Moira Shearer had celebrated her 16th birthday in February 1942 while The International Ballet, for whom she then worked, were on the road in Sheffield in the north of England. Soon afterwards she left that company and, around the middle of March, joined The Sadler’s Wells Ballet that was based at the New Theatre on St. Martin’s Lane in London’s West End.
Her first few weeks with Sadler’s Wells were probably spent in rehearsals. The repertoire then current included Les Sylphides, The Wanderer, Comus, The Wise Virgins, The Prospect before Us and Lac des Cygnes. She would have to learn parts in almost all of them.
Shearer lived with her parents in a walk-up flat at Queens Gate in west London and commuted to and from work by bus or The Tube. She would begin the morning commute at around 9 am and would arrive at the theatre by 10. Mornings were devoted to practice and rehearsals. If there was to be a matinee, a dancer’s preparations for the performance began around I pm; if not, rehearsals extended into the afternoon. Dancers rarely had time to eat a formal lunch and thus grabbed a bite whenever they could. Their only substantial meal of the day would have to wait until they arrived home at around 11pm. Shearer’s mother would have hers waiting for her.
Shearer recalls that she danced in “the waltz” during her first week at Sadler’s Wells. This probably refers to the performance on May 6th. The programme for this date acknowledges her dancing in Les Sylphides in the corps de ballet. Celia Franca, Beryl Grey and Margot Fonteyn danced the major roles in the mazurka. Shearer also appears as a “lady of the ballet” in The Prospect before Us on the same date.
On Thursday June 11th, 1942, Shearer danced in 2 performances of Lac des Cygnes (Swan Lake). The first was a matinee at 2.30 pm. As she was still in the corps de ballet her role in was a lowly one, as one of 6 “court ladies”. However, despite this, she was noted in the programm
The programme for the matinee performance of The Sadler’s Wells Ballet at the New Theatre, London on June 11th, 1942.
This particular performance of Swan Lake is significant as it was Beryl Grey’s first in the dual leading role of Odette and Odile. She was 15 years old and had joined SWB in 1941.
Understandably she was considered a prodigy.
The programme indicates that there were intervals between Acts 2 and 3 and between 3 and 4. Thus the performance probably lasted between 2 hours 45 minutes and 3 hours and ended at around 5.30 pm.
This timing obviously allowed very little time before the beginning of the evening performance at 6 pm. This was particularly critical for dancers like Shearer who danced in both performances but in different roles requiring costume changes. Fortunately in Swan Lake she did appear until Act 2.
In the evening performance Margot Fonteyn took over the lead role and Shearer danced as one of 14 swans.
The programme for the evening performance of The Sadler’s Wells Ballet at the New Theatre, London on June 11th, 1942.
The performance ended at around 9 pm allowing the audience, depending on where they lived, to return home in daylight and, thus, avoid the blackout restrictions in force. However, as Shearer had to take the time to remove makeup and change into her everyday clothes her journey home was probably in the dark.
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