John Cranko

John Cranko (15 August 1927, Rustenburg, South Africa — 26 June 1973, Dublin, Ireland) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer best known for his work with The Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Born to British parents in Rustenburg, a former Transvaal province in South Africa, John received his early ballet training in Cape Town under Dulcie Howes (1908—1993) of the University of Cape Town's Ballet School. In 1946, nineteen-year-old Cranko returned to London, further studying at Sadler's Wells Ballet School (later known as The Royal Ballet) and dancing his first role with Sadler's Wells Ballet in November 1947. John Cranko collaborated with stage designer John Piper on Sea Change production, which debuted in July 1949 at The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. By the spring of 1950, Cranko gave up his dancing career in favor of stage production; he was appointed resident choreographer at Sadler's Wells Theatre for the 1950–51 season. Cranko collaborated with Benjamin Britten on The Prince of the Pagodas ballet, authoring an early draft scenario in January 1954. The following year, John Cranko wrote and directed Cranks featuring John Addison's music; the critically acclaimed revue show had over 220 runs. In 1960, Cranko again worked with Britten, directing the first production of A Midsummer Night's Dream opera at the Aldeburgh Festival. Shortly after, John hastily immigrated to Germany, prosecuted as a homosexual in the UK. He became the director of the Stuttgart State Theater Ballet in 1961, leading the Werst German company to international acclaim over the next twelve years. Cranko assembled a talented cast, including Marcia Haydee, Richard Cragun, and Birgit Keil, and choreographed numerous ballets, from classics like Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (1962) to various original adaptations, such as Alexander Pushkin's Onegin (1965) orchestrated by Kurt Heinz Stolze to Tchaikovsky's music or Carmen (1971) scored by Wolfgang Fortner and Wilfried Steinbrenner. Under Cranko's direction, the Stuttgart Ballet embarked on several international tours, starting with their 1969 overseas debut at The Metropolitan Opera in New York. In November 1973, John Cranko choked to death after an allergic reaction to a sleeping pill on a charter flight carrying the troupe back home to Stuttgart after completing the USA tour with a final show at the Academy Of Music, Philadelphia. The airplane made an emergency landing in Dublin, Ireland, where 45-year-old Cranko was pronounced dead. According to Sol Hurok's Concert Agency manager, John appeared in good health the night before boarding the plane. The official cause of death was ruled a heart attack.