Imogen Claire

Imogen Lee Claire (2 November 1943 – 24 June 2005), born Crowe, was a British dancer, choreographer, actor, and dance teacher. Early life Born in London in 1943, Claire was the daughter of Kathleen Eden-Green and Antony Lee Crowe. Her parents had married in 1938. Her mother was a schoolmistress, and her father was a graduate student working on a thesis. She was educated at the Royal Ballet School and the London Dance Theatre. In the autumn of 1961, the Dancing Times reported Imogen Crowe as a notable Royal Ballet School leaver who had passed her Advanced Royal Academy of Dance exams with a commendation. Claire’s grandmother, Evelyn Eden-Green, died in 1965. Career As a dancer, Claire gained leading roles in the 1960s. In the winter of 1963, as Imogen Crowe, she appeared as Terpsichore in the first English production of the Stravinsky ballet Apollo, choreographed by Balanchine, opposite Maximo Barra as Apollo. This opened at the Royalty Theatre, Chester, on 9 November and then went on tour. In 1970, Claire played Lucretia Borgia on stage in The Council of Love, with Warren Mitchell as Satan. Ken Russell then recruited her for minor roles in his avant garde films, beginning with three in 1971, The Music Lovers, The Devils, and The Boy Friend. She continued to appear in many of Russell’s films, and as well as having a part in his The Lair of the White Worm (1988) she was the film’s choreographer.