Ninette de Valois
A formidable and exacting visionary who built a world-class ballet tradition in Britain from a foundation of sheer will and organizational genius.
1898–2001 (age 103)·Irish-born British dancer·Birthday: June 6·The Lost Generation
Biography
Born Edris Stannus in Ireland, Ninette de Valois was a dancer of fierce intelligence who understood that the art's future depended on institutions, not just individual stars. After performing with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, she saw the need for a native British company with its own school. In 1926, she founded the Academy of Choreographic Art, which became the seed for everything that followed. With relentless drive, she convinced the theatrical impresario Lilian Baylis to host a resident ballet company at the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres. From this foothold, she cultivated dancers, choreographers, and a repertoire, weathering war and financial uncertainty. Her creation, The Royal Ballet, along with its school and sister companies, did not merely perform ballet; it established a distinct, disciplined English style and produced generations of artists who defined the form globally. She ruled her domain with an iron glove for decades, a respected and sometimes feared matriarch.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Ninette was born in 1898, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ninette Was Born
The biggest hits of 1898
Ninette's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1898Born
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1903Started school
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1911Became a teenager
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Could drive
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1916Could vote
The Battle of the Somme claims over a million casualties
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Turned 21
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1928Turned 30
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1938Turned 40
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1948Turned 50
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1958Turned 60
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 70
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 80
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
2001Died at 103
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
Key Achievements
- Founded The Royal Ballet in London, one of the world's preeminent ballet companies.
- Established the Royal Ballet School, the feeder institution that trains dancers for the company.
- Created the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, which later evolved into the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
- Choreographed several enduring works, including 'Job' and 'The Rake's Progress'.
Did You Know?
Her stage name 'Ninette de Valois' was inspired by her Huguenot ancestry.
She wrote several books on the theory and practice of ballet.
She was a close friend and collaborator of composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.
She continued to attend ballet performances and advise her companies well into her 90s.
“The ballet is a purely female thing; it is a woman, a garden of beautiful flowers, and man is the gardener.”
