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Autographs: ballet and dance N.B. All prices are in GB pounds. Items are not shown to scale with each other, and measurements are approximate.
Go to Make a purchase to buy any of these items and for terms and conditions Go to Autographs A-G, Autographs H-Q, Autographs R-Z for full list of items | Maria Almeida - born c. 1965, Portuguese-born ballerina, regarded by many as one of the most gifted dancers of her generation, she is married to dancer Jonathan Cope. In 1988, as the Royal Ballet's youngest Principal dancer, she played the title role in Ondine opposite Anthony Dowell, and that same year co-starred in Dame Nanette de Valois' 90th Birthday Gala. More recently her career has been affected by injuries - 9.75 x 8 inches (24.5 x 20 cm) lsrge sutographed photo showing her in the world premiere of the Royal Opera's Beauty and the Beast (Vangelis/Eagling) in December 1986, with dedication, signed in gold ink: "To Ray, with love, Maria Almeida". Condition: slight surface-creasing top-left. £18 | |
| Darcey Bussell - born 1969, British ballerina); she trained at the Royal Ballet School, and became principal dancer, and is regarded as one of the greatest British ballerinas of all time. She has performed as a guest artist with leading international ballet companies and, since retiring from professional ballet in 2007, has continued to be active in the world of dance. She has recently become a judge on BBC TV's Strictly Come Dancing. In 2012 she became the President of the Royal Academy of Dance - autograph on 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10 cm) white card. £20 | | 
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| Pauline Clayden - British ballerina, a principal with the Royal Ballet in the 1950s - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo, signed: "Best wishes, Pauline Clayden" top left, and "Miracle in the Gorbals" bottom left. Condition: minor wear to corners, and marks on reverse where item has been in album. £15 | | 
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above: detail of autograph |
Jonathan Cope - British ballet dancer; a principal with the Royal Ballet, he famously retired in 1990 at the age of 27 to experience life outside ballet, and then returned in 1992 to dance in Swan Lake. His numerous roles with the Royal Ballet included the male leads in The Prince of the Pagodas and Sylvia. He has appeared on TV with Darcey Bussell in Viva La Diva, and is currently a repetiteur with the Royal Ballet - 7.75 x 9.75 (20 x 24.5 cm) autographed photo, with dedication, signed by him in gold ink: "Manon Royal Opera Hse. '2000' To Alexandra, Love Jonathan Cope". SOLD
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above: detail of Jonathan Cope autograph | | | |
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above: detail of Jonathan Cope autograph |
| Jonathan Cope - British ballet dancer; a principal with the Royal Ballet, he famously retired in 1990 at the age of 27 to have a career outside ballet, and then returned in 1992 to dance in Swan Lake. His numerous roles with th Royal Ballet included the male leads in The Prince of the Pagodas and Sylvia. He has appeared on TV with Darcey Bussell in Viva La Diva, and later became a repetiteur with the Royal Ballet - 7.75 x 9.75 inches (20 x 24.5 cm) autographed photo with dedication, signed by him in gold ink: "To Victoria and Alexandra, love Jonathan Cope". £18 [ref: JC2] | |
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above: detail of Anton Dolin autograph |
Anton Dolin - 1904-1983, British ballet dancer and choreographer. He joined Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921, becoming a principal with them in 1924, and later a principal with the Vic-Wells Ballet in the 1930s, dancing with Alicia Markova, founding with her the Markova-Dolin Ballet, and the London Festival Battel (later English National Ballet). He was knighted in 1981, and from 1941 was a choreographer, staging numerous ballets including Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Capricciosa and The Romantic Age - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo, signed in firm black biro. Condition: slight sellotape remnant on reverse, where item has been mounted in album. SOLD
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| John Gilpin - 1930-1983, British ballet dancer, a principal with Festival Ballet in 1950s and 60s - autograph in blue biro on 3.5 x 2 inches (8.5 x 5.5 cm) pale orange fragment of autograph page, signed: "Best of luck, John Gilpin". Condition: slight stain bottom-left as shown on scan. £10 | | 
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| Beryl Grey - born 1927, British ballerina, the first Western-European guest artist to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet - autograph on 4 x 4.5 inches (10 x 12 cm) stiff paper, signed: "Good wishes, Beryl Grey". £15 | | 
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| Gordon Hamilton - 1918-1959, Australian ballet dancer with First Australian Ballet, Ballet Rambert and Sadlers Wells Ballet, becoming ballet master at the Vienna State Opera before his untimely death - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo showing him in Promenade. Condition: photo corners stuck to reverse where item has been in album. £25 [ref: GH1] | | 
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above: detail of Gordon Hamilton autograph | | | | | |
| Gordon Hamilton - 1918-1959, Australian ballet dancer with First Australian Ballet, Ballet Rambert and Sadlers Wells Ballet, becoming ballet master at the Vienna State Opera before his untimely death - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo showing him in The Rake's Progress. Condition: photo corners stuck to reverse where item has been in album. £25 [ref: GH2] | | 
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above: detail of Gordon Hamilton autograph | | | | | |
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above: detail of Robert Helpmann autograph |
| Robert Helpmann - 1909-1986, Australian ballet dancer, actor, director and choreographer. He danced with Anna Pavlova's touring dance company, then the Vic-Wells Ballet and later the Royal Ballet, frequently partnering Margot Fonteyn. He later had a career as an actor, famously includung the role of the Child Catcher in the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - 5.5 x 3.5 inches (14 x 9 cm) autographed photo, firmly signed by him in blue biro, showing him with Margot Fonteyn in Swan Lake. Condition: photo-corners stuck to reverse where item has been in album. £35 [ref: RH1] | |
| Robert Helpmann - 1909-1986, Australian ballet dancer, actor, director and choreographer, dancing with the Royal Ballet and frequently partnering Margot Fonteyn - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo showing him in Swan Lake with Margot Fonteyn, signed: "To Peter, Robert Helpmann". £30 [ref: RH3] | | 
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above: detail of Robert Helpmann autograph | | | | | |
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above: detail of Ernest Hewitt autograph |
| Ernest Hewitt - ballet dancer who danced leading roles with Mona Inglesby's International Ballet from 1941 to 1953 - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo showing him in costume, signed: "Sincerely, Ernest Hewitt". Condition: very slight marks on reverse where item has been mounted in album. £20 | |
| Rosella Hightower - 1920-2008, American ballerina who famously became an overnight star when she replaced Alicia Markova in Giselle for the Original Ballet Russe in 1947. Later danced for Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cueras - autograph on 4.5 x 3.5 inches (1..5 x 9 cm) white card, pasted onto 5.5 x 4 inches (14 x 10.5 cm) pink page from autograph book, signed: "Sincerely, Rosella Hightower". £15 | | 
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above: detail of both autographs |
Ronald Hynd and Annette Page Ronald Hynd - born 1931, British dancer and choreographer; he joined the Royal Ballet in the late 1940s, and danced frequently with ballerina Annette Page, whom he subsequently married. As a choreographer he created The Merry Widow for the Royal Ballet in 1975, The Nutcracker for London Festival Ballet in 1976, and in 1988 The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Houston Ballet. Annette Page - born 1931, British ballerina. In 1948 she joined Sadlers Wells Ballet, and in 1949 she joined the Royal Ballet; in the early 1960s she danced with Fonteyn and Nureyev, and in 1967 she danced the title role in the Royal Ballet's Giselle, to great acclaim, after which she retired. - 6.5 x 8.5 inches (16 x 21 cm) autographed photo, dating from the early 1950s, showing them together, with dedication, signed by both: "Annette Page, Best wishes" and: "To dear Jack, kindest regards, Ronald Hynd". Condition: wear to all corners, and with considerable surface-creasing to left side of photo, and creasing to top left corner; but despite the signs of age this is still a nice item. SOLD | |
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above: detail of Margaret Illmann autograph |
| Margaret Illmann - born 1965, Australian ballerina. She joined Australian Ballet in 1985, becoming a soloist in 1986. In 1989 she joined the National Ballet of Canada, where she became Principal dancer in 1989. In 1993 she played the leading role in the Broadway Musical The Red Shoes, winning the Theatre World Award for Best Actress. From 1996 to 1998 she was Principal of the Stuttgart Ballet, and in 2003 Principal dancer of the Vienna Staatsoper. She has also danced for New York City Ballet and English National Ballet, and her interpretations of the leading roles in Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet have been particularly admired - 8 x 10 inches (20.5 x 25.5 cm) large autographed photo, with dedication, signed: "To Ray, thank you for your delightful letter, sincerely, Margaret Illmann", and at the bottom-right she has added "Swan Queen, E.N.B. Swan Lake, Royal Albert Hall 1999". £20 | |
| Gillian Lynne - born 1926, British ballerina, a member of Sadlers Wells Ballet dancing major roles from 1946, then dancing in musicals; later a leading choreographer at ROH Covent Garden, Royal Shakespeare Company, English National Opera and in West End musicals (Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love) - autograph on 6 x 4 inches (15 x 10 cm) white page from autograph book with dedication: "To: John, Gillian Lynne, all the best". £10 | 
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| Christina McDermott - Swiss ballerina. She was Principal dancer with Bavarian State Ballet, dancing Giselle, Odette/Odille, Cinderella, Kitri in Don Quixote and Olga in Onegin. She joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal in the late 1990s, most famously dancing the Fairy Godmother to Darcey Bussell's Cinderella. She later danced with Royal Danish Ballet before retiring - 8.25 x 11.5 inches (21 x 29.5 cm) large autographed photo, with dedication, signed in gold ink: "For James, Best wishes! Christina McDermott". At the top she has written: "Fairy Godmother 'Cinderella', Royal Ballet, Royal Festival Hall 1998". £25 | |
Nadia Nerina - 1927-2008, South African ballerina; danced with the Ballet Rambert, then with Sadlers Wells Ballet where she became a prima ballerina in 1952. In 1960 she was the first western dancer to be a guest artist with the Bolshoi and the Kirov. She later helped to run the Royal Ballet - autograph on 5.25 x 3.25 inches (8 x 13 cm) orange page from autograph book. SOLD
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| Wayne Sleep - born 1948, British dancer, director and choreographer; more recently he has become a TV personality (I'm a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here, Strictly Dance Fever) - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo, with dedication: "Joyce, best wishes, Wayne Sleep". £12 | | 
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above: detail of Wayne Sleep autograph | | | | | |
Michael Somes - 1917-1994, British ballet dancer; a leading dancer with Royal Ballet in 1950s; he was married to, and often danced with, Antoinette Sibley - 3.5 x 5.5 inches (9 x 14 cm) autographed photo. Condition: marks on reverse where item has been glued into album. £25 [ref: MS1] | |  | | 
above: detail of Michael Somes autograph | | | | | |
Ninette de Valois - 1898-2001, Irish ballerina, arguably the most important figure ever in British ballet; danced with Diaghilev's Ballet Ruses then founded the Vic-Wells Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet - autograph on 3.5 x 6 inches (9 x 15 cm) white card. SOLD
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| Peggy Van Praagh - 1910-1990, Australian ballerina, danced with Ballet Rambert in 1930s, then London Ballet; in 1950s was Assistant Director of Sadlers Wells Ballet, later becoming Artistic Director of Australian Ballet - 2.5 x 3.5 inches (6 x 9 cm) small autographed photo dating from her time at Sadlers Wells in 1950s. £18 | | 
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above: detail of Peggy Van Praagh autograph | | | | | |
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