Sara Neil (born Doreen Brown; 15 April 1932, in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

– 9 January 2011) was a New Zealand dancer, and was the first director of the

New Zealand School of Dance The New Zealand School of Dance was established in 1967 and is a tertiary educational institute in New Zealand that teaches Contemporary dance, contemporary dance and ballet. It started as the National School of Ballet, and after contemporary da ...

Early life and education

Neil was born in Wellington. Her early dance training was by Phyllis Oliver and Dorothy Daniels. She studied at

Wellington Girls' College Wellington Girls' College was founded in 1883 in Wellington, New Zealand. At that time it was called Wellington Girls' High School. Wellington Girls' College is a year 9 to 13 state secondary school, located in Thorndon in central Wellington. H ...

. In 1949 she left to study dance in England, funded by a Government bursary. She attended 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, especial ...

and then joined the

Sadler's Wells Ballet Company 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 company ...

Work

Neil was "a technically excellent dancer, with a marked personality in her performances". 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 ...

created a polka solo for her in his 1956 ballet ''

Solitaire Solitaire is any tabletop game which one can play by oneself, usually with cards, but also with dominoes. The term "solitaire" is also used for single-player games of concentration and skill using a set layout tiles, pegs or stones. These gam ...

,'' at Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet Neil married dancer Walter Trevor in 1956, and in 1958 returned to New Zealand. The couple set up a dance studio in Wellington. In 1960 Neil danced in the New Zealand Ballet Company's first major national tour. She was on the Ballet Committee set up in 1964 alongside Eric Marris, John Meech, William Whyte, Jeane Horne and Bettina Edwards and they developed policy with the

Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council The Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) is the national arts development agency of the New Zealand government, investing in artists and arts organisations, offering capability building programmes and developing markets ...

of New Zealand to create a ballet school for New Zealand. Neil became the first director of the National School of Ballet (now known as the

) when it opened in Wellington in 1967. She retired as director of the school later in the year to return to England where she went on to teach at the lower school of the Royal Ballet School, White Lodge. She also directed the Hammond Dance School in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. Neil died in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

, England, on 9 January 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neil, Sara New Zealand ballerinas New Zealand dance teachers Royal New Zealand Ballet dancers 2011 deaths People from Wellington City People educated at Wellington Girls' College People educated at the Royal Ballet School 1932 births