Sir Robert Helpmann

Sir Robert Helpmann (born April 9, 1909, Mount Gambier, Australia—died Sept. 28, 1986, Sydney) was an Australian ballet dancer, choreographer, actor, and director. His career encompassed activities in ballet, theatre, and motion pictures.

Helpmann first appeared on the stage in 1923 as a dancer in musical comedy, and then, after seeing Anna Pavlova dance, he joined Pavlova’s company and toured Australia and New Zealand. He remained in Australia for several years as a dancer and actor in the troupe managed by J.C. Williamson.

In 1933 Helpmann went to London to study and later that year joined the Vic-Wells (later Sadler’s Wells and now the Royal) Ballet. That same year he interpreted the important role of Satan in Ninette de Valois’s Job and in the following year became premier danseur and danced opposite Alicia Markova in de Valois’s Haunted Ballroom. He became the regular partner of prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn in 1935. They were a popular pair, particularly during World War II, and danced a large classical repertoire. He left Sadler’s Wells in 1950 but occasionally returned as guest artist and choreographer.

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Helpmann danced in the ballet films The Red Shoes (1948), which he also choreographed, and Tales of Hoffman (1950).

As a choreographer, he created ballets that were strongly theatrical and often contained elements of violence. Hamlet (1942) was a study in motivation; the ballet began with Hamlet’s death and probed backward into his memories and last thoughts. Helpmann created the leading role, as he did in such other of his works as Miracle in the Gorbals (1944) and Adam Zero (1946). In 1965 he became co-artistic director of the Australian Ballet, a post he held until 1976.

Throughout his ballet career Helpmann was active in the theatre, both as an actor and as a producer and director. His first important part came in 1937–38 as Oberon in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and the title role in Hamlet were among the other Shakespearean roles he played. Helpmann also appeared in a wide variety of films including One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942), Henry V (1944), and Patrick (1978). In 1950 he produced the opera Madame Butterfly at Covent Garden in London, and he also directed plays including Murder in the Cathedral (1953), As You Like It (1955), and Duel of Angels (1960). In 1973 he codirected (with Rudolf Nureyev) and appeared in a filmed version of Don Quixote. He was knighted in 1968.