Leanne Faye Benjamin (born 13 July 1964) is a retired Australian

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

who was a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, ...

with the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

in London.

Early life and training

Benjamin was born in

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of t ...

, to Jill and Bernie Benjamin. Benjamin began ballet lessons at age three at a local dance school, and had attended

The Range Convent and High School The Range Convent and High School is a heritage-listed private school at 263 Agnes Street, The Range, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from c.1880s to 1930s. It is also known as Our Lady of Good Counsel C ...

. In 1980, she was accepted into the Royal Ballet School at age 16. Within a year, she won two prestigious awards, the

Adeline Genée Dame Adeline Genée DBE (born Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen; 6 January 1878 – 23 April 1970) was a Danish-British ballet dancer. Early years Anina Kirstina Margarete Petra Jensen was born in Hinnerup north of Aarhus, Denmark. H ...

Gold Medal and

Prix de Lausanne The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...

, and trained at the Royal Ballet for two years. One of her teachers was

Mona Vangsaae Mona Elly Hou Vangsaae (24 April 1920 – 17 May 1983) was a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer and instructor. At the Royal Danish Theatre, thanks to her excellent technique and dramatic versatility she became a soloist in 1942, taking roles i ...

. At her graduation performance, she and Jonathan Cope performed the two lead roles in ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance cano ...

''.

Ballet career

In 1983, at age 18, Benjamin joined the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (now

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...

), and became a principal dancer in 1987. The following year, she joined the London Festival Ballet (now

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

), directed by

Peter Schaufuss Peter Schaufuss (born 1949 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish ballet dancer, director and choreographer. Biography He is the son of ballet dancers Frank Schaufuss (1921–1997) and Mona Vangsaae (1920–1983). Schaufuss trained at the Royal Da ...

, Vangsaae's son. In 1990, she moved to Deutsche Oper Ballet in Berlin, where Schaufuss went on to direct. In Berlin, she worked with choreographer

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

on '' Different Drummer''. Encouraged by MacMillan, she joined

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

as a First Soloist in 1992, making her company debut as

Mary Vetsera Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera (19 March 1871 – 30 January 1889) was an Austrian noblewoman and the mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Vetsera and the crown prince were found dead at his hunting lodge in Mayerling on 30 ...

in ''

Mayerling Mayerling is a small village (pop. 200) in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Wienerwald (''Vienna woods''), southwest of Vienna. From 1550, it was in t ...

'', though MacMillan died shortly before that performance. The following year, she was promoted to principal dancer. Benjamin is best known for dancing works by MacMillan. She was one of the last dancers to work with MacMillan, Royal Ballet founder

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ...

and founding choreographer

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposit ...

. She had also worked with other choreographers such as

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

and

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of ...

. She had performed with Wheeldon's company, Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company. In 2004 and 2009 she won the

National Dance Award The National Dance Awards are presented annually in the United Kingdom by The Critics' Circle, and are awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance. They are widely regarded as the most prestigious award presented for dance in the UK, ...

for Best Female Dancer. In 2013, she retired after two decades with the Royal Ballet. She reprised her first role with The Royal Ballet, Mary Vetsera in ''Mayerling''.

Repertory

Odette/ Odile in ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', ''

'', the Sugar Plum Fairy in ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', Aurora in ''

Sleeping Beauty ''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess ...

'', Nikiya, Kitri, Swanilda, ''

The Firebird ''The Firebird'' (french: L'Oiseau de feu, link=no; russian: Жар-птица, Zhar-ptitsa, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's ...

'', ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', Lise, Titania, Manon, Anastasia,

Juliet Juliet Capulet () is the female protagonist in William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. A 13-year-old girl, Juliet is the only daughter of the patriarch of the House of Capulet. She falls in love with the male protagonist Ro ...

(Ashton and MacMillan), Mitzi Caspar and Mary Vetsera in ''

'', Irina, The Girl in ''The Invitation'', ''The Judas Tree'', ''Song of the Earth'', ''Gloria'', ''Requiem'', ''Rhapsody'', ''Elite Syncopations'', '' Les Biches'', '' Symphony in C'', ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

'', ''Danses Concertantes'', '' Etudes'', Brünnhilde in Béjart's ''Ring'', ''Carmen'', Forsythe's ''Herman Schmerman'' and Ashton's ''The Leaves Are Fading,'' Swanilda in

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-� ...

. She has created roles in Bintley's ''Metamorphosis'', The Snow Queen and Earth as part of ''Homage to The Queen'', Bruce's ''Symphony in Three Movements'' and in ''Mr. Worldly Wise'', ''Two-Part Invention'', ''When We Stop Talking'', ''Masquerade'' and most recently

's ''Qualia'', "Infra", and "Limen", Robert Garland's ''Spring Rites'', Alastair Marriott's ''Tanglewood'',

Liam Scarlett Liam Scarlett (8 April 198616 April 2021) was a British choreographer who was an artist in residence with The Royal Ballet and artistic associate with Queensland Ballet. He also choreographed new works for Ballet Black, Miami City Ballet, N ...

's ''Despite'' and Wheeldon's ''DGV''.

Post-ballet career

In honour of her career with

, the Leanne Benjamin Awards were launched at a public masterclass at

The Royal Ballet School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

on 12 June 2014. The awards were created and will be administered by The Tait Memorial Trust, of which Leanne Benjamin is a Patron. The awards are scholarships for young Australian and New Zealand ballet dancers studying in the UK. In January 2014, Leanne Benjamin was awarded the Critics’ Circle de Valois award for outstanding achievement. Benjamin now works as a coach for both the Royal Ballet and other companies. She had also studied design and work as an interior designer.

Personal life

In 2001, Benjamin married Tobias Round, a theatre producer and son of Georgina Parkinson. The couple has a son, born in 2003.

Honours

In the

2005 New Year Honours New Year Honours were granted in the United Kingdom and New Zealand at the start of 2005. Among these in the UK were knighthoods awarded to Mike Tomlinson, the educationalist; Derek Wanless, who led a review of the National Health Service; and ...

, Benjamin was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) for her services to dance. Ten years later at the

2015 Australia Day Honours The 2015 Australia Day Honours were announced on 26 January 2015 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Australia Day Honours are the first of the two major annual honours lists, announced on Australia Day (26 January), with ...

, Benjamin was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian ...

(AM) for significant service to the performing arts, particularly ballet, as a dancer and role model.

References

External links

Royal Opera House profile

Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Leanne 1964 births Living people Australian ballerinas Members of the Order of Australia Morphoses dancers National Dance Award winners Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at the Royal Ballet School People from Rockhampton Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet Australian emigrants to England Australian expatriates in England Australian expatriates in Germany Prima ballerinas