In 1936, aged 10, Lynne won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dance. Aside from these huge hits which took the West End by storm in their heyday and continue to do so today, Gillian has also worked on shows such asCabaret, Pickwick, Hans Christian Andersen, My Fair Lady, SongbookandChitty Chitty Bang Bang,and forthe Royal Shakespeare Company,A Midsummer Nights Dream, Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, The BoyfriendandThe Secret Garden. She was 92. It was Nunn who subsequently invited her to choreograph Cats, which made them both millionaires. Just last month, The New London Theatre in Londons West End the original home of Cats was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre, in honour of her outstanding contribution to the stage. Gllian Lynne, the Sadler's Wells Ballet years", "'Dear World', Starring Tony Winner Betty Buckley, Will End London Run March 16", "Director and Choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne Passes Away at 92", "Gillian Lynne, Choreographer of 'Cats', Is Dead at 92", "Gillian Lynne and Michael Frayn to Receive Special Awards at Olivier Awards", "Angela Lansbury Becomes a Dame in Queen's New Year's Honors; Other Honorees Include Gillian Lynne, Michael Crawford and More", "West End theatre renamed after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne BBC News", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gillian_Lynne&oldid=1147236254, Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lisa Burger / Bob King / Gloria Louis / Susie Sainsbury /, This page was last edited on 29 March 2023, at 17:15. It leaves us out in the cold, thats where. Lynne choreographed the 90-minute Las Vegas Production of The Phantom of the Opera which opened in the Summer of 2006, directed I Want to Teach the World to Sing! 10-Year-Old Hadley Jensen is on a Streak of Kindness! I could have retired on my royalties, but I didnt want to stop working.. As The Independents former arts editor David Lister put it, she quite simply changed the way we think about dance. Visit the National Dance Education Organization, Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills. Her second husband, the actor Peter Land, whom she married in 1980, survives her. You have to understand the element of movement in the core of your being, but you could do that without being a fantastic dancer, I think. For the rest of the 50s, Lynne played leading roles in pantomime and stage musicals, including Claudine in Can Can at the London Coliseum (1954-55), and she appeared in various guises on TV. I'm afraid I don't think I could have had the career I've had and been as successful if I had had children. Throughout, she continued to direct and choreograph revues and ballet for television. Ive never seen anyone else address this fundamental question, yet ESPECIALLY when helping a child who is different from most others in some way that impacts their daily life, I think it ought to be among the top guiding principles as we prepare children for adult responsibilities. While a principal with Sadlers Wells, she married the barrister Patrick Back. I sound bells all over the place. Little Gillian, the girl with the high-risk future who some considered "special needs", became known to the world as Gillian Lynne, one of the most accomplished choreographers of our time - someone who brought pleasure to millions, and earned millions of dollars doing it! See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. In the 1980s, her ground-breaking work on Cats and Phantom of the Opera to which she brought her distinctive jazz dance style changed the face of musical theatre. Gillian Lynne, a renowned British ballerina who, after turning to choreography, created the sinuous dances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats"," which became the longest-running musical in London's. Born in Bromley, south-east London in 1926, Gillian started dancing from a young age, and became a member of the Sadlers Wells Ballet (soon to become The Royal Ballet) at the age of 16. In June 2018, Andrew Lloyd Webber officially renamed the New London Theatre as the. "Most of the children were distraught to be away from home and the teachers sobbed as they listened to the awful news coming from Europe on the radio. Express. Here are her top 10 tips for being a choreographer. Above all else I hope I've made mummy proud. Dance Direct Blog. Earth Day 2012 Taking Care of Our Home and Preserving Our Future . Gillian felt hopeless, her teachers were exasperated, and her mother was at the end of her tether. 2023 BBC. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trump says 'great to be home' on visit to Scotland, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, JP Morgan snaps up troubled US bank First Republic. Deeply unhappy and desperately missing her dance classes, Gillian ran away but her aunt came to her rescue and secured an audition at the famous London dancing academy Cone Ripman. Birmingham Royal Ballet | Company registration no. The Remarkable Life of Gillian Lynne Growing up in England in the 1930s, Gillian Lynne was 7-years old when her mother took her to the doctor because her school was concerned that she had a learning disorder. In June, Dame Gillian Lynne was carried to a West End stage in a golden throne, surrounded by dancers from Cats, in a ceremony to mark the renaming of the New London Theatre as the Gillian Lynne Theatre. A beautiful, unique song that by writing can bring them great fulfillment and bless many others. Gillian Lynne, author of the dances in Cats and The Phantom of the Opera,. With the opening of the Royal Opera House after the War she received her first major solo in Sleeping Beauty on the night of her 20th birthday. She went on to have incredible success as not just a dancer but also an actress and a choreographer! With a musical, you've got to listen to the score, which has usually already been written by the time the creative team comes on board. I've also got two hip replacements. Gillian was honoured with a CBE (1997) and DBE in the 2014 New Years Honours List for her services to Dance and Musical Theatre. Lynne reinvented choreography in Britain, much as Bob Fosse did in the US, but her career was infinitely more varied than his. She quite simply changed the way we think about dance, In George Balanchines Ballet Imperial in 1950, Lynne, who worked on more than 60 West End shows and won numerous awards, at home in 1971, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Liz Jackson: Award-winning journalist at Australias ABC, Lord Carrington: Foreign secretary who took blame for the Falklands, Walter Bahr: Footballer who helped US stun England in 1950 World Cup, Mike ONeill: Bafta and Emmy award winning costume designer, Dame Gillian Lynne: Choreographer transformed the West End musical, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Get up to 10% off using the Booking.com app, 50 off over 650 using this Expedia discount code, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 20% off selected orders over 20 using this eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK April 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this April, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. Medication for ADHD is a lifesaver. Her many accolades include two Olivier Awards: Outstanding Achievement for her Choreography of Cats in 1981, and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013; a BAFTA for her BBC TV dance drama A Simple Man; and Viennas Silver Order of Merit, Golden Rose of Montreux Award for her work on The Muppet Show. Very few people get a show like Cats, it's a one-off. She returned to the Palladium in 2002 to choreograph the theatrical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and took the same show to Broadway three years later. Gillian Lynne is one of the world's pre-eminent choreographers, the groundbreaking creative force behind blockbusters such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.But she started her career as a ballerina, and learnt to dance alongside Margot Fonteyn, Moira Shearer, Beryl Grey and Frederick Ashton during the Second World War. It was an extraordinary achievement because Gillian's adolescence had been blighted by war, evacuation and heartache. Later movies were to include Half a Sixpence (1967), Man of La Mancha (1972) and Barbra Streisands Yentl (1983). It was love at first sight: they met when he got a part in a production of My Fair Lady that she co-directed in 1978. Through her work and endless enthusiasm, she gained the affection and admiration of large audiences, as well as influencing many dance makers and performers of our time. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. A truly inspirational figure, Dame Gillian was tirelessly committed to her work. Her other ballets included Journey for the Bolshoi in 1998. [19], In 2018, The New London Theatre was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre, making it the first theatre in the West End of London to be named after a non-royal woman.[20]. Anti-Racism At Sadlers Wells Annual Update, BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW: TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, OLI CLARK, ON SOUTH PACIFIC. Derived from TS Eliots Old Possums Book of Practical Cats, this Lloyd Webber-Trevor Nunn confection became the longest running musical in both London and New York, though its record has now been surpassed. A choreographer working out the numbers for a new musical needs a skeleton crew just as a writer needs pen and ink. Before Lynne, dance often seemed a pleasant afterthought to homegrown shows. July 2, 2018 Gillian Lynne, a renowned British ballerina who, after turning to choreography, created the sinuous dances in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats," which became the longest-running musical. They married in 1980. Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne dies aged 92, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. She says: "I don't think I'll ever retire as I love what I do and still have bags of energy. Following her successful performing career as the star dancer at the London Palladium, on early British television and as Britain's foremost exponent of Jazz Dance, Lynne went on to be a leading director/choreographer of her generation. When I go through the airport I always tell them: "There's no point you bothering me. They were strong and precise and Gillian Lynne's choreography was so different from anything I had done in my ballet classes. I was a problem child too. I think it is really good if people do want to go into choreography. I absolutely adored my mother and knew then that my childhood was over," she says. [13][14], She has won, and been nominated for, numerous awards for her work. Not only has she given pleasure to millions, shes a multimillionaire! She came into a world where dance often seemed like an irrelevant interlude and, through her theatrical skill and tireless industry, turned it into something integral to the musical form. She was spotted by Ninette de Valois, who took her to Sadlers Wells alongside Margot Fonteyn and Moira Shearer. In the West End, she directed and choreographed The Matchgirls (1966). By then she was training at least eight hours a day and making the hazardous journey from her aunt's home in Croydon to Victoria every day. Dame Gillian Lynne, who has died aged 92, was a figure of extraordinary versatility and longevity in the dance world, the choreographer of such world-renowned musicals as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, the creator of scores of stage shows and television dance films, and also a former Royal Ballet ballerina, musical theatre star, and a . Have you seen Cats or Phantom of the Opera? Once Gillian began to pursue her passion, she found happiness and success. Credit: Andrew Ross via Birmingham Royal Ballet. Three years later, her mother was killed in a car crash. She later joked, I suppose Im quite proud of being able to hang on to someone 27 years younger than myself., Dame Gillian Lynne, dancer and choreographer, born 20 February 1926, died 1 July 2018, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. She won a Bafta for her direction and choreography of A Simple Man (1987), commissioned by BBC TV for the centenary of LS Lowrys birth. This video tells the story of how Gillian got her chance to dance andthe profound impact it had on her. Among her many awards, a special category outstanding achievement in a musical was created in 1981 by the organisers of the Oliviers to recognise her contribution to the blockbusting Cats. Around the same time she was cast opposite Errol Flynn in the film The Master of Ballantrae (1953). Gillian was instrumental in the development of jazz dance in Britain and her distinctive style, which is a fusion of classical and jazz, lead to her fantastic work on the world famous musicalCats for which she is probably most well-known and also on Andrew Lloyd Webbers worldwide hitsPhantom of the OperaandAspects of Love,which she staged and choreographed. What are our goals in educating our kids? Always a fanatical self-improver, she found herself a voice coach. [3], While dancing for Molly Lake's Company (the Ballet Guild) at the People's Palace, Lynne was spotted by Ninette de Valois and asked to join Sadler's Wells Ballet during World War II. In this video, Gillian discusses her experience in choreographing Cats. Beginning as a soloist under Dame Ninette de Valois in the original Sadlers Wells Ballet, going on to become a star dancer at the London Palladium, acting opposite Errol Flynn in films and dancing on television, it seems Gillian Lynne has done the lot! It gives us the freedom to become those who create beauty in the world. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. When told that her daughter lacked focus and was prone to fidgeting, the doctor suggested that rather than a problem child, Barbara had a dancer on her hands. He turned on the radio and walked out. Gillians mom did enroll her in dance school about which Gillian remarked later, Everyone was like me! It never runs smoothly and that's why it is so important for a company to become friends in the first week. While her father was away with the Royal West Kents, her mother was killed in a car crash, when Gillian was 13. Heartbroken to be passed over for a role at the Royal Ballet, she was recommended to the management of the London Palladium by Helpmann. Lowry. GILLIAN LYNNE DBE A seminal influence on British dance and musical theatre, Dame Gillian Lynne started her career in 1942 at age 16 before joining the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company in 1944 where she became a soloist performing at the newly opened Covent Garden Opera House as detailed in her autobiography A Dancer in Wartime. Medication for ADHD allows us to control our brains, to focus on our areas of interest and talent. The doctor noted that she was a dancer, and encouraged Lynne's mother to take her to dance school. She sees this same discipline and fortitude in many of today's dancers. She made her breakthrough as a choreographer with Collages (1963) at the Edinburgh festival. You have to create a company who like each other, get on and trust one another. What drove her was the dancers all-consuming discipline, not the ambition of her male directorial counterparts. Choreographers don't just do steps, they stage the numbers and they stage the songs, so there is a whole big craft to it that people don't ever give credit for. I will go back and edit the post to clarify because I dont want people to think that if they just find their childs talent, all will be okay.