Monica Mason was born in South Africa in 1941 but at the age of 14 moved to London with her family. As a young girl she already showed great promise as a dancer, initially attending the Nesta Brooking School of Ballet before joining the prestigious Royal Ballet School at the age of fourteen. In 1958, when she joined the Royal Ballet at the age of 16, she was the Company's youngest member. During her long career with the Royal Ballet, which has lasted more than 50 years, Monica Mason has been a Principal Dancer, Principal Répétiteur and subsequently Artistic Director, a post she will retire from in July 2012.
A Promising Young Dancer...
The choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan soon spotted Mason's talents, ironically not during rehearsals or performances with the corps de ballet, but at a private party when she decided to perform for him.
In 1962, MacMillan chose her to dance the role of the Chosen Maiden in The Rite of Spring, a role originally created in the 1920s by Serge Diaghilev for the English ballerina Lydia Sokolova. Mason was appointed Soloist in 1963 and promoted to principal dancer in 1968. In 1974–5, MacMillan created a number of roles specially for her, including Calliope Rag in Elite Syncopations; Summer in The Four Seasons; Lescaut's Mistress in Manon and the Midwife in Rituals. In her final role with the Royal Ballet in 1981, Mason appeared as Nursey in MacMillan's Isadora.
Dame Monica has danced many famous roles such as the Lilac Fairy and Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty; Odette/Odile in Swan Lake; Myrthe in Giselle; Hostess in Les Biches; the Black Queen in Checkmate; Empress Elisabeth and Mitzi Caspar in MacMillan’s Mayerling; the title role in The Firebird; the Fairy Godmother and Winter Fairy in Cinderella and many more.
The Dance Goes On...
Since 1981 Mason has performed numerous mime roles as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet and has also taken great pleasure in passing on her vast knowledge through her position as Principal Répétiteur to the company, to which she was appointed in 1984.
Becoming Assistant Director of the Royal Ballet in 1991, she worked closely with Sir Anthony Dowell, the then Director, who held the post until August 2001. After a short tenancy by Dowell's successor, Ross Stretton, Mason became Director towards the end of 2002, a post she has occupied ever since.
Recognition and Awards
In July 1996 Mason received a Honorary Doctorate from the University of Surrey. In 2002 she was appointed Officer of the British Empire (OBE) and in the 2008 Birthday Honours list she became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to dance. Most recently, in December 2011, Dame Monica Mason DBE, was awarded the most prestigious award of the Royal Academy of Dance, the Queen Elizabeth II (QEII) Coronation Award, as recognition of a lifetime's devotion to dance.
The Future of the Royal Ballet
Dame Monica steps down as Artistic Director in the summer of 2012 and her legacy will be given into the care of Kevin O'Hare, currently the Royal Ballet's Administrative Director.
To mark Dame Monica's retirement an exhibition charting her career will be on show at the Royal Opera House until July 2012. The display includes costumes, photographs and press cuttings from Royal Opera House collections together with items loaned by Monica Mason.
Sources:
- Observer, The (London, England) - Sunday, June 19, 2011 accessed 25th February 2012
- BBC.co.uk/news, accessed 25th February 2012
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
