Marilyn Jones

Australian ballet luminary and Artistic Director of A.I.C.D. (Australian Institute of Classical Dance. Marilyn Jones established an enviable international reputation early in her distinguished career. She attained the rank of Ballerina with the Borovansky Ballet and the Grands Ballets du Marquis de Cuevas and was Prima Ballerina of The Australian Ballet from 1962-1971. She continued dancing with The Australian Ballet until she was appointed Artistic Director, a position she held from 1979 to 1982, and she has since made regular guest appearances with them, The Sydney Dance Company and the Queensland Ballet. In 1972 she was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) honoring her services to ballet. In 1990 she was awarded an Australian Creative Artists Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to dance in Australia. In 1992 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Newcastle, and in 1993 received a prestigious Honor celebrating the 20th year of the Sydney Opera House. Marilyn Jones established the Australian Institute of Classical Dance (AICD) in 1991, an organization designed to benefit all Australian teachers and students of ballet. She married Garth Welch in 1963; divorced 1974. Their two sons Stanton and Damien are ballet dancers. Stanton is now a choreographer of international renown, while Damien is performing with Netherlands Dance Theatre. Her biography, "Marilyn Jones" by Patricia Laughlin was published in 1978. Miss Jones is now Lecturer in Classical Ballet at West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, Edith Cowan University in Perth. Link to Wikipedia biography