Dance enthusiasts might like to put a note in their diary that on Tuesday 7 February they can hear former dancer and Director of the Royal Ballet Dame Monica Mason talking about her career as a dancer and her work with the Royal Ballet.
She will be in conversation with dance expert Jane Pritchard, Curator of Dance at the V & A. It should be an interesting evening—especially if you think about what the Royal Ballet went through before Dame Monica took over.
The talk will take place at 7:30PM at the Swedenborg Hall just of Bloomsbury Square, a few minutes from Holborn Underground station, which is part of the Society for Theatre Research programme of free talks, open to everyone.
Monica Mason trained at The Royal Ballet School and entered the Company aged 16, becoming the Company’s youngest member. She was appointed Répétiteur to Kenneth MacMillan in 1980, Principal Répétiteur to The Royal Ballet in 1984, Assistant Director in 1991 and Director in December 2002.
Mason was born in Johannesburg in 1941. She came to England aged 14 to train at the Nesta Brooking School of Ballet and The Royal Ballet School, and joined the Company in 1958.
In 1962, she was selected by MacMillan from the corps de ballet to create the role of the Chosen Maiden (The Rite of Spring). She went on to create several major roles for MacMillan, including Lescaut’s Mistress (Manon), Calliope Rag (Elite Syncopations), Summer (The Four Seasons) and the Midwife (Rituals). She became a Principal in 1968, dancing repertory that included classical and dramatic roles. She was also a highly praised interpreter of the lead female role in MacMillan’s Song of the Earth.
In 2002, Mason was awarded an OBE and in 2008 was created a Dame Commander for her services to dance. She retired from her position as Director in 2012, and in 2014 became Chairman of The Royal Ballet Benevolent Fund.