Phyllis Spira

Phyllis Spira (1943–1990) was a South African ballet dancer who became a leading ballerina with the Royal Ballet and the first South African to receive the Order of Meritorious Service in gold.

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Dame Ninette de Valois: Irish-born dancer and choreographer who founded the Royal Ballet and shaped British ballet institutions. Spira joined the Royal Ballet, the company de Valois founded.
Swan Lake: A classical ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, first staged in 1877. Spira’s classical roles belonged to a repertory in which this ballet is central.
Johannesburg: South Africa’s largest city and a major center of its cultural and economic life. Spira was born and began her dance career in Johannesburg.
Order of Meritorious Service in gold: The gold class of a South African national honor for meritorious service. This was the distinction Spira became the first South African to receive.
John Cranko: South African-born choreographer who led the Stuttgart Ballet and created influential narrative ballets. Cranko’s South African roots connect him to the ballet world Spira represented internationally.
Giselle: A Romantic ballet about a village girl who dies of heartbreak and joins the Wilis. Its demanding title role exemplifies the classical dramatic repertoire associated with leading ballerinas.
Royal Ballet School: A London ballet school that trains dancers for professional classical ballet careers. Spira moved to London as a teenager to study at the school.
South African cultural history: The history of artistic practices, institutions, and cultural life in South Africa. Spira’s international success and national honors became part of this history.
Maina Gielgud: Australian dancer and ballet director who led the South African Ballet Theatre. Gielgud later directed the company in which Spira had been a defining ballerina.
The Sleeping Beauty: A classical ballet with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and choreography by Marius Petipa. The ballet’s technical and theatrical demands frame the artistry of a principal dancer.