Leanne Benjamin AM OBE (b. 1964) is one of Australia's most celebrated ballet dancers. Having commenced ballet lessons in her hometown of Rockhampton, Queensland at the age of three, Benjamin was accepted into London's Royal Ballet School at 16. As principal dancer for Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, London Festival Ballet (now the English National Ballet) and Deutsche Oper Ballet Berlin, Benjamin performed classics such as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Giselle, while creating new characters for contemporary ballets to great acclaim. Benjamin joined the Royal Ballet in 1992, becoming the company's longest-serving principal ballerina.
In preparation for this portrait, taken at the height of her career, Benjamin recalls being asked by Polly Borland to dye the tools of her trade – her pointe shoes – red. Sitting against a wall in a black practice tutu with her feet turned out, Benjamin's pointe shoes recall the enchanted red ballet slippers of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale that later formed the basis of the 1948 film, The Red Shoes.
Purchased 2022
© Polly Borland
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