Margaret Dale (dancer)
Encyclopedia
Margaret Dale was a British
dancer who later became a producer
and Director of Dance for BBC
television.
Her talent for character-playing rapidly won her notice but she was also a good classicist: as a fairy soloist in the celebrated Sleeping Beauty with Margot Fonteyn
that reopened the Royal Opera House
in 1946; as the Sugar Plum Fairy; and as Swanilda in Coppelia
.
Between the 1940s and 1950s, she showed a flair for comedy, and sparkling technique when the company toured Europe
and North America
after World War II
ended. She danced lead and soloist roles.
In 1953 Dale made her debut as a choreographer, creating a Sherlock Holmes ballet, The Great Detective, in which she cast the future star choreographer Kenneth MacMillan
in a double role as Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty. After joining the BBC, Margaret later became a producer and director of dance broadcasts. When the Bolshoi Ballet
visited London in 1956, she filmed Act II of Swan Lake
with Galina Ulanova
who was dancing Odette
.
She set up a studio session with the Bolshoi Ballet
in the lakeside act of Swan Lake during their famous 1956 debut tour to London. This attracted 12 million viewers, and was the first of several television films she made during visits to London by the Bolshoi and the Kirov. In 1962 the BBC contracted her to film nine one-act productions with the Royal Ballet over three years, among them Dame Ninette de Valois
's The Rake's Progress
and Checkmate, and Ashton's Les Rendezvous, The Dream, and Monotones.
One of Dale's greatest achievements came when she filmed Ashton's two-act ballet La Fille Mal Gardée
, with its original cast for television
, uncut, shortly after it had triumphed in both New York
and Russia
in 1960. Her black and white film documents the work's first cast and the choreographic details that were changed in subsequent performances. Dale's original cast television productions include Ashton's The Dream and Monotones ballets. Dale also produced documentaries on Gene Kelly
, Rudolf Nureyev
, Ninette de Valois
, and others. She worked with up and comers such as John Cranko
and Glen Tetley
.
In 2006, after retiring from the BBC, Dale taught in Canada
, chairing the department of dance at York University
, Toronto
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
dancer who later became a producer
Television producer
The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...
and Director of Dance for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television.
Early life and career
Born as Margaret Elisabeth Bolam in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, she studied ballet with Nellie Potts and at Sadler's Wells School before joining the company in 1939.Her talent for character-playing rapidly won her notice but she was also a good classicist: as a fairy soloist in the celebrated Sleeping Beauty with Margot Fonteyn
Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
that reopened the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in 1946; as the Sugar Plum Fairy; and as Swanilda in Coppelia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
.
Between the 1940s and 1950s, she showed a flair for comedy, and sparkling technique when the company toured Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended. She danced lead and soloist roles.
In 1953 Dale made her debut as a choreographer, creating a Sherlock Holmes ballet, The Great Detective, in which she cast the future star choreographer Kenneth MacMillan
Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977.-Early years:...
in a double role as Holmes and his nemesis Moriarty. After joining the BBC, Margaret later became a producer and director of dance broadcasts. When the Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
visited London in 1956, she filmed Act II of Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
with Galina Ulanova
Galina Ulanova
Galina Sergeyevna Ulánova is frequently cited as being one of the greatest 20th Century ballerinas. Her flat in Moscow is designated a national museum, and there are monuments to her in Saint Petersburg and Stockholm....
who was dancing Odette
Odette
Odette may refer to:*Odette School of Business, a school at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario*Odette , people with the given name Odette* The White Swan in the ballet Swan Lake...
.
She set up a studio session with the Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
in the lakeside act of Swan Lake during their famous 1956 debut tour to London. This attracted 12 million viewers, and was the first of several television films she made during visits to London by the Bolshoi and the Kirov. In 1962 the BBC contracted her to film nine one-act productions with the Royal Ballet over three years, among them Dame Ninette de Valois
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...
's The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
and Checkmate, and Ashton's Les Rendezvous, The Dream, and Monotones.
One of Dale's greatest achievements came when she filmed Ashton's two-act ballet La Fille Mal Gardée
La Fille Mal Gardée
La Fille mal gardée is a comic ballet presented in two acts, inspired by Pierre-Antoine Baudouin's 1789 painting, La réprimande/Une jeune fille querellée par sa mère...
, with its original cast for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, uncut, shortly after it had triumphed in both New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1960. Her black and white film documents the work's first cast and the choreographic details that were changed in subsequent performances. Dale's original cast television productions include Ashton's The Dream and Monotones ballets. Dale also produced documentaries on Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, Ninette de Valois
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...
, and others. She worked with up and comers such as John Cranko
John Cranko
John Cyril Cranko was a choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet....
and Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece Pierrot Lunaire.-Biography:Glenford Andrew Tetley, Jr. was born on February 3, 1926 in Cleveland, Ohio...
.
In 2006, after retiring from the BBC, Dale taught in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, chairing the department of dance at York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.