📍Lambeth, London, UK
1969 – 1987“Darcey Bussell was born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle in London in April 1969, the daughter of John Crittle, an Australian fashion designer, and Andrea Williams, an English model and actress. Her parents divorced when she was three, and her mother married Philip Bussell, an Australian dentist, who adopted her. The family spent some time in Australia, before returning to London, where Darcey went to Fox Primary School in Kensington. She was a lively, energetic child, but schoolwork was hard; at nine she was diagnosed with dyslexia. Dance gave her confidence: she took her first classes at the Mercury Theatre, home of the Rambert company, and then went to the Arts Educational School, studying all kinds of stagecraft. At thirteen, later than most, she joined the Royal Ballet's Lower School at White Lodge in Richmond Park. She was behind the other girls and struggled with the strict training at first, even thinking of giving up, but she worked so hard that she caught up, and at sixteen she moved to the Upper School in Barons Court. In 1987 she joined Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and the next year moved to the Royal Ballet, where in 1989, at only twenty, she was promoted to principal dancer after dancing the lead in Kenneth MacMillan's The Prince of the Pagodas, created for her. She became one of the most popular British dancers of all time, and after retiring in 2007 she became a judge on Strictly Come Dancing and president of the Royal Academy of Dance, encouraging children to dance.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today