| Biography | Born in London, Marion Tait, Ballet Mistress, joined the Royal Ballet School at the age of 15, graduating to The Royal Ballet's touring company (now Birmingham Royal Ballet) two years later. Her first roles included the Betrayed Girl in de Valois The Rake's Progress, Blue Skater in Ashton's Les Patineurs and the title role in Cranko's Pineapple Poll.
In 1974, she was promoted to Principal and made her debuts in the lead roles in MacMillan's The Invitation, Ashton's The Dream, Giselle (her first full-length classical work) and Coppélia, as well as creating her first contemporary role in Christopher Bruce's Unfamiliar Playground. Other created roles include MacMillan's Quartet and 6.6.78, Bintley's The Swan of Tuonela (Rauni), Choros, Punch and the Street Party, Night Moves and Flowers of the Forest, and roles in ballets by Lustig, Corder, Jackson and Redmon.
She has danced the ballerina roles in all the classics as well as Lise in Ashton's La Fille mal gardée and Juliet in MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet. Her diverse repertory includes roles in ballets by Geoffrey Cauley (Lazarus), Jo Leyton (Overture), her husband, David Morse, BRB's Video Archivist (Pandora, Birdscape), Ronald Hynde (Papillon), Carter (Lulu), Tudor (Pillar of Fire), Hindle (Sacred Symphony), Tetley (Gemini), Cranko (The Lady and the Fool, The Taming of the Shrew), van Manen (Grosse Fuge), de Mille (Fall River Legend), Bintley (The Snow Queen, Hobson's Choice, Gallanteries), Ashton (Valses nobles et sentimentales, Jazz Calendar, The Two Pigeons), and MacMillan (Las Hermanas, The Burrow, Solitaire, Concerto, Fin du jour, Danses concertantes, Elite Syncopations).
In 1995 Marion became BRB's Ballet Mistress and now teaches the Company as well as the Royal Ballet School Senior Associates in Birmingham. She continues to perform character roles such as Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet. She was made an OBE in 1992 and a CBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours list. Marion has twice been nominated for Olivier Awards (Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, 1994, and Hagar in Pillar of Fire, 1995), was named Dancer of the Year 1994 and also received the Evening Standard Ballet Award for Outstanding Performance. Marion is a trustee of the Dance Teacher's Benevolent Fund and Patron of The Edge arts centre in Solihull.
Marion assisted Desmond Kelly in directing BRB's artistic team for Ballet Changed My Life - Ballet Hoo!, the education project documented on Channel 4 during September and October 2006, for which she was presented with a special award at the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards in 2008.
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