Dame Monica Mason

Born in Johannesburg, she came to England at the age of 14 and trained with Nesta Brooking and at The Royal Ballet School. She joined the Company, 1958, promoted to Principal, 1968. She created the Chosen Maiden in The Rite of Spring and many other roles, dancing a wide repertory that included the 19th-century classics.

She was appointed Principal Répétiteur, 1984, Assistant to the Director, 1988, and Assistant Director, 1991. She became Acting Director of The Royal Ballet in September 2002 following the resignation of Ross Stretton, and Director in December 2002. She retired from the post in July 2012 after 54 years at the Royal Opera House.

She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Surrey in 1996, an OBE in 2002 and in 2003 the Achievement in Dance Award from the Dance Teachers’ Benevolent Fund. In 2008 she was made a Dame Commander for her services to dance. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Award from the Royal Academy of Dance in 2011 and the Olivier Special Award in 2012. In 2013, she became an Honorary Fellow of both St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and King’s College London.

She is a Patron of Encore Dance at Tring School of Performing Arts and was appointed a Vice-President of The Royal Academy of Dance in 2021. Dame Monica served as a Trustee of The Cecchetti Society Trust and as Vice Chair, until stepping down in 2021 and becoming a Patron of the Trust.