# April Olrich
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/April_Olrich
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/April_Olrich.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Olrich
> Source revision: 1339774092
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Short description|English ballerina and actress (1931–2014)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
thumb|Olrich in 1998
'''April Olrich''' (17 July 1931 – 15 April 2014), born '''Edith April Oelrichs''', was an English ballerina and actress, born in [Zanzibar](/source/Zanzibar), now part of Tanzania.
==Early life==
Edith April Oelrichs was born in [Zanzibar](/source/Zanzibar) in 1931 (some sources incorrectly give 1933), where her father was in charge of the Eastern Telegraph Company. She also lived in the [Seychelles](/source/Seychelles) and [Argentina](/source/Uruguay) while she was growing up. Aged 13, she joined [Colonel Wassily de Basil](/source/Wassily_de_Basil)'s Original Ballet Russe in [Buenos Aires](/source/Buenos_Aires) at the [Teatro Colón](/source/Teatro_Col%C3%B3n), dancing with the company all over South America and in New York with [George Balanchine](/source/George_Balanchine).[[http://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/2014/04/23/memoriam-april-olrich-pegram/ "In Memoriam: April Olrich Pegram"] ''Royal Ballet School'' (23 April 2014).]
==Career==
Olrich joined The Sadler's Wells Ballet (soon to become the Royal Ballet) in 1949 under [Ninette de Valois](/source/Ninette_de_Valois). She danced with the company in London from 1949 to 1954, in ''The Sleeping Beauty'', ''Les Sylphides'', ''Coppélia'' , ''Façade'', ''[Mam'zelle Angot](/source/Mam'zelle_Angot)'', ''[Swan Lake](/source/Swan_Lake)'', ''Cinderella'', ''Checkmate'', ''A Wedding Bouquet'', ''Apparitions'', ''A Mirror for Witches'', ''Bonne-bouche'', ''Ballet Imperial'', ''Giselle'', ''Don Juan'', ''The Three-Cornered Hat'', ''Job'', ''Daphnis and Chloe'', ''Ballabile'', ''Veneziana'', ''Homage to the Queen'', ''Tiresias'', and ''Les Patineurs''.[J. P. Wearing, ed., [https://books.google.com/books?id=5g2PBAAAQBAJ&dq=April+Olrich&pg=PA3 ''The London Stage, 1950–1959: Calendar of Productions, Performers, and Personnel''] (Rowman & Littlefield 2014). {{ISBN|9780810893085}}]
After her ballet career, she remained on the London stage as a performer. Olrich appeared in ''Pay the Piper'' (1954–1955), ''[The Balcony](/source/The_Balcony)'' (1957), ''Honeymoon'' (1957), the musical ''[The Boys from Syracuse](/source/The_Boys_from_Syracuse)'' (1963), and the South African folk revue ''[Wait a Minim!](/source/Wait_a_Minim!)'' (1964–1966). She accompanied ''Wait a Minim!'' to Broadway from 1966 to 1967. In New York, she won the Whitbread Anglo-American Theatre Award for Outstanding Musical Performance.[Richard Anthony Baker, [https://www.thestage.co.uk/obituaries--archive/obituaries/obituary-april-olrich/ "Obituary: April Olrich"] ''The Stage'' (9 May 2014).] Theatre critic [Frank Rich](/source/Frank_Rich) (then a Harvard undergraduate) admired Olrich's appearance, saying, "Then there is April Olrich, who dances and, when she has nothing else to do, just stands facing the audience flashing a pair of large, sparkling eyes. The eyes are part of a body which also seems to throw off a few sparks from time to time."[Frank Rich, [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1968/5/17/wait-a-minim-pbibf-there-is/ "Wait a Minim"] ''Harvard Crimson'' (17 May 1968).]
She also appeared in many films including ''[Women without Men](/source/Women_Without_Men_(1956_film))'' (1956), ''[Battle of the River Plate](/source/The_Battle_of_the_River_Plate_(film))'' (aka ''Pursuit of the Graf Spee'') (1957)[Bob Houser, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7607002/april_olrich_looking_for_a_husband_1957/ "Husband Hunt Proves USS Boxer Taut Ship"] ''Independent'' (21 November 1957): 21. via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com){{open access}}] ''[Kill Me Tomorrow](/source/Kill_Me_Tomorrow)'' (1957), ''[Room at the Top](/source/Room_at_the_Top_(1959_film))'' (1959), ''[Deadly Record](/source/Deadly_Record)'' (1959), ''[It's All Over Town](/source/It's_All_Over_Town)'' (1964), ''[The Skull](/source/The_Skull_(film))'' (1965), ''[Clinic Exclusive](/source/Clinic_Exclusive)'' (1972), ''[Keep It Up Downstairs](/source/Keep_It_Up_Downstairs)'' (1976), ''[Riding High](/source/Riding_High_(1981_film))'' (1981), and ''[Supergirl](/source/Supergirl_(1984_film))'' (1984). She is probably best known for playing the female lead, Madame Petrovna, opposite [Morecambe and Wise](/source/Morecambe_and_Wise) in the film ''[The Intelligence Men](/source/The_Intelligence_Men)'' (1966).
She frequently appeared on British television in both dramatic and comedy roles, most notably an episode of ''[The Avengers](/source/The_Avengers_(TV_series))'' (1963), ''[Fresh Fields](/source/Fresh_Fields)'' (1985),[[https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/april-olrich-dvvqhhqvzrp "Obituary: April Olrich"] ''The Times'' (23 May 2014).]
There is an annual '''April Olrich Award for Dynamic Performance''', given at the [Royal Ballet School](/source/Royal_Ballet_School) in her memory.