April 2009 is Robert Helpmann's centenary. To celebrate the occasion, the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet will be staging a number of dedicated performances and an exhibition to include the UK launch of "Robert Helpmann: A Servant of Art". This book features a dedicated mailing and e-mail campaign to performing arts related media & organisations. Sir Robert Helpmann was a phenomenon in the arts - effortlessly switching between ballet, opera, the stage and film in multifaceted roles, including dancer, choreographer, actor, director, and producer. In ballet he danced with Alicia Markova, and had a long-standing partnership with Margot Fonteyn. He danced with Moira Shearer and choreographed the ballet in the film "The Red Shoes" (1948). He directed numerous operas, including "Madam Butterfly" (1950) with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf at Covent Garden. He also worked with such luminaries as Richard Burton, Noel Coward, Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn, and Laurence Olivier - as well as being fondly remembered as the Child Catcher in "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" (1968). Lavishly illustrated, and drawing on original documents and personal interviews with many of Helpmann's friends and colleagues, this is an unrivalled account of his fascinating life.