Darcey Bussell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Darcey Bussell
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Darcey Bussell in 2016
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| Born |
Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle
27 April 1969 London, England
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| Occupation | Ballet dancer (active until 2007) Strictly Come Dancing judge (2009, 2012–2018) |
| Spouse(s) |
Angus Forbes
(m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | John Crittle Andrea Williams |
Dame Darcey Bussell is a famous English ballerina who is now retired. She was also a popular judge on the TV dance show Strictly Come Dancing.
Darcey was born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle on April 27, 1969. She trained at top ballet schools and became a professional dancer.
In 1989, when she was just 20 years old, she joined The Royal Ballet. She quickly became their youngest-ever principal dancer. This is the highest rank a ballet dancer can achieve.
Darcey danced with The Royal Ballet for over 20 years. She also performed as a guest dancer with many famous companies around the world. These included the New York City Ballet and the Mariinsky Ballet. She stopped dancing ballet professionally in 2007.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Darcey Bussell was born Marnie Crittle in London. Her mother was Andrea Williams, a model and actress. Her father was John Crittle, an Australian businessman.
When Darcey was three, her parents divorced. Her mother then married Philip Bussell, an Australian dentist. He became Darcey's adoptive father.
The family lived in Australia for a while, where Darcey went to school. They later moved back to London. Darcey attended Fox Primary School in Kensington.
At nine years old, she found out she had dyslexia. This is a learning difference that can make reading and writing harder. However, Darcey was very good at physical activities. This helped her choose her career path in dance.
A Star on Stage: Darcey's Ballet Career
Darcey Bussell studied many types of stage performance at the Arts Educational School. In 1982, at 13, she joined the Royal Ballet Lower School. This school is located at White Lodge, Richmond Park.
At 16, she moved to the Royal Ballet Upper School. Then, in 1987, she joined the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet. While at the Royal Ballet School, she performed in many school shows. Some of these were at Covent Garden.
In 1988, while still a student, Darcey got a main role. This was in a ballet called The Prince of the Pagodas. The famous choreographer Kenneth MacMillan chose her for this part. This led to her joining the Royal Ballet.
Just one year later, in 1989, she was promoted to principal dancer. She was only 20 years old. This made her the youngest principal dancer in the company's history.
Darcey performed many famous classical ballet roles. These included Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She also danced as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. Other key roles were the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker and Giselle in Giselle.
She performed over 80 different roles during her career. Seventeen of these roles were created especially for her. For example, she danced Aurora in Sleeping Beauty in four different productions. One of these was for President Clinton in Washington, D.C.
Darcey also made several guest appearances with the New York City Ballet. Her first was in June 1993. She performed a special dance for two people, called a pas de deux, from Agon.
She retired from ballet on June 8, 2007. Her final performance was MacMillan's Song of the Earth. This show was at the Royal Opera House in London. It was even shown live on BBC Two. Many people consider Darcey Bussell to be one of Britain's best ballerinas ever.
In 2012, Darcey was a judge at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition. That same year, she took part in the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. She led 200 ballerinas and 4 male dancers from the Royal Ballet. This performance was called "the Spirit of the Flame." It happened just before the Olympic flame was put out.
In 2021, Darcey played the mayor in the ballet film Coppelia. This movie mixed live dance with animation. In March 2023, she became the first female chair of the Board of Trustees for Plymouth Theatre Royal. She also served as the president of the jury at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in 2024.
Beyond the Stage: Other Projects
Writing Books
In October 2008, Darcey Bussell started a new children's book series. It was called Magic Ballerina. She came up with the idea and the stories. The books are about a girl named Delphie who goes to ballet school. She finds out her ballet shoes are magical!
Within three years, at least 23 Magic Ballerina books were published. All of them featured girls with magic sparkly red ballet shoes.
Darcey also helped write The Young Dancer with the Royal Ballet School. She wrote the introduction for The Illustrated Book of Ballet by Barbara Newman. This book shows five ballets she starred in. She also released two autobiographical picture books about her ballet career: Darcey Bussell in 2012 and Darcey Bussell: Evolved in 2018.
Television Appearances
Darcey has appeared in many TV shows. In 1998, she was a guest star in the BBC1 comedy The Vicar of Dibley. She helped the main character, Geraldine, with a fundraiser. They even performed a dance together.
In 2007, Darcey teamed up with singer Katherine Jenkins. They created a show called Viva la Diva. It was a tribute to stars who inspired them, like Madonna and Judy Garland. They performed part of Viva la Diva for the Queen.
In 2009, Darcey joined the judging panel for Strictly Come Dancing. This is a very popular BBC dance competition. She was a fifth judge for the final stages of the series. She even danced a jive with professional dancer Ian Waite on the semi-final show.
In December 2011, Darcey made a BBC Two documentary. It was called Darcey dances Hollywood. In it, she recreated famous dance routines from Hollywood movies. These included dances by Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers.
In 2012, Darcey returned to Strictly Come Dancing as a permanent judge. She stayed on the show until 2019. On April 10, 2019, she announced she was leaving. She said it was a "complete privilege" to be part of the show.
Darcey has also presented several documentaries. These include Darcey's Ballet Heroines (2013) and Darcey's Ballet Heroes (2015). She also presented documentaries about famous people like Audrey Hepburn (2014), Margot Fonteyn (2016), and Fred Astaire (2017). In 2018, she presented Darcey Bussell: Dancing to Happiness. This show looked at how dance can help mental health.
In 2021, Darcey presented a travel series called Darcey Bussell's Wild Coasts of Scotland. In 2022, she presented another series, Darcey Bussell's Royal Roadtrip.
Honours and Special Tributes
In 1994, a full-size portrait of Darcey was created by artist Allen Jones. This painting is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Darcey has received several important honours from the British Empire. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995. This was for her services to ballet. In 2006, she became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 2018, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This is a very high honour, which is why she is called "Dame Darcey."
In 2006, a new crimson rose was named 'Darcey Bussell' at the Chelsea Flower Show. In 2019, Megabus named one of their new buses 'Darcey Bussell'.
Darcey is also the "godmother" of the cruise ship MS Azura. When the ship was launched in 2010, Darcey performed the traditional ceremony. She broke a bottle of champagne to name the ship. She also put on a dance show with students from the Royal Ballet School.
Awards and Recognition
In 2006, Darcey received a gold medal from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She also received the Carl Alan Award for her contributions to dance.
In December 1990, readers of Dance and Dancers magazine voted her Dancer of the Year. In February 1991, she won the Sir James Garreras Award for the most promising newcomer. One week later, she received the London Evening Standard Ballet Award for 1990. In April 1991, she won the Cosmopolitan Achievement Award for Performing Arts.
On July 18, 2009, Darcey received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford. This is a special degree given to people who have achieved great things. The university praised her charm and imagination. They said she helps people enjoy ballet, even if they think it's too grand.
In 2017, she received another honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow, Scotland. In June 2018, she received an honorary Fellowship from Arts University Bournemouth.
Helping Others: Patronages
Since 2012, Darcey Bussell has been the president of the Royal Academy of Dance. This is a global organization that promotes dance education.
She is also the campaign president for the Birmingham Royal Ballet's fundraising efforts. She is an ambassador for the New Zealand School of Dance. She is on the board of the Margot Fonteyn Foundation. She is also an international patron for the Sydney Dance Company.
Darcey is a patron for several medical charities. These include Borne, Sight for All, and the Henry Spink Foundation. A patron is someone who supports and helps an organization or charity.
Personal Life
In 1997, Darcey Bussell married Angus Forbes, an Australian banker. They got married in Cherwell, Oxfordshire.
They first lived in Kensington, London. In 2008, they moved to Sydney, Australia. They returned to London in July 2012. As of 2021, they live in Wimbledon. Darcey and Angus have two children.
Images for kids
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Darcey Bussell in a library in Chelsea, London in 2012.
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Darcey Bussell, Carlos Acosta and Gary Avis at a curtain call for Song of the Earth, 8 June 2007.
See also
In Spanish: Darcey Bussell para niños
