British dance troupe. Organized in 1950 by Alicia Markova (Markova, Dame Alicia) and Anton Dolin with a corps de ballet drawn chiefly from the Cone-Ripman School in London and at Tring, Hertford, the troupe performs at locations throughout Great Britain and conducts world tours. Its repertoire includes classical ballets and such modern works as Michael Charnley's Symphony for Fun and Rudolf Nureyev (Nureyev, Rudolf)'s The Sleeping Beauty. The company was originally named Festival Ballet, which was changed to London's Festival Ballet and then (in 1969) London Festival Ballet. It became the English National Ballet in 1989. The ballet's artistic directors have included Anton Dolin, John Field, Dame Beryl Grey, Peter Schaufuss, and Ivan Nagy. Derek Deane was appointed to the position in 1993.