Gillian Lynne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dame Gillian Lynne
|
|
|---|---|
Gillian Lynne at the Olivier Awards in 2013
|
|
| Born |
Gillian Barbara Pyrke
20 February 1926 |
| Died | 1 July 2018 (aged 92) Marylebone, London, England
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 1963–2011 |
| Spouse(s) | Patrick Back (m. 1949; div. 19??) Peter Land
(m. 1980) |
Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (born Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was a famous English ballerina, dancer, and choreographer. She also worked as an actress and director for theatre and television.
Gillian Lynne is best known for creating the dances for two of the longest-running shows on Broadway, which is a famous theatre district in New York City. These shows were Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.
In 2014, when she was 87 years old, she received a special honour. She was made a DBE, which stands for Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This is a very high award given by the British Queen or King.
In 2018, a theatre in London was renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre in her honour. This was the New London Theatre, where the original Cats musical first played. This made Gillian Lynne the first non-royal woman to have a theatre in London's West End named after her.
Contents
Early life and how she discovered dance
Gillian Barbara Pyrke was born in Bromley, Kent, England. From a very young age, she showed a natural talent for dancing.
When Gillian was 13, her mother took her to a doctor. Her mother was worried because Gillian was always fidgeting and found it hard to focus at school. The doctor listened carefully to her mother. Then, he turned on the radio and asked Gillian's mother to step outside with him for a moment.
While they were outside, the doctor encouraged Gillian's mother to look back into the room. They saw Gillian dancing beautifully to the music on the radio. The doctor immediately knew that Gillian was a dancer. He told her mother to take her to dance school, and that's how her amazing journey began.
Her dancing career
Dancing with Sadler's Wells Ballet
Gillian Lynne started dancing with Molly Lake's Company. One day, a very important person named Ninette de Valois saw her perform. Ninette de Valois invited Gillian to join the Sadler's Wells Ballet during World War II.
When the Royal Opera House reopened after the war, Gillian got her first big solo role. This was in the ballet Sleeping Beauty, and it happened on her 20th birthday. She became a celebrated ballerina in what later became known as the Royal Ballet. She was famous for her strong performances in ballets like Checkmate and Giselle.
Success in West End, film, and TV
Gillian left the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1951. She quickly became a star dancer at the London Palladium, a famous theatre. She also performed in other popular shows in London's West End. One of her famous roles was Claudine in Can-Can.
She also appeared in movies and on early British television. She was in the film The Master of Ballantrae with actor Errol Flynn. She showed her talents as both a dancer and an actress on screen.
Becoming a choreographer and director
Gillian Lynne had a very long career creating and directing dances. She worked on many big productions. These included shows for the Royal Opera House and the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also worked on many popular shows in London's West End and on Broadway.
She is most famous for her work on the musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber. She created the dances for Cats (1981) and The Phantom of the Opera (1986). She also worked on Aspects of Love (1990). Her choreography for Cats brought the movements of cats to life on stage. For The Phantom of the Opera, she helped create the dramatic and beautiful scenes.
Gillian Lynne also choreographed and directed for television. She worked on The Muppet Show series. In 1987, she won a BAFTA award for her work on A Simple Man.
In 2002, she choreographed the musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This show was based on the 1968 film. It was very successful in London and later on Broadway. This brought her back to the London Palladium after 50 years! She also choreographed the 25th Anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall in 2011.
Personal life
Gillian Lynne married her second husband, actor and singer Peter Land, in 1980.
She wrote a book about her life called A Dancer in Wartime. It was published in 2011.
Gillian Lynne passed away on 1 July 2018, at the age of 92.
Awards and honours
Gillian Lynne received many awards and honours for her incredible work. She won the Golden Rose of Montreux Award and a BAFTA. She also received The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award in 2001. In 2013, she received a Special Award at the Olivier Awards, which are very important theatre awards in the UK.
She was honoured by the Queen twice. In 1997, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Then, in 2014, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). These awards recognized her great contributions to dance and musical theatre.
She was nominated for the Tony Award twice for her choreography. These nominations were for her work on Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. She won an Olivier Award in 1981 for her outstanding achievement in musicals for Cats.
In 2018, the New London Theatre was officially renamed the Gillian Lynne Theatre. This was a huge honour, making it the first theatre in London's West End of London to be named after a woman who was not a member of the royal family.
See also
In Spanish: Gillian Lynne para niños
