14 Facts About Nadia Nerina

1.

Nadia Nerina was a South African dancer who was "one of the most gifted, versatile, and inspiring ballerinas of The Royal Ballet" during the 1950s and 1960s.

2.

Nadia Nerina then went on to the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, under the direction of Ninette de Valois, and to the studio of Elsa Brunelleschi, where she studied Spanish dancing.

3.

Nadia Nerina was a favorite of Frederick Ashton, chief choreographer of the company, who cast her in new works, such as Homage to the Queen and Birthday Offering, as well as in existing productions of Cinderella, Sylvia, and Ondine.

4.

Nadia Nerina's acting talent was admired by Kenneth MacMillan, who in 1956 cast her in his first ballet, Noctambules, a dark tale of a hypnotist in which she played a veiled, aged woman pursued by four suitors when she is restored to her youthful beauty.

5.

Nadia Nerina was particularly popular in France, where she was applauded for her performances in Massine's Mam'zelle Angot and Cranko's Bonne-Bouche, both with a distinctly Gallic flavor.

6.

Nadia Nerina was warmly appreciated by Scottish audiences in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where she often performed during the Sadler's Wells Ballet tours in the 1950s.

7.

In 1965, Nadia Nerina asked Ashton, then director of the Royal Ballet, to be designated a "guest artist," to enable her to pursue invitations from other companies.

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Frederick Ashton
8.

Nadia Nerina made guest appearances with the Royal Ballet until 1968, dancing in La Fille Mal Gardee and Sylvia, and she was a popular star at ballet galas, usually giving her fees to dancers' benevolent funds.

9.

Nadia Nerina remained the reigning queen of the Covent Garden stage for another two decades.

10.

Nadia Nerina was disappointed at being overshadowed by Fonteyn and Nureyev, but, ever generous in spirit, she never blamed Fonteyn for her dominance.

11.

Nadia Nerina remained on friendly terms with her for many years, but her relationship with the mercurial Nureyev was ambivalent.

12.

Nadia Nerina married Charles Gordon, a financier and entrepreneur from South Africa, in 1956.

13.

Nadia Nerina died at her home in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, on the Mediterranean coast west of Nice.

14.

Between 1957 and 1965, Nadia Nerina appeared in seven major television programs produced by Margaret Dale for BBC-TV.