Penelope Spencer
| Penelope Spencer | |
|---|---|
| Born |
30 December 1901 Battersea, London |
| Died |
3 October 1993 (aged 91) Cranleigh, Surrey |
| Other names | Penelope Spencer Barman |
| Occupation | Dancer, choreographer |
Penelope Spencer (1901–1993) was an English dancer who is remembered for her modern approach to free-style dancing and choreography.
Born in the London district of Battersea, she was the daughter of geologist Leonard James Spencer and of Edith Mary Close, a schoolteacher. From the age of 11, she was trained in theatre and ballet at the Italia Conti Academy where she studied under the pioneering modern dancer Margaret Morris.
In 1921, on Morris's recommendation, she was engaged by Rutland Boughton to stage dances and choruses for the Glastonbury Festival, some of which he incorporated in his opera The Immortal Hour. She then spent a brief period as principal dancer at the British National Opera Company performing in The Jewels of the Madonna. From 1924, she arranged dances for the productions of Sybil Thorndike and Lewis Casson, including The Cenci and Henry VIII, and also associated with Nigel Playfair, the manager of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. During this period, she also started teaching dance at the Royal College of Music. Her work included dances for the first performance of Vaughan Williams' opera, Hugh the Drover.
Her choreography was influenced by avant-garde artists including Oliver Messel and Lord Berners who composed the music for her successful dance, "Funeral March for the Death of a Rich Aunt" in 1924. In 1927, Constant Lambert, who like Spencer had been influenced by the American black dancing group, The Blackbirds, composed the music for her "Elegiac Blues" (1927), inspired by the death of their star, Florence Mills.
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