Pamela May
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30 May 1917
Pamela May | |
|---|---|
 Pamela May c. 1947 as the Black Queen in the de Valois ballet Checkmate. | |
| Born | Doris May 30 May 1917 |
| Died | 6 June 2005 (aged 88) Birmingham, England |
| Education | Sadler's Wells Ballet School |
| Occupations | Ballet dancer and teacher |
| Years active | 1934–1982 |
| Employer | The Royal Ballet |
| Known for | Classical Ballet |
| Board member of | Royal Academy of Dance |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 2 |
Pamela May OBE (30 May 1917 – 6 June 2005) was a Trinidad-born British dancer and teacher of classical ballet.[1] Most noted as one of the earliest members of The Royal Ballet, she was regarded as a versatile dancer; dancing all the established 19th-century classical repertoire, and creating roles in new ballets by Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton. After retiring from professional ballet, she became a teacher at the Royal Ballet School, and also served as vice-president of the Royal Academy of Dance.[2]
Pamela May was born Doris May, in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad, on 30 May 1917.[2] Her parents were British, but had moved to the Caribbean for the purposes of her father's work as an oil engineer.[2] The family returned to London when May was four-years-old.[2]
May began studying ballet with Freda Grant.[2] At the age of 16, she progressed to the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, where she studied under the direction of Ninette de Valois.[2] A year later in 1934, she made her debut with the Vic-Wells Ballet and was later contracted as a salaried member of the company.[2] It was also around this time that she adopted the professional name Pamela May, after de Valois announced in rehearsal, that a role she was to perform could not be danced by someone named Doris. Her new name was printed in the programme for the ballet without her knowledge.[2]
May performed as a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet until 1952. At that time she became a character dancer and continued performing with the company until she retired from the stage completely in 1982.[2] After she retired as a principal dancer, de Valois invited May to become a teacher at the Royal Ballet School, a position which she held from 1954 until 1977.[2]
Created roles
- Checkmate - The Red Queen - Choreographed by: Ninette de Valois[3]
- Les Patineurs - Girl in Red - Choreographed by: Frederick Ashton
- A Wedding Bouquet - Violet - Choreographed by: Frederick Ashton
- Horoscope - The Moon - Choreographed by: Frederick Ashton
- Dante Sonata - Untitled Role - Choreographed by: Frederick Ashton
- The Wanderer - Untitled Pas de Deux - Choreographed by: Frederick Ashton
- The Prospect Before Us - Mlle Théodore - Choreographed by: Ninette de Valois
- Orpheus and Eurydice - Eurydice - Choreographed by: Ninette de Valois
- Symphonic Variations - Untitled Role - Choreographed by: Frederick Ashton
- Don Quixote - Golden Age Pas de Deux - Choreographed by: Ninette de Valois
- Bonne-Bouche - The Mother - Choreographed by: John Cranko
