English National Ballet writes in a post on Twitter that she “will be remembered for her significant legacy and immeasurable contribution to the art form”.
Beryl Gray made her debut in 1941 with Sadler’s Wells Ballet in London and the following year, on her 15th birthday, she danced Swan Lake. In 1957 she was the first British ballet dancer to perform with the Bolshoi Ballet.
From 1968–1979, Gray was Artistic Director of the National Ballet and she was knighted by the Queen in 1988.
Her staging of the ballet “The Sleeping Beauty” was performed at the Royal Opera in Stockholm in both 1985 and 2002.
Beryl Gray was married to the Swedish osteopath Sven Svenson who according to The Guardian established a prominent London practice “where he treated people from the worlds of sport, dance and the stage”.