Rowena jackson ballerina biography
Rowena jackson ballerina biography
Rowena jackson ballerina biography wife...
Rowena Jackson
New Zealand dancer (1926–2024)
Rowena Othlie ChatfieldMBE (née Jackson; 24 March 1926 – 15 August 2024) was a New Zealand prima ballerina.
Early life
Jackson was born in Invercargill on 24 March 1926 to William Ernest Jackson and Lilian Jane, née Solomon.[1] As a young child her ballet teachers were Stan Lawson and Rosetta Powell in Dunedin.[2] She attended primary schools in Invercargill (Waihopai School), Dunedin (Musselburgh School) and Auckland (Maungawhau School), followed by Epsom Girls' Grammar School.[1] In 1939 there was a benefit concert held at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland to raise funds for Jackson to continue her study in Paris, however because of World War II Jackson and her mother went to Melbourne and Sydney instead.[2] In 1941 Jackson won the first Royal Academy of Dance scholarship in New Zealand.[3]
Career
In 1946, Jackson joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet in London.[4]