Darcey Bussell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Darcey Bussell
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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 Andrea Bussell (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle on April 27, 1969) is a famous English ballerina. She was also a judge on the popular BBC TV dance show Strictly Come Dancing.
Darcey trained at the Arts Educational School and the Royal Ballet School. She started her professional dancing career at Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet. In 1989, when she was just 20 years old, she joined The Royal Ballet. There, she became the youngest ever principal dancer. A principal dancer is the highest rank a ballet dancer can achieve.
Darcey Bussell danced with The Royal Ballet for over two decades. She also performed as a guest dancer with many other famous companies. These included the New York City Ballet, La Scala Theatre Ballet, and the Kirov Ballet. She stopped dancing ballet professionally in 2007.
Contents
Early Life and School
Darcey Bussell was born Marnie Crittle in London. Her mother, Andrea Williams, was a model and actress. Her father, John Crittle, was an Australian businessman.
When Darcey was three, her parents divorced. Her mother later 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 then moved back to London. Darcey attended Fox Primary School in Kensington.
At age nine, Darcey found out she had dyslexia. This is a learning difference that can make reading and writing harder. However, she was very good at physical activities. This helped her choose her career path in dance.
Dancing 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. When she was 16, she moved to the Royal Ballet Upper School.
In 1987, she joined the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet. While at the Royal Ballet School, she performed in several school shows. Some of these were at Covent Garden, a famous theatre.
Becoming a Principal Dancer
In 1988, while still a student, Darcey got a main role in a ballet called The Prince of the Pagodas. This ballet was created by a famous choreographer named Kenneth MacMillan. This big opportunity led her to join the Royal Ballet. Just one year later, in 1989, she was promoted to principal dancer. At only 20 years old, she was the youngest principal dancer in the company's history.
Famous Ballet Roles
Throughout her career, Darcey performed many major classical ballet roles. She danced as Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty. She also played Odette/Odile in Swan Lake and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She performed over 80 different roles in total. 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 Anthony Dowell's production at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. She performed in front of President Clinton. She also made several guest appearances with the New York City Ballet.
Retirement and Later Performances
Darcey Bussell 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 also 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. Later that 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, Darcey became the first female chair of the Board of Trustees for Plymouth Theatre Royal. She also served as president of the jury at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in 2024.
Other Activities
Writing Books
In October 2008, a new children's book series called Magic Ballerina was released. Darcey Bussell came up with the idea and story for these books. They are about a girl named Delphie who joins a ballet school. She discovers her ballet shoes are magical. Within three years, over 23 Magic Ballerina stories were published. All of them featured girls with magic sparkly red ballet shoes.
Darcey also co-wrote The Young Dancer with the Royal Ballet School. She wrote an introduction for The Illustrated Book of Ballet. This book features five ballets she starred in. An autobiography about her ballet career, Darcey Bussell, came out in 2012. Another book, Darcey Bussell: Evolved, followed in 2018.
Television Appearances
Darcey Bussell has appeared in many television 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 2004, a documentary called Britain's Ballerina was made about her. Darcey also teamed up with singer Katherine Jenkins for a show called Viva la Diva. This show celebrated stars who inspired them, like Madonna and Judy Garland.
In 2009, Darcey joined the judging panel for the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing. She was a fifth judge for the final stages of the series. In December 2011, she made a BBC Two documentary called Darcey dances Hollywood. In it, she recreated famous dance routines from Hollywood films. These included dances by Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers.
In 2012, Darcey became a permanent judge on Strictly Come Dancing. She stayed on the show until 2019. On August 12, 2012, she performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics. She came down from the stadium roof as the 'Spirit of the Flame'. She led 200 ballerinas in a dance.
Darcey presented several other BBC documentaries. These included Darcey's Ballet Heroines (2013) and Darcey Bussell: Looking for Audrey (2014) about Audrey Hepburn. She also presented Darcey's Ballet Heroes (2015) and Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot (2016) about Margot Fonteyn. In 2017, she presented Darcey Bussell: Looking for Fred about Fred Astaire. In 2018, she presented Darcey Bussell: Dancing to Happiness, about how dance helps mental health.
On April 10, 2019, Darcey announced she was leaving Strictly Come Dancing. She said it was a "complete privilege" to be part of the show. She enjoyed her time and would miss everyone involved.
More recently, Darcey presented Darcey Bussell's Wild Coasts of Scotland. This four-part travel series aired in early 2021. In July 2022, her four-part series Darcey Bussell's Royal Roadtrip premiered.
Awards and Recognition
In 1994, a full-size painting of Darcey Bussell was put on display. It was painted by Allen Jones for The National Portrait Gallery in London.
Darcey has received several important honors from the British Empire. She was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995. She became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2006. In 2018, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). This means she can use the title "Dame." These honors are for her great contributions to dance.
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 Bussell is also the "godmother" of the cruise ship MS Azura. This ship belongs to the P&O Cruises fleet. In April 2010, she performed the traditional ceremony to name the ship. She broke a bottle of champagne against its hull. She also performed a dance with students from the Royal Ballet School.
In 2025, Darcey Bussell appeared on a British postage stamp. This special set of stamps celebrated the TV series The Vicar of Dibley, where she had appeared.
Other Awards
In 2006, Darcey Bussell 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 early 1991, she received the Sir James Garreras Award for most promising newcomer. She also won the London Evening Standard Ballet Award for 1990.
On July 18, 2009, Darcey Bussell received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford. This is a special degree given to honor someone's achievements. 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.
Supporting Dance and Charities
Since 2012, Darcey Bussell has been the president of the Royal Academy of Dance. This is a global organization for dance education and training.
She has also been the campaign president for the Birmingham Royal Ballet's fundraising since 2012. She is an ambassador for the New Zealand School of Dance. She is on the board of the Margot Fonteyn Foundation. She is also the international patron of the Sydney Dance Company.
Darcey supports several medical charities. These include Borne, Sight for All, and the Henry Spink Foundation.
Personal Life
In 1997, Darcey Bussell married Angus Forbes, an Australian banker. They got married in Cherwell, Oxfordshire.
The couple 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.
See also
In Spanish: Darcey Bussell para niños
