Darcey Bussell CBE
Darcey Bussell at a curtain call after a performance of Theme and Variations
Born	April 27, 1969 (1969-04-27) (age 38) London
Occupation	Ballet dancer
Spouse	Angus Forbes
Children	Phoebe and Zoe

Bussell during the curtain call for Theme and Variations

Darcey Bussell CBE (born London; 27 April 1969) is a retired English ballerina. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 498 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (552 × 664 pixel, file size: 186 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 421 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 421 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the Queen England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 50... Maya Plisetskaya, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet from 1943 to 1960 and prima ballerina assoluta from 1960 to 1990. ...

Biography

She was a pupil at Fox Primary School. After studying at the Arts Educational School, Bussell began ballet seriously only at the age of 13 when she moved to White Lodge in the Royal Ballet School. After graduating in 1985, she stayed at the school for two further years, appearing in minor productions at Covent Garden, before joining Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1987. Fox Primary School is a primary school for boys and girls of age 4 to 11 years, in the Kensington district of London. ... The Arts Educational Schools, known colloquially as ArtsEd, comprise the School of Acting and the School of Musical Theatre, both based in Chiswick, London. ... Painting of ballet dancers by Edgar Degas, 1872. ... The Royal Ballet School is a specialist, co-educational school in London, England. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Covent Garden is a district in central London and within the easterly bounds of the City of Westminster. ... The London Coliseum, home of the English National Opera The English National Opera (ENO) is Londons second opera company, after the Royal Opera at Covent Garden. ...

While she was still at school, the choreographer Kenneth MacMillan had noticed her talent, and in 1988 he gave her the leading role in his ballet The Prince of the Pagodas to Benjamin Britten's music, causing her to move to The Royal Ballet. A year later, in December 1989, on the opening night of the show, she was promoted to Principal, at the time the youngest ballerina to be given this honour. Sir Kenneth MacMillan (December 11, 1929 Dunfermline, Scotland - October 29, 1992, London) was a noted Scottish ballet dancer and choreographer. ... Year 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar). ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (November 22, 1913 Lowestoft, Suffolk - December 4, 1976 Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. ... The Royal Ballet, which is based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, is the leading ballet company in the United Kingdom. ...

Her many roles include Masha in Winter Dreams and Princess Rose in The Prince of the Pagodas, both choreographed by MacMillan, as well as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Nikiya and Gamzatti in La Bayadère, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Manon in Manon, and Giselle in Giselle. Sir Edward Burne-Jones painted The Sleeping Beauty. ... Altynai Asylmuratova as Odette in the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballets production of Swan Lake, St. ... La Bayadére is a ballet, originally in 4 Acts and 7 scenes with apotheosis, choreographed by the Balletmaster Marius Petipa to music by Lèon Minkus. ... (left to right) Sergei Legat, as the Nutcracker, an unidentified child as a gingerbread soldier, and Lydia Rubtsova as Marianna in Vsevolozhskys costumes for the Ivanov/Petipa/Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker, St. ... Manon is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by Abbé Prévost. ... Anna Pavlova as Giselle in Act I (ca. ...

She guest starred in the popular BBC1 comedy The Vicar of Dibley as herself. The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. ...

In 2006 she announced her retirement as a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet because of . She stayed with the company as "guest principal artist".

She retired from ballet on 8 June 2007 with a performance of MacMillan's Song of the Earth (music Gustav Mahler). It was performed at the Royal Opera House in London, and at the end of the piece she was met with a glorious standing ovation. It was also broadcast live on BBC Two.^[1] She has recently teamed up with Katherine Jenkins, with whom she plans to put on a song and dance show to pay tribute to the stars who have inspired them. The show is entitled Viva la Diva and is due to be launched in November 2007.^[2] June 8 is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980 in Neath, Wales[1]) is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. ...

Awards

In 1990 she received the Evening Standard Ballet Award, the "Sir James Garreras Award for Most Promising Newcomer" from the Variety Club and "Dancer of the Year" from Dance & Dancers magazine. Bussell was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995, and was raised to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 17 June 2006.^[3] Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Headlines of the Evening Standard on the day of London bombing on July 7, 2005, in Waterloo Station The Evening Standard is a British tabloid newspaper published and sold in London and surrounding areas of southeast England. ... Variety, the Childrens Charity was founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on October 10, 1927 when a group of 11 men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the Variety Club. On Christmas Eve 1928 a small baby was left on the steps of a movie... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... June 17 is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Personal life

Bussell has been married since 1997 to Angus Forbes, an Australian banker. They have two daughters, Phoebe, born 2001, and Zoe, born 2004 and live in Kensington.

References

1. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/05/17/btbussell117.xml
2. ^ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068020,00.html
3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6173231.stm

External links

• Darcey Bussell homepage
• Darcey Bussell fanpage
• The Ballerina Gallery - Darcey Bussell