The renowned dancer Dame Beryl Grey, one of the great pioneering forces in British ballet, has died at the age of 95. The Royal Ballet announced the news on Twitter on Saturday and said she had been a “commanding figure” since her Swan Lake debut aged 15. English National Ballet tweeted that she would be “remembered for her significant legacy and immeasurable contribution to the artform”. The organisation bbodance said that Grey, who was their president, was a “truly wonderful ballerina who will be sorely missed by us all”.
A teenage prodigy, Grey rose to fame at the Royal Ballet, which she left in 1957 to pursue an international career as a freelance ballerina. Grey was not only the first British ballerina to dance in Russia (with the Bolshoi in 1957, during the cold war) but also the first western ballerina to perform in Beijing (with Peking Ballet in 1964). Later she was appointed artistic director of London Festival Ballet (1968-79), transforming the fortunes of the company that became English National Ballet.
