Norma Linley Wilson known as Linley George but better as Linley Wilson (28 October 1898 – 9 April 1990) was an Australian dancing entrepreneur.

Life

Wilson was born in 1898 in

East Perth East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

. She was the penultimate child of nine born to Annie (born Phillips) and Frank Wilson. Her father was a successful politician serving in the

parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

. He was the premier of the state twice. She went to Claremont Girls' High School where she gained an enthusiasm for the piano. She went to London to become a concert pianist leaving her work in a music shop. London did not make her a concert pianist but a dancing teacher. She gathered qualifications from the

Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD) is an international dance teaching and examination board based in London, England. The registered educational charity, which was established on 25 July 1904 as the ''Imperial Society of Dance T ...

, and the

English Folk Dance Society The English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS, or pronounced 'EFF-diss') is an organisation that promotes English folk music and folk dance. EFDSS was formed in 1932 when two organisations merged: the Folk-Song Society and the English Folk Dan ...

. The Linley Wilson School of Dancing opened in 1926 in Perth. She kept a high profile and continued to study and learn new dances. She enjoyed seeing the Russian ballet when it visited but she dreamed that one day there would be an Australian ballet. In 1940 she formed the Australian Caravan Ballet that was based in two caravans. The first two performances were to nearly full houses. The caravans were still touring in 1953, when the West Australian Ballet Company was formed. In 1972 her ballet school was sold and two years later Dame

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, DBE ( Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn (), was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with th ...

successfully nominated her to join the Royal Academy of Dancing's board. In 1978 she became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Private life

She married Keith George when he was on leave during the war in 1942. He was known as a theatre producer.

Death and legacy

Wilson died in 1990 in Nedlands. Her money had been used to pay for nursing for her husband and then for herself. She had hoped to found a chair of dance at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

. This never happened, but the Linley Wilson scholarship was still being awarded in 2020.

References

External links

Biography at ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Norma Linley 1898 births 1990 deaths Entertainers from Perth, Western Australia Dance teachers Australian impresarios Members of the Order of Australia