Departures of note

Pauline Clayden was a British ballerina who spent her career with the Sadler's Wells Ballet, later the Royal Ballet, from 1942 to 1956. Born in Greenwich, London, she trained at the Cone School of Dancing and was recommended to Antony Tudor's London Ballet before moving on to Ballet Rambert and finally Sadler's Wells as a soloist.

She created roles in several notable ballets, including Ninette de Valois' Promenade, Robert Helpmann's Miracle in the Gorbals, Frederick Ashton's Tiresias and Cinderella, John Cranko's Bonne-Bouche, and Andrée Howard's Veneziana. She also danced many roles originally created for Margot Fonteyn.

Clayden was the last known surviving soloist from the opening night of Sadler's Wells Ballet's first U.S. tour in 1949, a performance of The Sleeping Beauty that helped change American dance. She died in July 2026 at the age of 103.