Christine Du Boulay Ellis

Christine Du Boulay Ellis was born in 1923 in England. After training at Sadler’s Wells School of Ballet, she later joined its company and performed in ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, The Rake’s Progress and Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations. As World War II was beginning, she joined the International Ballet, which toured throughout England, Scotland and Wales. She later married fellow dancer Richard Ellis and the two moved to Chicago in 1950. From 1959 to 1972, the Ellises directed the Illinois Ballet, producing classic works including Sir Frederick Ashton's Façade, as well of those by company members Hy Somers and Dom Orejudos. The couple operated the Ellis-Du Boulay School of Ballet for 40 years. Christine Du Boulay Ellis died in 2019.