Sir Kenneth MacMillan

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MacMillan, Sir Kenneth (b Dunfermline, 11 Dec. 1929, d London, 29 Oct. 1992). British dancer, choreographer, and ballet director. One of the most important choreographers of the 20th century, and also one of the most daring and innovative in British ballet. His works frequently broke new ground in the rarefied world of classical ballet. He studied with Phyllis Adams in Great Yarmouth and at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School (from 1945). He joined Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet in 1946 and Sadler's Wells Ballet (later the Royal Ballet) in 1948 and returned to SWTB in 1952, by now suffering severe stage fright. He made his first choreography in 1953 and never looked back. His choreographic career with both the Royal Ballet companies spanned almost 50 years and resulted in the creation of some of the most important works of the latter half of the 20th century. His full-length ballets, including Romeo and Juliet, Manon, and Mayerling, revitalized the tradition of three-act opera house ballets, while his dark psychological explorations and his sexually explicit subject-matter took ballet out of the realm of fairy-tale. His works often dealt with violent and deviant behaviour, from The Invitation to The Judas Tree (both of which portrayed rape), while his protagonists were often outsiders and misfits, such as the depraved Crown Prince Rudolf in Mayerling. MacMillan was also capable of making works of haunting beauty, such as Gloria, which honours the dead of the First World War, and—occasionally—works of humour, like the ragtime romp Elite Syncopations. His ballets were responsible for introducing a young Lynn Seymour to the public; she remained his muse for many years. In 1989 he plucked Darcey Bussell from the corps de ballet and made her a star. He was appointed resident choreographer of the Royal Ballet in 1965; from 1966 to 1969 he was director of the Berlin Opera Ballet; and from 1970 to 1977 he was director of the Royal Ballet. Upon his retirement as director he was appointed principal choreographer at Covent Garden, a position he retained until his death. He also served as artistic associate for American Ballet Theatre (1984-9) and for Houston Ballet (1989-92). He choreographed many ballets for the Stuttgart company. He also worked as a theatre director; his productions included Ionesco's The Chairs and The Lesson (1982), Strindberg's Dance of Death (1983), and Tennessee Williams's Kingdom of the Earth (1984). He was knighted in 1983.

A list of his ballets includes Somnambulism (mus. S. Kenton, 1953), Danses concertantes (mus. Stravinsky, 1955), The House of Birds (mus. Mompou, arr. Lanchbery, 1955), Noctambules (mus. Searle, 1956), Solitaire (mus. M. Arnold, 1956), Journey (mus. Bartók, 1957), Winter's Eve (mus. Britten, 1957), The Burrow (mus. Martin, 1958), Agon (mus. Stravinsky, 1958), Le Baiser de la fée (mus. Stravinsky, 1960), The Invitation (mus. M. Seiber, 1960), Diversions (mus. Bliss, 1961), The Rite of Spring (mus. Stravinsky, 1962), Symphony (mus. Shostakovich, 1963), Las Hermanas (mus. Martin, 1963), Images of Love (mus. P. Tranchell, 1964), La Création du monde (mus. Milhaud, 1964), Romeo and Juliet (mus. Prokofiev, 1965), Song of the Earth (mus. Mahler, 1965), Valses nobles et sentimentales (mus. Ravel, 1966), Concerto (mus. Shostakovich, 1966), Anastasia (first version, mus. Martinů, 1967), The Sphinx (mus. Milhaud, 1968), Swan Lake (1969), Miss Julie (mus. Panufnik, 1970), Checkpoint (mus. R. Gerhard, 1970), Anastasia (second version, full-length, mus. Tchaikovsky and Martinů, 1971), Side Show (mus. Stravinsky, 1972), Pavane (mus. Fauré, 1973), The Sleeping Beauty (1973), The Seven Deadly Sins (mus. Weill, 1973), Manon (mus. Massenet, arr. Lucas, 1974), Elite Syncopations (mus. S. Joplin, 1974), The Four Seasons (mus. Verdi, 1975), Requiem (mus. Fauré, 1976), My Brother, My Sisters (mus. Schoenberg and Webern, 1978), Mayerling (mus. Liszt, arr. Lanchbery, 1978), La Fin du jour (mus. Ravel, 1979), Gloria (mus. Poulenc, 1980), Isadora (mus. R. R. Bennett, 1981), Wild Boy (mus. Cross, 1981), Orpheus (mus. Stravinsky, 1982), Valley of Shadows (mus. Martinů, Tchaikovsky, 1983), Different Drummer (mus. Webern, 1984), The Prince of the Pagodas (mus. Britten, 1989), Winter Dreams (mus. Tchaikovsky, 1991), The Judas Tree (mus. Elias, 1992), and Carousel (National Theatre production, 1992).