# Rowena Jackson
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{{Short description|New Zealand dancer (1926–2024)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}
[[File:Curtain_call_on_the_opening_night_of_the_Royal_Ballet's_Swan_Lake,_with_Rowena_Jackson,_at_the_Empire_Theatre,_Sydney,_11_September_1958_-_photographer_Ken_Redshaw_(8143610556).jpg|thumb|Curtain call on the opening night of [The Royal Ballet](/source/The_Royal_Ballet)'s ''[Swan Lake](/source/Swan_Lake)'', with Rowena Jackson, at the [Empire Theatre, Sydney](/source/Empire_Theatre%2C_Sydney), 11 September 1958]]
'''Rowena Othlie Chatfield''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|size=100%|MBE}} (née '''Jackson'''; 24 March 1926 – 15 August 2024) was a New Zealand [prima ballerina](/source/prima_ballerina).
==Early life==
Jackson was born in [Invercargill](/source/Invercargill) on 24 March 1926 to William Ernest Jackson and Lilian Jane, née Solomon.[{{cite book |title=Who's Who in New Zealand, 1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6x8OAQAAMAAJ |last1=Lambert |first1=Max |last2=Traue |first2=James Edward |author2-link= Jim Traue |last3=Taylor |first3=Alister | author3-link=Alister Taylor |year=1991 |edition=12th |publisher=Octopus |location=Auckland|isbn = 9780790001302 |page=320}}] As a young child her ballet teachers were Stan Lawson and Rosetta Powell in [Dunedin](/source/Dunedin).[{{Cite book|last=Devliotis|first=Cherie|url=|title=Dancing with delight : footprints of the past : dance and dancers in early twentieth century Auckland|date=2005|publisher=Polygraphia|isbn=1-877332-25-9|location=Auckland, N.Z.|oclc=71552705}}] In 1941 Jackson won the first [Royal Academy of Dance](/source/Royal_Academy_of_Dance) scholarship in New Zealand.[{{cite encyclopedia|title=Jackson, Rowena Othlie, M.B.E |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/jackson-rowena-othlie-mbe |year=1966 |encyclopedia=[An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand](/source/An_Encyclopaedia_of_New_Zealand) |via=[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand](/source/Te_Ara%3A_The_Encyclopedia_of_New_Zealand) |access-date=3 June 2013 |editor1-first=A. H. |editor1-last=McLintock |editor1-link=Alexander Hare McLintock}}]
==Career==
In 1946, Jackson joined the [Sadler's Wells Ballet](/source/Sadler's_Wells_Ballet) in London.[{{Cite web |last=Fallow |first=Michael |date=27 August 2024 |title=Rowena Jackson: Dancer of rare grace and profound influence |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/culture/350389842/rowena-jackson-dancer-rare-grace-and-profound-influence |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=www.stuff.co.nz}}] She was notable for her role as Swanhilda in the ballet ''[Coppélia](/source/Copp%C3%A9lia)'', and danced with [Robert Helpmann](/source/Robert_Helpmann) and her husband [Philip Chatfield](/source/Philip_Chatfield).
By February 1954, she had been promoted to [prima ballerina](/source/prima_ballerina) at Sadler's Wells Ballet.[{{cite web|title=Dancer Rowena Jackson, new Prima Ballerina in the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company, in her dressing room at Covent Garden, London, February 25th 1954|url=http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/dancer-rowena-jackson-new-prima-ballerina-in-the-sadlers-news-photo/515844277|website=Getty Images|date=29 September 2014 |accessdate=31 March 2015}}]
She was renowned for her special gift for fast and brilliant turns. In 1940, before she left New Zealand, she set a world record when she performed 121 ''[fouettés](/source/Turn_(dance_and_gymnastics)) sur place''.[
Jackson and Chatfield danced together in the Royal Ballet's production of ''[Giselle](/source/Giselle)'' shortly after they married.][ The couple retired from the Royal Ballet in 1959 and moved to New Zealand, where she became artistic director of the [Royal New Zealand Ballet](/source/Royal_New_Zealand_Ballet) company.][{{cite news |last1=Simonot |first1=Suzanne |title=Former Royal Ballet dance stars perfect partners on and off the stage |url=https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/lifestyle/former-royal-ballet-dance-stars-perfect-partners-on-and-off-the-stage/news-story/a05c89f743d4429eb1d53fcf01886948 |accessdate=12 December 2018 |work=Gold Coast Bulletin |date=24 July 2017}}] Chatfield died in [Brisbane](/source/Brisbane) in July 2021,[{{Cite news |date=7 August 2021|title=Obituary: Philip Chatfield, artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet |url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/125964932/obituary-philip-chatfield-artistic-director-of-the-royal-new-zealand-ballet |access-date=16 January 2021 |work=[Stuff](/source/Stuff_(website)) |first=Jennifer |last=Shennan}}] and Jackson on 15 August 2024, at the age of 98.[{{Cite web |date=16 August 2024|title=Remembering Rowena Jackson MBE (1926-2024) |url=https://www.rbo.org.uk/latest-news/remembering-rowena-jackson |website=Royal Ballet & Opera |access-date=17 August 2024}}]
==Honours and awards==
In the [1961 New Year Honours](/source/1961_New_Year_Honours_(New_Zealand)), Jackson was appointed a [Member of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Order_of_the_British_Empire), for services to ballet, the first dancer to receive this honour.[{{London Gazette |issue=42233 |date=31 December 1960 |page=8928 |supp=y }}]