Kenneth MacMillan facts for kids

Sir Kenneth MacMillan later in his life

Sir Kenneth MacMillan (born December 11, 1929 – died October 29, 1992) was a famous British ballet dancer and choreographer. A choreographer is someone who creates the dances for ballets. He led the Royal Ballet in London from 1970 to 1977. After that, he was their main choreographer until he passed away. He also worked with other major ballet companies, like the Deutsche Oper in Berlin and the American Ballet Theatre.

Kenneth MacMillan grew up in a family that wasn't involved in dance or music, but he knew from a young age he wanted to be a dancer. He was accepted into the famous Sadler's Wells Ballet School. He became a successful dancer in the late 1940s. However, he found performing very difficult because of stage fright. So, in his twenties, he decided to stop dancing and focus only on creating ballets. He created ten full-length ballets and more than fifty shorter ones. He also worked on television shows, musicals, and plays.

Even though he is mostly known for his work with the Royal Ballet, MacMillan often felt like an outsider there. He liked to work with other companies too. Some of his most popular ballets were created for the Stuttgart Ballet and the Deutsche Opera ballet.

Kenneth MacMillan's Life and Career

Early Life and Discovering Dance

Kenneth MacMillan was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1929. He was the youngest of four children. His father was a laborer and cook. His mother passed away when he was only 12 years old, which was very hard for him. His family moved to Great Yarmouth in England.

During World War II, his school was moved to Retford. There, he discovered ballet thanks to a local dance teacher. He had already tried Scottish dancing and tap dancing, but he loved ballet right away. When his school returned to Great Yarmouth, he found another ballet teacher who helped him. At 15, he was accepted into the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, which later became the Royal Ballet School.

Becoming a Dancer

In 1946, while still a student, MacMillan performed in The Sleeping Beauty when the Royal Opera House reopened after the war. He started as an extra and slowly got bigger roles. He became a founding member of a smaller ballet group at Sadler's Wells Theatre, which helped train young dancers.

He quickly became good at dancing. He even took over a main role in a ballet called Les Rendezvous when other dancers were injured. He was very good at remembering all the dance steps. By 1948, he joined the main Royal Ballet company.

However, MacMillan started to dislike performing. He suffered from severe stage fright, which made his leading roles very stressful. The director, Ninette de Valois, gave him time off. During this time, he danced with a friend's small group, away from the big stage. This experience made him think about creating dances instead of performing them.

Starting as a Choreographer

In 1953, MacMillan created his first ballet, Somnambulism, for a new group set up by Ninette de Valois. It was well-received. The next year, he created Laiderette, which featured a character who felt like an "outsider." This idea of outsiders became a common theme in his future ballets.

Because of his early successes, de Valois asked the 25-year-old MacMillan to create a ballet for Sadler's Wells. This was Danses concertantes in 1955. Critics praised it, saying a powerful new talent had arrived. After this, MacMillan decided he wanted to be a choreographer, not a dancer. He convinced de Valois, and from 1955, he worked only on creating dances.

A Busy Choreographer

MacMillan then created many one-act ballets. He also worked on television shows and even staged a ballet for an opera. In 1956, he spent five months in New York, creating ballets for the American Ballet Theatre.

His 1958 ballet, The Burrow, was praised for exploring serious themes like war and oppression. This work also marked the beginning of his important partnership with dancer Lynn Seymour, who became his inspiration for many ballets. The company was now called the Royal Ballet.

In the mid-1960s, two of his ballets became very successful but also caused some problems with the Royal Opera House.

• In 1964, the Royal Opera House refused his idea to create a ballet using Mahler's music for Das Lied von der Erde. So, MacMillan created it for the Stuttgart Ballet instead in 1965, and it was a huge success. The Royal Ballet later decided to perform it too.
• His first full-length ballet, Romeo and Juliet (1965), was created for Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable. But for the big opening night, the management insisted that famous dancers Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev perform instead. This made MacMillan and his chosen dancers feel very disappointed.

Leading the Royal Ballet

Feeling unhappy with the Royal Opera House, MacMillan accepted an offer to lead the ballet company at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in 1966. This was a difficult time for him. He didn't speak German, and he felt the ballet company was not as important as the opera. He created seven ballets there, including a one-act version of Anastasia.

In 1970, MacMillan returned to London to become the artistic director of the Royal Ballet. This was also a challenging role for him, as he preferred creating ballets to managing the company. During his seven years as director, he expanded Anastasia into a three-act ballet (1971) and created another full-length work, Manon (1974). These ballets received mixed reviews. However, his ballets Elite Syncopations (1974) and Requiem (1976) were very popular. Requiem was dedicated to his friend John Cranko, who had passed away.

In 1971, MacMillan married Deborah Williams, a painter. They had one daughter. His marriage brought him more stability and happiness.

Principal Choreographer

In 1977, MacMillan stepped down as director to focus entirely on choreography. He became the Royal Ballet's principal choreographer. He continued to create ballets with often dark and emotional themes. His fourth full-length ballet was Mayerling (1978), about a tragic royal story. Other ballets explored themes like disturbed families, mental asylums, and even Nazi concentration camps.

In the 1980s, he also directed plays. From 1984 to 1989, he was also an associate director at the American Ballet Theatre, where he staged new works and restaged some of his famous ballets.

Despite having a serious heart attack in 1988, MacMillan kept working intensely. In 1989, he created a new version of Britten's The Prince of the Pagodas. This ballet helped launch the career of a young dancer named Darcey Bussell. Along with Irek Mukhamedov, Darcey Bussell became a new inspiration for his work. For them, he created Winter Dreams (1991), inspired by the play Three Sisters. His very last ballet was The Judas Tree in 1992.

Kenneth MacMillan passed away from a heart attack backstage at the Royal Opera House during a performance of his ballet Mayerling in 1992. He had almost finished working on the dances for a new musical called Carousel, which opened a few weeks later.

Awards and Recognition

Kenneth MacMillan was knighted in 1983, meaning he received the title "Sir." He also received many awards for his work, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 1993 for The Judas Tree and a Tony Award for Best Choreography in 1994 for Carousel.

Major Ballets

Here are some of Kenneth MacMillan's most famous full-length ballets:

See also

In Spanish: Kenneth MacMillan para niños