Shearer, Moira

Born in the city of Dunfermline in Scotland in the family of engineer Harold King. In 1931 , the family moved to Ndola , Northern Rhodesia , where the girl, at the insistence of her mother, began to practice ballet with one of Enrico Cecchetti 's students. Upon returning to London in 1936, she studied with Flora Fairbairn, a teacher, for several months before entering Nikolai Legat's studio. After three years of classes with Legat, she was accepted into the Sadlers Wells ballet school (now the ), but immediately after the outbreak of the war, her parents took her home to Scotland.

She made her debut in 1941 in the troupe of Mona Inglesby " International Ballet ". In 1942 she became a member of the Sadlers-Wells Ballet troupe, where she danced until 1952. She participated in the tour of the troupe in America.

Together with Margot Fontaine and Pamela May was in the premiere of Ashton 's ballet Symphonic Variations . In 1948 , she made her debut in the role of Cinderella in the eponymous ballet of F. Ashton.

The role of Victoria Page in the film " Red Shoes " instantly made her world famous. Moira herself believed that the film ruined her ballet career. “Isn't it strange that what you never aspired to suddenly turns into what makes you a name and determines your personality?” The ballerina asked. Nevertheless, she agreed to take part in another grandiose film project of the team that created the Red Shoes, starring in the roles of the ballerina Stella and the mechanical doll of Olympia in the film extravaganza “ Tales of Hoffmann ”.

In 1953 , at the age of only 27 years old, for various reasons (including injuries) she decided to leave the ballet scene and focus on her acting career. In 1954 , she played Titania in the Shakespearean comedy Midsummer Night's Dream at the Edinburgh Festival . In 1959, she starred in the role of Roxanne (Cyrano de Bergerac) in the film-ballet Roland Petit “One, Two, Three, Four or Black Stockings” (released in 1961). In the mid-60s, she played the role of the Fairy Morgana in the stage version of the musical “ Camelot ”, directed and choreographed by Robert Helpman .

In 1972, she was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in Edinburgh . In 1977-1982 she traveled to the United States with lectures on the history of ballet . She led a book review column in the Daily Telegraph .

In 1987 , she starred in the role of the mother of the artist Lowry in the television version of Jillian Lynn 's ballet "The Simple Man."

Family

In 1950, she married the well-known journalist and human rights activist Louis Kennedy , with whom she had been married for 56 years - until her death in 2006. Her husband claimed to have fallen in love with Moira and decided that he would marry her just as soon as he looked the film " Red Shoes ". The couple had four children - three daughters and a son.

Producer Arthur Fried wanted Moira to play the role of Helen in the movie " Royal Wedding ", but Asta flatly refused to star with a professional ballerina. In turn, Shearer refused the offer of Gene Kelly to play with him in the film " Brigadine " (1954).

In 2000, satin ballet slippers, in which Shearer played in “ Red Shoes, ” were sold at auction for $ 25 thousand.

Repertoire

• December 23, 1948 - Cinderella *, Cinderella by Sergei Prokofiev directed by Frederick Ashton (Prince - ).

(*) - the first performer of the party.

Filmography

• 1948 - Red Shoes (dir. Michael Powell and Emerih Pressburger , choreography by Robert Helpman )
• 1951 - Hoffmann 's Tales (dir. Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburger , choreography by Frederick Ashton )
• 1953 - Three Love Stories (episode The Jealous Beloved, directed by Vincent Minnelli and Gottfried Reinhart , choreography by Frederick Ashton )
• 1955 - The Redhead Lover (directed by Harold French )
• 1960 - The Peeping (directed by Michael Powell )
• 1961 - One, Two, Three, Four or Black Stockings (choreography by Roland Petit , dir. Terence Young )

• Portraits and photographs of Moira Shearer // National Portrait Gallery, London.