She did more than anyone to change the status and quality of British musical theatre choreography Gillian Lynne in Ballet Imperial by George Balanchine, in 1950. Age certainly hasn't been a problem in my career. From the hallway outside that office, Mrs. Lynne and the doctor peered in and observed Gillian jumping and twirling around the room, enraptured by the music. My profession has ruined my right foot. Gllian Lynne, the Sadler's Wells Ballet years", "'Dear World', Starring Tony Winner Betty Buckley, Will End London Run March 16", "Director and Choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne Passes Away at 92", "Gillian Lynne, Choreographer of 'Cats', Is Dead at 92", "Gillian Lynne and Michael Frayn to Receive Special Awards at Olivier Awards", "Angela Lansbury Becomes a Dame in Queen's New Year's Honors; Other Honorees Include Gillian Lynne, Michael Crawford and More", "West End theatre renamed after Cats choreographer Gillian Lynne BBC News", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gillian_Lynne&oldid=1147236254, Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014, Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Lisa Burger / Bob King / Gloria Louis / Susie Sainsbury /, This page was last edited on 29 March 2023, at 17:15. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. If a dancer isn't getting something quite right, fortunately I can still show it and then you just go on and on and weigh someone down until they get it. Gillian Lynne (Gillian Barbara Pyrke), choreographer, director and dancer, born 20 February 1926; died 1 July 2018, Choreographer and dancer who breathed new life into musical theatre with the hit shows Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. She was determined to reach the top and, having learned from her mother that energy breeds energy, she continued to work hard in spite of an agonising ankle injury. Gillian Lynne is one of the world's pre-eminent choreographers, the groundbreaking creative force behind blockbusters such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.But she started her career as a ballerina, and learnt to dance alongside Margot Fonteyn, Moira Shearer, Beryl Grey and Frederick Ashton during the Second World War. Usually people prefer that. It was also on the path of German bombers intent on destroying England's industrial heartland. It was a fitting tribute. When Nunn as head of the RSC began to flex his muscles as a director of musical theatre, a significant alliance was born with the acclaimed production of The Comedy of Errors. "I didn't realise they were watching me through the glass door. Gillian Lynne rehearsing in the early Fifties. Huw Edwards' top 10 tips for being a news presenter, Esa-Pekka Salonen: 10 tips to becoming a conductor, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Air strikes pound Sudan capital as truce extended. Earth Day 2012 Taking Care of Our Home and Preserving Our Future . Gillian Lynne: Credits, Bio, News & More | Broadway World [1][2], Lynne's gift for dancing was discovered by a doctor. Gillian Lynne: the trailblazer who made British musicals move Michael Billington The choreographer brought her classical training, dramatic eye and vitality to bear on hits such as Cats, Phantom. Around the same time she was cast opposite Errol Flynn in the film The Master of Ballantrae (1953). Collages was admired by David Merrick, then Broadways most powerful impresario, who took her to New York to stage the numbers for The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd (1965). Missing her mother, and her dance classes, she ran away from home, and was found only after three days, in a farmhouse in Somerset. They married in 1980. Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne, DBE (ne Pyrke; 20 February 1926 - 1 July 2018[1]) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.At age 87, she was made a DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British . "There were many nights spent in the cellar and we were all so worried about what was going on.". I was a problem child too. It's a three-part craft if you like. It was Nunn who subsequently invited her to choreograph Cats, which made them both millionaires. All rights reserved. Welcome to the world's largest community of inspiration for kids. She has worked on 11 feature films, and over 150 television productions as producer, director, choreographer or performer. BBC Two - Bitesize Primary, Dance, Professional Works, Ballet - 'A She received a Special Award at the 2013 Olivier Awards. What an amazing gift to give a childor an adult! We just got on with the show." Originally a novel by Walter Greenwood, it was made into a musical starring Eric Flynn and Angela Richards. When she choreographed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Palladium in 2002, Alastair Macaulay, now the dance critic of the New York Times, pointed out that she made use of steps from The Nutcracker and showed a more brilliant command of dance vocabulary than many artists working for prestigious national ballet companies. Since the 1970s, British musical theatre has boasted a professionalism and audacity once thought exclusive to Broadway. Last 1st of July one of the world's most acclaimed coreographers left us for good. Andrew Lloyd Webber Pens Tribute To Gillian Lynne: 'Cats' Choreographer With a ballet it can be all about the subject and the music comes afterwards. Her production of The Producers won a record twelve Tony Awards and made a record-breaking $3.5 million dollars in one daybecause, yes, female-helmed shows can be critical and commercial hits. A beautiful, unique song that by writing can bring them great fulfillment and bless many others. Notable failures were Phil the Fluter (1969), about the songwriter Percy French, and Ambassador (1971), a florid adaptation of Henry James. She went on to become a prolific dancer, choreographer and director, performing in many roles with The Royal Ballet and on British TV, and working with companies including Northern Ballet, the Bolshoi and Australian Ballet alongside over 150 TV and film credits. She was also a prolific television choreographer and director notably for The Muppet Show series and winning the 1987 BAFTA Huw Wheldon Award for her direction and choreography of A Simple Man, which starred Moira Shearer. For the first time, in Cats, we saw that happening on a British stage. After hearing everything her mother said, the doctor told Lynne that he needed to talk to her mother privately for a moment. It was love at first sight: they met when he got a part in a production of My Fair Lady that she co-directed in 1978. At 16 she joined the Ballet Guild, a professional ballet company in London and was given the starring role of Odette in a Swan Lake production that toured the capital. It was an extraordinary achievement because Gillian's adolescence had been blighted by war, evacuation and heartache. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? What does it mean to be educated? It was very strange and to this day I cannot explain it, but in that instant I understood that my childhood had ceased.. Aside from these huge hits which took the West End by storm in their heyday and continue to do so today, Gillian has also worked on shows such asCabaret, Pickwick, Hans Christian Andersen, My Fair Lady, SongbookandChitty Chitty Bang Bang,and forthe Royal Shakespeare Company,A Midsummer Nights Dream, Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, The BoyfriendandThe Secret Garden. Unable to sit still, Gillian had earned the nickname Wriggle Bottom. She published a memoir, A Dancer in Wartime, in 2011. Between 1946 and 1951, Lynne was a principal at the Royal Ballet, where her mentors included Frederick Ashton and Helpmann. Choreographers such as Agnes de Mille and Bob Fosse had made dance central to American musicals. You need to know why you are doing the movements, what they mean to you and what they may mean to others. In the West End, she directed and choreographed The Matchgirls (1966). An Interview with Susan Stroman | The Interval John McFall From Paralympian to Para-astronaut! While a principal with Sadlers Wells, she married the barrister Patrick Back. Share them here! Dame Gillian Lynne, who has died aged 92, was a figure of extraordinary versatility and longevity in the dance world, the choreographer of such world-renowned musicals as Cats and The Phantom of . During this visit, she worked in a rehearsal with the company of the 20092010 international tour of Cats, produced by Troika Entertainment. The choreographer brought her classical training, dramatic eye and vitality to bear on hits such as Cats, Phantom of the Opera and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. You just have to confront difficult people and make their wickedness become obvious. I think I look like an ancient old squiffle at the moment, but the secret to staying young and being happy is to do with loving what you do and loving the person you are with - simple as that! She worked with top figures such as Frederick Ashton and Ninette de Valois and acknowledged the influence of Robert Helpmann who, as actor, dancer and choreographer, had an extraordinary theatrical flair. Born in Bromley, south-east London in 1926, Gillian started dancing from a young age, and became a member of the Sadlers Wells Ballet (soon to become The Royal Ballet) at the age of 16. Gillian Lynne as Frou Frou in The Merry Widow, Lynne found success as a dramatic ballerina in the Royal Ballet and was famed for her role as the Black Queen in de Valois' Checkmate, Lynne won an Olivier award for her choreography on Cats - the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ran for 21 years in London and 18 on Broadway, Lynne was talent-spotted by and asked to join Sadler's Wells Ballet during World War Two. She went on to become an admired dramatic ballerina in the soon to be renamed Royal Ballet, renowned for her Black Queen in de Valois's Checkmate, Queen of the Wilis in Giselle and in roles created for her by Frederick Ashton and Robert Helpmann. Gillian Lynne at the London Palladium in 2014. Gillian Lynne She danced her first solo at Covent Garden in 1946, in The Sleeping Beauty, which also starred Margot Fonteyn. Her. Lynne choreographed the 90-minute Las Vegas Production of The Phantom of the Opera which opened in the Summer of 2006, directed I Want to Teach the World to Sing! Every show I've ever done, if there is a problem I don't mind being the one to sort it out, because I'm not afraid of anyone or anything and I'm truthful. Free Online Library: Dance of the matchstick men; Northern Ballet Theatre is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a production about the artist Lowry. What Parents Can Learn from the Story of Gillian Lynne Following her successful performing career as the star dancer at the London Palladium, on early British television and as Britain's foremost exponent of Jazz Dance, Lynne went on to be a leading director/choreographer of her generation. An only child, Gillian was born in Bromley, Kent, the daughter of Barbara (nee Hart) and Major Leslie Pyrke she later took Lynne as a stage name. Her other ballets included Journey for the Bolshoi in 1998. (modern). Shes been responsible for some of the most successful theater productions in history such asCats and Phantom of the Opera. It was wonderful!. Gillian Lynne/The Choreographing of Cats - Fandom Lynnes ability to see the dramatic possibilities of dance derived from her training in classical ballet. Lynne married her second husband, actor/singer Peter Land in 1980. Gillian Lynne - Born to Dance Magically and Help Others Do the Same! In 1975 she arrived in Australia to create The Australian Ballet's first work expressly commissioned for television, The Fool on the Hill. It was a fitting tribute by the theatres owner, Andrew Lloyd Webber, to the dancer and choreographer whose genius helped him make shows such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera. She was spotted by Ninette de Valois, who took her to Sadlers Wells alongside Margot Fonteyn and Moira Shearer. Our kids dont do many things in the same way as the majority of kids who are more traditional learners. In a ceremony last month, Lloyd Webber renamed the New London theatre - where Cats was first staged - in Lynnes honour; she was carried to the stage in a golden throne surrounded by dancers. Gillian was honoured with CBE in 1997 and made DBE in the 2014 New Year's Honours List for her services to Dance and Musical Theatre, the first woman to be honoured in this way. Ive never seen anyone else address this fundamental question, yet ESPECIALLY when helping a child who is different from most others in some way that impacts their daily life, I think it ought to be among the top guiding principles as we prepare children for adult responsibilities. Image courtesy of shakespearetheatreco (Shakespeare Theatre Company) on Flickr. What happened at that doctors office radically changed Gillians life and provides a lesson for all parents who are seeking answers to how to raise their outside the box kids. Medication for ADHD is a lifesaver. 10 Year Old Maite Rodriguez Her Big Heart, Big Dreams and Big Impact Live On! He then encouraged her mother to look at Lynne, who was dancing to the radio. She co-directed A Midsummer Nights Dream (1977) and contributed additional direction to La Ronde (1982). Some people sail through things wonderfully, but when they don't you have to just be there for them and be rigidly firm and very loving all at the same time. Not a weaker drum with less value than others. She met her second husband, actor Peter Land, aged 65, who survives her, when she directed him in a production of My Fair Lady. [18] She received the Olivier Award in 1981, for Outstanding Achievement of the Year in Musicals, for Cats. Throughout her career, Lynnes work was nominated for and won an enormous number of awards, including the Olivier Award in 1981, for outstanding achievement of the year in musicals, for Cats. 10-Year-Old Hadley Jensen is on a Streak of Kindness! And help the doctor did, but not in the way Gillians mother expectedthe doctor turned on a radio and leftGillian alone in the room, and then asked her mother to observe. Above all else I hope I've made mummy proud. She worked on more than 60 West End shows, however she is probably best known for her work with Andrew Lloyd Webber on his musicals Cats, Phantom of The Opera and Aspects of Love. [16][17], Lynne was nominated for the Tony Award twice for Choreography, for Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, and for the Drama Desk Award for Cats. When I go through the airport I always tell them: "There's no point you bothering me. read this series on Multiple Intelligences. She continually gets up, gets distracted, flies with thoughts, and doesn't follow lessons. Dame Gillian Lynne is a Bafta and Olivier award-winning choreographer. This made Lynne the first non-royal woman to have a West End theatre named after her. Express. Two years later, aged 87, she directed and choreographed Dear World at the Charing Cross Theatre. Today, she is renowned for the amazing work she has done, particularly her choreographyin the Broadway productionsCats and Phantom of the Opera, in which she has created magic worlds of dance and enthralledthe world with them. Lowry. Your email address will not be published. Tools Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne DBE (ne Pyrke; 20 February 1926 - 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre -television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. How can we let the amazing success story of Gillian Lynne change the way that we look at education? Gillian Lynne - Born to Dance Magically and Help Others - InspireMyKids Have you discovered stories, videos, or podcasts that you think would inspire kids? Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. You have to understand the element of movement in the core of your being, but you could do that without being a fantastic dancer, I think. The whole thing was depressing.". She staged musical numbers for The Comedy of Errors (1976), As You Like It (1977), The Way of the World (1978), Once In a Lifetime (1979) and The Secret Garden (2000). Uninhibited by a flimsy narrative, Lynne had transformed a motley cast into an ensemble of athletic, sensual and quirky felines. I was in a review and the choreographer walked out and the rest of the company said: "You do it.". How many other children were in that dance class and in dance classes all across England? The idea of ADHD had not been born yet. Lynnes legacy, however, lies all around us in the work of such noted successors as Stephen Mear (Gypsy), Bill Deamer (Follies) and Peter Darling (Matilda). Always a fanatical self-improver, she found herself a voice coach. She was also dancing for her beloved mother Barbara who had died in a car crash with three friends when Gillian was just 13. While her father was away with the Royal West Kents, her mother was killed in a car crash, when Gillian was 13. I'm very lucky. Her achievement was to make it a driving force. Keep an interest in the news and current affairs and try and keep up with what is going on in the world because it will affect what you do. I'm afraid I don't think I could have had the career I've had and been as successful if I had had children. By Maggie Hofstaedter When Gillian Lynne was a young girl, she struggled in school. You've got to really understand the words and the music and what it is trying to say. Her career in dance and theatre has spanned more than 70 years and in 1997 she was made a CBE. Lynne got the part, and took her first steps toward choreography when asked to add dances for herself to the movie.I had a fling with Errol, she said, but so did everyone.. It gives us the freedom to become those who create beauty in the world. She appeared in the film The Master of Ballantrae as Mariane, in which she was cast opposite Errol Flynn and directed by William Keighley. Dame Gillian Lynne is a Bafta and Olivier award-winning choreographer. Dame Gillian worked on more than 60 shows in the West End and Broadway. Throughout, she continued to direct and choreograph revues and ballet for television. Lynne dedicated her performance to her mother. How can the remarkable story of Gillian Lynne transform how parents see their outside the box kids? Gillian Lynne with her mother, Barbara, in 1932. Gillian Lynne, who has died aged 92, did more than anyone to change the status and quality of British musical theatre choreography. This videodiscusses Gillians amazingchoreography ofPhantom of the Opera. She returned to the Palladium in 2002 to choreograph the theatrical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and took the same show to Broadway three years later. With the opening of the Royal Opera House after the War she received her first major solo in Sleeping Beauty on the night of her 20th birthday. Hi Jill. Can I just stop here for a minute and say, Hallelujah! I mean seriously, who was that doctor? She received a DBE in the. Obituary: Dame Gillian Lynne was a leading light of dance Yet it was that first solo role she remembers most proudly. In 2014 she presented a new version of Robert Helpmanns Miracle in the Gorbals for Birmingham Royal Ballet she had been in the cast when it was premiered in London 70 years earlier. What I am suggesting is to step back from our ideas of how things should be and ask ourselves how our expectations may be hindering our kids. She is a dancer. After which he recommended Gillian be enrolled in dance school. The doctor told mummy I was a natural dancer and that appointment probably changed the course of my life. At age 87, she was made a DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2014 New Year Honours List. Dame Gillian Lynne's top 10 tips for choreography - BBC News Gillian Lynne being put through her paces in rehearsals for a new show, Legendary choreographer GILLIAN LYNNE explains how childhood tragedy and hardship inspired her extraordinary 70year career. I sound bells all over the place. The shows teething troubles are well documented but what made Cats a landmark musical in 1981 was that the dance grew out of the situation a midnight convention of felines and propelled the action. A truly inspirational figure, Dame Gillian was tirelessly committed to her work. Choreographer who helped create 'Cats' classic - The Irish Times More durable, if variably so, were Pickwick (1965, revived 1993), How Now Dow Jones (1967), The Card (1973), Tomfoolery (1980) and British revivals of My Fair Lady (1978) and Cabaret (1986).