Robert Helpmann

Robert Helpmann

At age 11 he began appearing in the Australian ballet, and later appeared in stage musicals and toured with Pavlova's dance company. In 1933 he moved to England and joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet; soon he became that company's principal dancer, and in the '40s he choreographed many of its productions. He devoted most of the '50s to acting, appearing with the Old Vic in productions of Shakespeare, then returned to ballet in the '60s; in 1965 he was appointed co-director of the Australian Ballet company. Beginning in the early '40s, he appeared sporadically in films; some of his work involved dancing -- such as The Red Shoes (1948), which he also choreographed -- and some involved straight dramatic roles. He co-directed (with Rudolf Nureyev) and played the title role in the ballet-film Don Quixote (1973). He was knighted in 1950. ~ All Movie Guide