Georgina Parkinson | |
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| Born | (1938-08-20)20 August 1938 Brighton, England |
| Died | 18 December 2009(2009-12-18) (aged 71) Manhattan,New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Sadler's Wells Ballet School |
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| Organizations | |
| Spouse | Roy Round |
| Children | 1 |
Georgina Parkinson (20 August 1938 – 18 December 2009) was an English ballet dancer andballet mistress. She joinedThe Royal Ballet in 1957 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1962. Best known for dancing 20th-century works, she was a frequent collaborator of choreographerKenneth MacMillan, and had also created roles forFrederick Ashton. In 1978, she accepted the invitation to become a ballet mistress at theAmerican Ballet Theatre for a year, before assuming the position permanently in 1980. She also performed character roles with the American Ballet Theatre.
Parkinson was born on 20 August 1938 inBrighton, England.[1] She went to a convent school inRottingdean, where she took weekly ballet classes. The nuns at the school noticed the shape of her feet and encouraged her parents to send her to pursue ballet training outside of the school. She trained with a local teacher before entering theSadler's Wells Ballet School (nowThe Royal Ballet School) on scholarship, after an audition withNinette de Valois, the founder ofThe Royal Ballet.[1][2] At her graduation performance, she danced the role of Odette inSwan Lake.[3]
Parkinson joined The Royal Ballet in 1957, at age 19. When she joined the company, it was run byFrederick Ashton.[1][2] In 1962, Ashton promoted her to principal dancer.[4] The same year, she made a guest appearance with theStuttgart Ballet to dance Cranko's version ofDaphnis and Chloé as Chloé, partnering withErik Bruhn.[5]: 248 She created roles in some ofKenneth MacMillan's earlier works,[4] includingSymphony (1963) and as Rosaline inRomeo and Juliet (1965), in which she later danced the title role.[2] In 1964, Ashton introduced Parkinson toBronislava Nijinska, when the company acquired Nijinska'sLes Biches. Nijinska chose Parkinson to dance the lead role of La Garconne,[4] and the two spent weeks working rehearsing.[1] In 1966, she worked with Nijinska again, this time for a revival ofLes Noces.[4] The same year, she created a role in Ashton'sMonotones I.[6]
In 1967, Parkinson was requested by MacMillan, who had become a close friend, to withdraw from the Royal Ballet's Canadian tour to take over as the lead in his new workAnastasia with the Berlin Opera Ballet, the company he was directing, asLynn Seymour was injured. She learned the part within two and a half weeks in an apartment. Ultimately, Seymour decided to perform despite MacMillan's anger and Parkinson had to mediate between them. Instead ofAnastasia, Parkinson dancedSolitaire on the same program.[5]: 329–330 The next year, she originated a role in Ashton'sEnigma Variations, asEdward Elgar's friend Winifred Norbury.[6] In 1969, when theRoyal Swedish Ballet debut MacMillan'sRomeo and Juliet, MacMillan cast her as Juliet on opening night.[4] After MacMillan's term in Berlin ended, he returned to London and created a few more dramatic roles on her, including the Tsarina in the three-act version ofAnastasia (1971) and the gaoler's mistress inManon (1974).[6]
Parkinson had also danced in the Royal Ballet premieres of Balanchine'sApollo,[4] and as the episode from the past in Tudor'sJardin aux lilas.[3] Other ballets she had performed include MacMillan'sSong of the Earth, as the wife inThe Invitation, Ashton'sBirthday Offering,Cinderella, as Lykanion inDaphnis and Chloé, as Friday entry inJazz Calendar,Symphonic Variations,Scènes de Ballet, as the Gypsy Girl inThe Two Pigeons, Howard'sLa Belle Dame sans Merci, as the Aristocrat in Massine'sMam'zelle Angot, Robbins'The Concert.[3] Despite being known for performing 20th-century works, she had also danced classical ballets such as Odette-Odile inSwan Lake, the title role inRaymonda, solos inLa Bayadère, Myrtha inGiselle andLes Sylphides.[1][3]
Parkinson was asked to teach MacMillan'sRomeo and Juliet toMikhail Baryshnikov andLeslie Browne, forHerbert Ross' 1977 filmThe Turning Point.[3][6] In 1978, she created her last role for MacMillan, asEmpress Elisabeth of Austria inMayerling.[4]
In 1978,Nora Kaye, a former ballet dancer and Herbert Ross' wife, invited Parkinson to teach classes at theAmerican Ballet Theatre.[1] She returned to London in 1979 to stay with her family, before moving to New York in 1980 to assume the position permanently.[1] She primarily worked with principal dancers and soloists.[6]Julie Kent, a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, said she "learned everything from" Parkinson.[1]
At theAmerican Ballet Theatre, she had also performed character roles, including the Queen inThe Sleeping Beauty, Madam Larina in Cranko'sOnegin, and the Stepmother de Mille'sFall River Legend. She also created the role of Mrs. Harriman in Tharp'sEverlast and the soldier's mother in Ratmansky'sOn the Dnieper.[6]
In 2009, due to financial hardship, she was let go by the company.[3] Prior to her death, she coached actressesNatalie Portman andMila Kunis for the filmBlack Swan.[6]
Parkinson was married to photographer Roy Round. Their son, Tobias, is married toLeanne Benjamin, a former Royal Ballet principal dancer.[4]
In 2009, Parkinson was diagnosed with cancer. On 18 December the same year, she died from the disease in Manhattan. She was 71.[3]
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