Lynn Seymour
| Lynn Seymour | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Berta Lynn Springbett 8 March 1939 Wainwright, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
Lynn Seymour (born 8 March 1939) is a retired Canadian-born ballerina and one of the most innovative personalities of the British ballet.
She was born Berta Lynn Springbett in Wainwright, Alberta, and studied ballet in Vancouver.
In 1953 she was auditioned by Frederick Ashton and given a scholarship to London's Sadler's Wells Ballet School. There she was in a class with Antoinette Sibley and Marcia Haydée - "perhaps the greatest constellation of talent ever seen in one classroom".
In 1956 she joined Covent Garden Opera Ballet, then moved to the Touring Royal Ballet in 1957 and a year later to the main company of the Royal Ballet as a soloist dancer, becoming a principal in 1959.
Her first created role was the Adolescent in Kenneth MacMillan's The Burrow (1958), one of many ballets on which she worked with this choreographer: her lyrical technique, her unconventional style and the very intense dramatic powers were developed through the wide range of roles he made on her including The Girl in The Invitation (1960) and The Fiancé in Le baiser de la fée (1960) - which is shown in the picture above.
She soon debuted in the classics by dancing Odette-Odile (1958, on tour in Australia), Giselle and Aurora (both 1960) and was the Young Girl in Ashton's comedy ballet The Two Pigeons (1961) in which she began a much praised partnership with Christopher Gable.
The title role in MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet (1965, thought especially for her but danced by Margot Fonteyn at the première) established her as the leading dance-actress of her generation.
She was prima ballerina at Berlin Opera Ballet (1966–69) under MacMillan's direction; here she danced the first performance of his Concerto (whose second movement was inspired by her) and created the role of Anna Anderson in the one-act version of Anastasia (1967).
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