Identity area
Reference code
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Extent and medium
Files of correspondence, publications, printed materials and vinyl recordings
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Kenneth MacMillan was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and began ballet classes in Retford, England, in 1940. He joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet School in 1944 and later the Sadler's Wells Ballet but gave up dancing for choreography partly due to crippling stage fright. His first choreographic work was Somnambulism, created for the Sadler's Wells Ballet Choreographic Group in 1953 and he created works for both Royal Ballet companies throughout his career. He created significant works for The Stuttgart Ballet and his works are danced by ballet companies world-wide. He has also created work for television and cinema.
Kenneth MacMillan was Director of the Deutsche Oper Ballet in Berlin from 1966 to 1969, Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet from 1970 to 1977 and its Principal Chroreographer from 1977 until his death. He was also Associate Director of American Ballet Theatre from 1984 to 1989, and Artistic Associate of the Houston Ballet from 1989 to 1992.
Kenneth MacMillan was knighted in 1983, and he received honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh (1976) and the Royal College of Art (1992). His awards include the Evening Standard Ballet Award (1979); Society of West End Theatre Ballet Award, 1980 and 1983; and, posthumously, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 1993 for The Judas Tree; the Society of London Theatre Special Award in 1993; and the Tony Award for Best Choreography in 1994 for Carousel
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in Queensland, Australia, Deborah Williams was educated in Sydney, won a scholarship to and studied painting and sculpture at the National School of Art. She moved to London in 1970, where she married Kenneth MacMillan. She has designed ballets for the stage and television and returned to painting full-time in 1984. She was a member of the Board of the Royal Opera House (1993-94) and was Chairman of The Friends of Covent Garden (1995-96). Between 1996 and 1998 she was a member of the Arts Council of England and Chair of the dance panel. She has been a member of Kenneth MacMillan and Partner LLP since 2011 and is custodian of her late husband's work.
Repository
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Scope and content
This Library series contains printed material collected by Kenneth and Deborah MacMillan. The material primarily documents the life and career of Kenneth MacMillan, with some material that has been collected for research and personal interest.
Additional material collected by Deborah MacMillan, includes books on ballet from the Ursula Moreton Library that were purchased from a book seller.
Books have been added to the RAD Library, except where they duplicated existing copies, and can be found through the RAD Library Catalogue. Books with dedications have been retained. A list of Books in the Kenneth MacMillan archive collection can be found:
Programmes and periodicals have been retained where they did not duplicate existing holdings in the RAD Library so the extent of the Archive was originally greater than is recorded here.
Press cuttings include interviews with and articles on Kenneth MacMillan, previews and reviews of the ballets and plays he worked on, obituaries and tributes following his death.
This series also contains commercial recordings of vinyl records of music used by Kenneth MacMillan for his ballets.
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Language of material
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Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
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Notes area
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Subject access points
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Name access points
- MacMillan, Kenneth (Subject)