In the Pit Lobby of the Royal Opera House stands the bust of Dame Ninette de Valois, the dancer, choreographer, and artistic director who founded the Royal Ballet.
Ninette de Valois (1898-2001) was born Edris Stannus in Ireland, but since she was seven, she lived with her grandmother in Kent, England. At ten, Stannus began to take ballet classes and joined the Lila Field Academy for Children, performing in various venues around London. At the time, she changed her name to sound more French, as was required of ballerinas.
At 21, she received her first role as a principal dancer at Beecham Opera, and not long after, she joined the esteemed Ballets Russes, performing as a soloist throughout Europe.
In 1924, 26 years old de Valois had to take a recess from dancing following an injury caused by undiagnosed childhood polio. She took this opportunity to establish her own dancing school and founded the Academy of Choreographic Arts for girls, with a sister branch in Dublin.
In 1928, she was invited to coach and train dancers at the Old Vic Theatre. Three years later, she relocated her school to the Sadler’s Wells Theatre under its new name – the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School. In 1956, Queen Elizabeth II granted de Valois’s company and school a Royal Charter, transforming it into the Royal Ballet.
De Valois’s productions were both Russian classics and original, in which she created a distinctly English style of choreography, drawing from English tradition and themes. She retired from her position as director of the Royal Ballet at age 65 but continued to head the school and serve as patron of several ballet companies in England and Ireland. She died at the age of 102.
The bronze bust of Ninette de Valois was sculpted in 1964 by the Irish surrealist sculptor Frederick Edward McWilliam. De Valois donated a copy to the National Portrait Gallery in 1969. It is unknown when it was unveiled in the Royal Opera House.
The Royal Opera House occasionally offers behind-the-scene guided tours, providing a sneak pick of how the theatre works and introducing interesting details about its history. Outside the Royal Opera House stands the famous statue of the Young Dancer by Enzo Plazotta.
Other nearby sites include the Covent Garden Market, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the Bow Street Police Museum, and London Film Museum.
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