Rodrigues's promising career as a choreographer was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. He joined the South African army and saw combat in Egypt and Syria before being demobilized at the end of the war. In 1946, he arrived in England on a troopship, made his way to London, and resumed his dance studies with Stanislas Idzikowski and Vera Volkova, who taught at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. One of his first dancing jobs was in the West End production of Song of Norway, the hit musical with choreography by George Balanchine.[3] The next year, 1947, he was invited to join the Sadler's Wells Ballet, as male dancers were in short supply in postwar London. In 1949, he was promoted to soloist and was encouraged to pursue his choreographic interests, whereupon he restaged L'Île des Sirènes for a tour by Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann, the stars of the company. As a dancer, he toured the United States and Canada with the company but made no mark as a performer. As a choreographer and producer, however, he was more successful, making several ballets for the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet that were well received.[4]
Having won critical approval for his work, Rodrigues decided to pursue a free-lance route, concentrating on a career as a choreographer. He started in 1955 in Italy, with a production of Romeo and Juliet in the Roman amphitheater in Verona and a production of Cinderella for the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. Both ballets were set to music by Sergei Prokofiev, and both were staged especially for French ballerina Violette Verdy. After these two productions, he proceeded to mount his ballets all over the world, working in Poland, Denmark, Turkey, the United States, Chile, Japan, Germany, the Philippines, and South Africa. With his gifts for the theatrical and the dramatic, he generally favored narrative works.[5]
Among the works choreographed by Rodrigues are the following.[6]
- 1938. Danse Macabre, music by Camille Saint-Saëns; for Cape Town Ballet Club.
- 1940. Le Roi s'Amuse, music by Léo Delibes; for Cape Town Ballet Club.
- 1941. L'Île des Sirènes, music by Claude Debussy; for Cape Town Ballet Club.
- 1953. Blood Wedding, music by Denis ApIvor; for Sadler's Wells Ballet, London. Based on the tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca, this is Rodrigues's most popular work. It has been staged by numerous companies around the world.
- 1954. Café des Sports, music by Antony Hopkins; for Sadler's Wells Ballet.
- 1955. Saudades, music by Denis ApIvor; for Sadler's Wells Ballet.
- 1955. Romeo and Juliet, music by Sergei Prokofiev; for La Scala Ballet at Verona Arena. A vehicle for Violette Verdy.
- 1955. Cinderella, music by Sergei Prokofiev; for Teatro alla Scala, Milan. A vehicle for Violette Verdy.
- 1956. Casse Noisette, music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; for Teatro all Scala. A vehicle for Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes.
- 1956. The Miraculous Mandarin, music by Béla Bartók; for the Royal Ballet, London. A vehicle for Michael Somes.
- 1959. Double Violin Concerto, music by Johann Sebastian Bach; for the Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen.
- 1960. Double Concerto, music by Antonio Vivaldi; for the Royal Ballet.
- 1961. Jabez and the Devil, music by Arnold Cooke; for the Royal Ballet. A vehicle for Antoinette Sibley.
- 1962. Le Sacre du Printemps, music by Igor Stravinsky; for the Polish National Ballet, Teatr Wielki, Warsaw.
- 1963. Soirée Musicale, music by Gioachino Rossini, orchestrated by Benjamin Britten; for Teatro alla Scala.
- 1963. Daphnis and Chloë, music by Maurice Ravel; for the Polish National Ballet.
- 1963. Orpheus, music by Igor Stravinsky; for the Polish National Ballet.
- 1963. Variaciones Concertantes, music by Alberto Ginastera; for Ballet Nacionale Santiago de Chile.
- 1970. Judith, music by Çetin Ișiközlü; for the Turkish State Ballet, Ankara and Istanbul.
- 1973. Köçekçe, music by Ulvi Cemal Erkin; for the Turkish State Ballet.
- 1974. Raymonda, music by Alexander Glazunov; for the Turkish State Ballet.
- 1974. Ondine, music by Hans Werner Henze; for the Noriko Kobayshi Theater, Tokyo.
- 1974. Navidad Nuestra, music by Ariel Ramirez; for the Philippine Dance Company, Manila.
- 1975. Symphony in Three Movements, music by Igor Stravinsky; for Theater der Stadt, Bonn.
- 1975. Souvenir, music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; for Theater der Stadt, Bonn.
- 1976. A Time of Parting, music by Alberto Ginestera; for CAPAB Ballet, Cape Town.
- 1979. Cinderella, music by Sergei Prokofiev; for PACT Ballet, Johannesburg
- 1954. Dido and Aeneas, music by Henry Purcell; for Sadler's Wells Ballet, London.
- 1954. La Vestale, music by Gaspare Spontini, production by Luchino Visconti; for Teatro alla Scala, Milan. A vehicle for Maria Callas.
- 1954. L'Elisir d'Amore, music by Gaetano Donizetti; for Teatro alla Scala.
- 1957. Il Turco in Italia, music by Gioachino Rossini, production by Franco Zeffirelli; for Teatro alla Scala.
- 1957. Iphigenie en Tauride, music by Christoph Willibald Gluck, production by Luchino Visconti; for Teatro alla Scala. A vehicle for Maria Callas.
- 1962. Judith, music by Arthur Honegger; for the Polish National Opera, Teatr Wielki, Warsaw.
- 1962. Prodigal Son, music by Giacomo Puccini; for the Polish National Opera.
- 1968. Punch and Judy, music by Harrison Burrwhistle; for the British National Theatre, Aldeburgh Festival/
- 1970s. The Midsummer Marriage, music by Michael Tippett; for the Royal Opera, London.
- 1972. Carmen, music by Georges Bizet; for the Turkish State Opera, Ankara and Istanbul.
- 1973. Sebastian, music by Giancarlo Menotti; for the Turkish State Opera.
Rodrigues was also active in popular musical theater, in movies, and in television productions. Among the West End musicals and revues for which he created dances are Airs on a Shoestring (1953), Joyce Grenfell Requests the Pleasure (1954), Pay the Piper (1954), Chrysanthemum (1956), Ann Veronica (1960s), and On the Brighter Side (1961). His greatest success was Charlie Girl (1963). Starring Dame Anna Neagle, it ran for five years at the Adelphi Theatre. In British film history, Rodrigues is known for An Alligator Named Daisy (1955), Oh, Rosalinda! (1955), and Show Band Parade (1957). On television, he created dances for the series Eric Robinson Presents On the Bright Side, which aired during the 1960s.[7] His facility in creating lighthearted dances served him as well in musical theater as on the ballet stage.