Richard Farley dance photographs

Posted on February 1, 2011

An exhibition of photographs by former Royal Ballet dancer Richard Farley will be on display in a pop-up gallery in Covent Garden this month.

Farley studied at the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School, beginning his training in 1949. He joined The Royal Ballet, where he was promoted to principal. In 1968, he left ballet to become a professional photographer. One of his first assignments was for the Sunday Times colour magazine, showing backstage life at The Royal Ballet. The exhibition shows dancers at work, on the road and in the rehearsal studio, as seen by a fellow dancer.

The exhibition, at 7 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London, opens on February 12 and runs until March 5.

Photograph: Rudolf Nureyev – the Rotunda at the Paris Opéra, 1983

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.