persona of Nanette de Valois was entirely
dedicated to the institution, and her private
life was deliberately shielded from the narrative.
Yet while we kept her private life small, her
public recognition grew to an astonishing, almost
unprecedented scale. The sheer volume and escalation
of major international and national honors she
received over eight decades confirms her status
not just as a great artist, but as a foundational
historical figure. Let's contextualize these
honors because just listing them doesn't capture
the weight they carry. Her British honors alone
tell a story of escalating national recognition,
starting as Commander of the Order of the British
Empire, CBE, in 1947. She was quickly promoted
to Dame Commander, DBE, in 1951, making her Dame
Ninette. Then came the truly exclusive recognitions.
She was appointed a member of the Order of the
Companions of Honor, CH, in 1981, which is a
rare honor recognizing service of national importance.
And finally, the capstone honor, the Order of
Merit, OM. in 1992, personally awarded by the
Queen. The Order of Merit is limited to only
24 living individuals at any one time. That distinction
confirms the architectural nature of her achievement,
doesn't it? She wasn't just recognized for her
career, but for fundamentally altering the cultural
landscape. And this recognition was echoed globally
by the institutions she helped build. She was
appointed a Knight of France's Legion of Honor
in 1950 and received the Order of Merit of the
Republic of Turkey. in 1998. A direct acknowledgment
from the nation whose ballet tradition she created
from scratch. And she collected virtually every
major arts and academic accolade imaginable,
including the Albert Medal in 1964 and the prestigious
Erasmus Prize in 1974. The academic accolades
are particularly telling. Doctor of Music from
London, Sheffield in Dublin, and Doctor of Letters
from Reading, Oxford and Ulster. These honorary
degrees prove that the educational model she
established, combining rigorous practical training
with serious artistic and historical knowledge
was recognized by the highest levels of academia
as a legitimate field of study. She established
credibility for ballet, not just on the stage,
but in the lecture hall. And to inject that humanizing
detail into this story of relentless discipline,
we have to come back to her 1991 appearance on
BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. She was sharp,
witty and deeply philosophical. She selected
a collection of poems for her book, reflecting
her intellectual curiosity. But the choice of
her luxury item is priceless. An everlasting
bottle of sleeping pills. That's the perfect
detail. It suggests perhaps a touch of necessary
self -medication for someone who, as we have
seen, clearly carried the mental weight of national
culture on her shoulders for nearly 50 years.
The architect of institutions sometimes needs
to turn off the blueprint at night. Her longevity
was just as remarkable as her success. She continued
to make public appearances and remain connected
to the dance world until her death in London
on March 8, 2001, at the age of 102. And finally,
her connection to her homeland never faded. She
acted as a patron and supporter for the Cork
Ballet Company and the Irish National Ballet
Company throughout her later life. It's fitting
that since 2018, the annual Nanette de Valois
Festival of Dance has been held in her hometown
of Blessington County, Wicklow, ensuring that
her Irish origins are celebrated alongside her
global achievements. So if we look back at the
immense body of work, from a handful of dancers
in 1931 to two globally recognized national institutions,
what is the definitive summary of the de Valois
blueprint? I think you could boil it down. It
rests on three non -negotiable pillars. Yeah.
First, securing the necessary infrastructure
and institutional recognition, which was the
royal charter. Second, establishing a perpetual
flow of highly trained talent, the royal ballet
school model. And third. And third, maintaining
a strategic link between classical repertoire
and distinct national cultural identity, Ashton,
Lambert, and the incorporation of folk dance
in Turkey. She achieved the strategic impossible.
She transformed ballet in the UK and then...
replicated that feat in Turkey, turning it from
a mere performing art into a sustainable, institutionally
backed component of national culture. She was
the ultimate visionary director who ensured the
supply of talent would never run dry. And for
anyone who wants to study her philosophy directly,
she left behind her manual. Her written works
provide incredible insight into how she executed
that blueprint. Yes. Invitation to the Ballet
from 1937, Come Dance with Me, a memoir, 1898
-1956, and the wonderfully titled Step by Step,
the formation of an establishment from 1977.
She literally wrote the book on how to build
a cultural establishment. So here's where it
gets really interesting, connecting her legacy
to the contemporary landscape. Devalois success
was entirely defined by securing institutional
permanence and ensuring a constant supply of
talent trained in a uniquely British style. She
was focused on national identity and stability.
So given the permanence she created, what is
the ongoing challenge for institutions like the
Royal Ballet today? Is their primary mission
maintaining that foundational, historically derived
vision of a distinct British style? Or is the
greatest strategic imperative adapting to a continually
evolving, borderless global dance landscape where
techniques, styles and talent merge constantly
across international companies? That is something
to mull over the next time you see a spotlight
hit the stage. Is it a monument to history or
a beacon for the future? An excellent thought
to end on, highlighting the pressure all foundational
institutions face today. Thank you for joining
us for this deep dive into the architectural
genius of Dame Nanette de Valois. We'll catch
you next time for the next deep dive.