‘Wave of Love’ Honors Ballet Founder at 90

Queen Elizabeth joined a birthday chorus for Dame Ninette de Valois on Monday evening at a glittering gala performance at London’s Royal Opera House to honor British ballet’s 90-year-old grande dame.

Rudolf Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn and Anthony Dowell were among those who paid homage to Valois, who formed Britain’s first national ballet company more than 50 years ago from a handful of dedicated dancers.

In an opening tribute, Dowell credited Valois--who founded the Royal Ballet, the Sadlers Wells Ballet and the Royal Ballet School--with leading the fight for ballet to be treated “as a serious art form in Britain.”

“I hope you can feel the wave of love that comes to you from the stage tonight,” he told Valois, who sat between Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in the royal box.

Dowell and Antoinette Sibley later danced one of the most delicate and well-applauded performances of the charity gala--a pas de deux from “The Dream,” a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” choreographed by Frederick Ashton.

“So, Madam, you have hit 90. . . . There is not much sign that 90 has hit you,” Peter Wright, director of Sadlers Wells Ballet, teased Valois, whose early reputation as a fear-inspiring disciplinarian and tireless enthusiast endures.

“Your clarity of thought and unstoppable vitality are as inexhaustible as ever,” Wright said.

Fonteyn, who flew to London from her home in Panama for the gala, received rapturous bursts of applause when she appeared briefly on stage to pay tribute to Valois.

“I was frightened of you for quite a few years, but then I realized the depth of compassion in your heart,” Fonteyn said.

Forced by polio to stop dancing in her 20s, Valois turned her talents to choreography and teaching. She created some of Britain’s most avant-garde works, including “Checkmate” and “The Rake’s Progress,” and had the vision to hand-pick and nurture prodigies such as Nureyev, Fonteyn and Wayne Sleep.

Valois still takes boys’ classes once a week and sits on several dance committees, and she remains a force behind the scenes in her former ballet companies.

Spanning the breadth of her interests, the evening’s repertoire began with a rousing sailors’ hornpipe performed by boys of the Royal Ballet School, the institution to which all money raised by the gala performance will go.

Valois was given a standing ovation at the end of the evening’s performance when she appeared on stage. The audience sang “Happy Birthday” as fresh rose petals rained down.