Dame Beryl Elizabeth Grey was a British ballet dancer.
15 Facts About Beryl Grey
2.
Beryl Grey began dance classes at the age of four while attending Sherborne Preparatory School, and by age eight was being taught by Phyllis Bedells.
3.
Beryl Grey's talent was recognised by Ursula Moreton and Ninette de Valois, who offered her a scholarship for four years at the age of ten, with the option of joining their dance company for a further four years, where de Valois changed her surname from Groom to Grey.
4.
Beryl Grey began to attend the Sadler's Wells School in 1937 where her teachers were Ninette de Valois and Vera Volkova.
5.
Beryl Grey progressed through the company at a steady rate.
6.
Beryl Grey then performed the role in London for the first time on her seventeenth birthday.
7.
Beryl Grey is known for her interpretation of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, which she first performed in 1946.
8.
Beryl Grey first performed the role of Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty on 20 June 1946 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
9.
Beryl Grey was invited to screentest for the part of the French Princess in Laurence Olivier's 1944 film Henry V, who had been introduced to Grey by Helpmann.
10.
From 1957 until the mid-1960s, Beryl Grey was an international guest ballerina across Europe, South America, Australasia, the Far East, the United States and Canada.
11.
Beryl Grey was the first Western guest artist to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet, and to appear with the Peking Ballet and Shanghai Company in 1964.
12.
Beryl Grey was the subject of This Is Your Life in April 1974 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at the London Festival Ballet's Donmar rehearsal studios in London's Covent Garden.
13.
Beryl Grey was married to Sven Svenson until his death in 2008.
14.
Beryl Grey held numerous honorary doctorates and had been Vice President of the Royal Academy of Dancing since 1980, was President of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and a Director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
15.
Beryl Grey was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to dance.