Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE (June 6, 1898 - March 8, 2001) was the founder of London's renowned Royal Ballet. Born Edris Stannus in Baltiboys, County Wicklow, Ireland, Stannus began dancing in 1908 at age ten, and became noticed throughout England because of her graceful movements. She legally changed her name to Ninette de Valois in 1921. She danced with Serge Diaghilev's Ballet Russes, although she was never a major Ballet Russes star. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Ninette de Valois. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninette_de_Valois
