Margaret Morris (1891-1980) was a ballet dancer and choreographer. In addition to establishing the first national ballet company for Scotland she developed a modern dance technique and a system of movement therapy. She was born in London but spent her early years in France. She studied with John d'Auban, ballet master at Drury Lane. She established a school in 1910 which moved to larger premises in Chelsea in 1912. The school was for training teachers and leaders who went on to found branches of the Margaret Morris Movement . It also extended to all the arts. She opened a studio theatre in 1921. Margaret later married J D Fergusson (1874-1961), the painter. She received a degree in physiotherapy in 1930 and from this developed her own dance therapy system. The schools continued to spread but with the outbreak of the Second World War all of her schools closed except for the one in Glasgow. Morris and Fergusson moved to Glasgow in 1939. In 1940 she created the Celtic Ballet of Scotland . It was a semi-professional company during the war years, and turned professional in 1948 . In 1958 a small theatre was opened above the Celtic Ballet School in West George Street. In 1960 she formed another professional company, the Scottish National Ballet, which lasted until 1961 when she returned to London after the death of her husband. She later revitalised the Margaret Morris Movement as a recreational dance and movement system. She died in Glasgow in 1980 .
See Margaret Morris, My Life in Movement(London, 1969)
From the guide to the Collection of material relating to Margaret Morris, 1891-1980, ballet dancer and choreographer, 1917-1980, (Glasgow University Library, Special Collections Department)
