David Poole

Who was David Poole?

David Poole was a South African ballet dancer.

He trained under Dulcie Howes at the UCT Ballet School before moving to Sadler's Wells Ballet School. In 1947, he joined the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet where he became a principal in 1948. He transferred to the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company in 1955. He left the Royal Ballet in 1956 to dance with Ballet Rambert and the Edinburgh International Ballet before returning to South Africa in 1959 to teach.

He became the ballet master of CAPAB in 1963 and in 1967 he became the artistic director. He retired in 1990. The charity Dance for All which started as "Ballet for All" was the brainchild of David Poole. The David Poole Trust Fund still funds this organization.

Poole created roles in:

John Cranko's Sea Change, 1949

John Cranko's Beauty and the Beast, 1949

John Cranko's Pineapple Poll, 1951

Alfred Rodrigues's Blood Wedding, 1953

John Cranko's The Lady and the Fool, 1954

Kenneth MacMillan's Danses concertantes, 1955

Kenneth MacMillan's House of Birds, 1955