History

Jane Wheaton was a première danseuse at Covent Garden. She is best remembered as creating the rôle of Alcandra in the 1909 ballet Alcandra or The Queen of the Amazons.

Wheaton was born in 1876 as the second of the three children of Thomas Wheaton, a theatre musician. Though Wheaton began her career at the Empire Theatre under Katti Lanner, joining the corps de ballet there in 1894, her aim had been to dance with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden under William Thompson. She had wanted to do so since 1891, where she, aged fifteen, had attended a performance of the revival of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the celebrated Marta Draeger in the titular rôle. Thus, she attended every audition at Covent Garden that she was able to and finally managed to secure a position as a coryphée in 1897.

Her first rôle on the Covent Garden stage was as one of the four coryphées in the Pas des Éventials in the 1897 revival of The Corsair. She continued to dance coryphées rôles such as one of the coryphées in the Pas de Diane Chasseresse of the 1897 revival of The Beauty of Ghent and one of Gourouli’s friends in the 1898 revival of The Two Pigeons.

1899 brought with it more substantial rôles, as she danced the second grace (Euphrosyne) in the Pas de Trois des Grâces in Pygmalion, receiving good reviews for her jumps. She debuted as one of Lise’s four friends in The Wayward Daughter the same year. 1900 saw her dancing the rôle of Zael in Naïla and featured rôles in the Pas de Fantaisie of The Devil to Pay and the Cotillon Flammand of The Beauty of Ghent. Wheaton was also promoted to sujet early in the 1900 season.

1901 was a turning point for Wheaton, as she debuted her first principal rôle, the titular heroine in Esmeralda. She also debuted in one of the sujet variations of the Grand Pas des Nayades in Ondine the same year.  

Wheaton was not originally cast as the heroine in Esmeralda, but rather as the second cast of Fleur de Lys with Giulia Moretti as her Esmeralda. The 1901 production of Esmeralda marked the beginning of the friendship with Sarah Nicholson, the reigning première danseuse for whom the rôle of Fleur de Lys was revised by Thompson in 1894. Nicholson was helpful to Wheaton, giving her advice on how to manage the steps and the rôle. It was apparent backstage that Nicholson preferred Wheaton to Louise Grignon, her own Fleur de Lys, as Nicholson and Grignon did not get on well. 

Shortly before the 1901 season, Moretti sustained and injury and was forced to withdraw from the her performances. Moretti did eventually recover, missing out on the 1902 season and returning from 1903-1910. Richard Hague initially planned to give Moretti’s two scheduled performances to Grignon, but he eventually decided to divide the remainder of the performances between Grignon and Wheaton, allowing each danseuse one performance. Whether Nicholson intervened on Wheaton’s behalf is unfortunately not known to us today, but what is known to us is that Nicholson gave Wheaton advice on portraying the rôle of Esmeralda, similar to what she had done with the rôle of Fleur de Lys. Wheaton’s performance received good reviews, indicating to all that she could manage not only a one-act diversion but a full three-act narrative ballet. She was praised for her dramatic and emotionally moving portrayal of the titular heroine, which led to favourable comparisons to the likes of Moretti and Draeger.

1902 saw her taking on more featured rôles, her success still fresh in Hague’s memory. She debuted as the White Rose in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in one of the sujet variations in the Grand Pas d’Action of The Swords of Toledo and also debuted as the titular heroine in Diavolina. The years of 1903 and 1904 saw her take on second danseuse rôles such as Sakourada in Yedda (1904) and Gulnare in The Corsair (1904). Due to matters of scheduling, Wheaton danced one performance as Médora in The Corsair at short notice, impressing Hague by her management of the rôle. Her exploits culminated in her promotion to première danseuse at the end of the 1906 season, the same season in which she debuted as the titular rôle in Sylvia.

Wheaton would remain as première danseuse until her 1912 retirement. She would dance a wide variety of rôles, including the titular rôle in Ondine (1907), Swanhilda in Coppelia (1908) and Léonor in The Swords of Toledo (1910). She would eventually become Hague’s favourite danseuse, and it was for her that he revived The Fairy of the Forest in 1908 and created Alcandra or The Queen of the Amazons in 1909. 

In 1912 Wheaton decided that it was time for her to retire. She chose to dance in The Pearl of Iberia for her benefit, a decision which Hague did not support as he was neither enthusiastic about the plot nor the music. Nevertheless, Wheaton managed to convince him and the revival proceeded, with Hague duly refurbishing the ballet for her. Though the revival was not a success, Wheaton’s performance was not one of the elements that was criticised. 

Following her retirement, Wheaton did not leave the world of ballet. She first became a répétitrice with the troupe, coaching première danseuses in their rôles. She eventually began to teach at the Royal Ballet School, becoming a permanent member of the faculty as she found she preferred teaching at the school to being a répétitrice with the troupe.

Rôles

• Euphrosyne in Pygmalion (1899)
• Zael in Naïla (1900*)
• Pas de Fantaisie in The Devil to Pay (1900)
• Cotillon Flammand in The Beauty of Ghent (1900)
• Fleur de Lys in Esmeralda (1901)
• Esmeralda in Esmeralda (1901)
• Agriculture in Fairest Isle (1902)
• Diavolina in Diavolina (1902)
• The White Rose in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1902)
• Sakourada in Yedda (1904*)
• Médora and Gulnare in The Corsair (1904)
• Edith in The Amphitrite (1905)
• Sylvia in Sylvia (1906)
• Ondine in Ondine (1907)
• Lise in The Wayward Daughter (1907)
• Justine in The Two Peasant Girls (1907)
• Élodie in The Fairy of the Forest (1908*)
• Swanhilda in Coppelia (1908)
• Alcandre in Alcandra or The Queen of the Amazons (1909)
• Galatée in Pygmalion (1910)
• Léonor in The Swords of Toledo (1910)
• Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1911)
• Britannia in Fairest Isle (1911)
• Patricia in The Pearl of Iberia (1912*)

Created rôle in new ballet

First London revival, new production*