Ballet dancer Alexander Money-Kyrle died in a stage accident while trying to save the director of his new production, an inquest heard today.
Mr Money-Kyrle, a former Royal School of Ballet pupil, suffered a brain haemorrhage when he fell 10ft into an orchestra pit while rehearsing Romeo and Juliet with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam.
The 35-year-old, whose family home is near Calne, Wiltshire, had rushed forward to try to help artistic director Wayne Eagleing who had fallen into the pit after mistaking dark safety netting for part of the stage.
An inquest at Chippenham heard Mr Money-Kyrle died two days later in hospital from head injuries.
His family are now considering whether to take legal action against the Met Musik Theatre in Amsterdam where the accident happened in March 1998.
The Dutch equivalent of the Health and Safety Executive suggested there were not sufficient measures to indicate where the stage ended and the netting began.
In a report read out to the inquest from the independent Dutch body, inspectors concluded: ''The victim stepped on to the netting. It was designed to stop things falling from the stage but was not designed to prevent people from falling.
''Several witnesses concluded the black netting wasn't easy to see and that they thought it formed part of the stage.''
The inquest also heard that, during rehearsals, the pit was usually raised to the level of the stage but that on the day in question it had been lowered to allow electricians access for maintenance work.
In a statement, Mr Eagleing, who escaped without serious injury, said: ''I was talking to the ballet with my back to the orchestra pit. The next thing I knew I was falling into the pit.
''I saw Alex fall flat on the floor about four metres to the side of me. He didn't move.
''The safety net gives people the impression the stage extends further than it does.''
An accidental death verdict was recorded by deputy Wiltshire coroner William Bache. Mr Money-Kyrle, who was born in Plymouth, had been with the Dutch National Ballet for 10 years. He started dancing when he was seven and attended the Selsdon School of Dancing in Bournemouth before going on to the Royal School of Ballet.
He later joined the Northern Ballet Theatre but eventually moved to Holland.
His brother Dr Julian Money-Kyrle, who attended the inquest, said: ''We always joked that he had knock-knees and that dancing lessons would straighten them out. He got top marks in all his dancing exams.''
He added: ''I'd like to see the report in full and find out what the relevant legislation is. It seems to me there may be a breach in which case I'll take legal advice.
''There may be a case for criminal negligence.''
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article