The 1930s, ′40s and ′50s were an era when many scores were commissioned for British dance. Ms. Farron, often in solo or lead roles, danced in world premieres of at least 14 scores by 12 composers, including Lord Berners (“A Wedding Bouquet”), Benjamin Britten (she was Belle Épine in his three-act “The Prince of the Pagodas”), Hans Werner Henze (Berta in his three-act “Ondine”), and Michael Tippett (a solo in the premiere of his opera “The Midsummer Marriage”).

Ms. Farron also became known as an inspiring teacher at both the Royal Academy and the Royal Ballet School, helping to shape the careers of many future ballerinas.

She was born Joyce Margaret Farron-Smith on July 22, 1922, in London, the first of two children of Hugh and Amy (Ellis) Farron-Smith. Her father was a civil servant, her mother a teacher.

After studying all kinds of dance in childhood, she became one of the first two scholarship students to attend the Vic-Wells Ballet School. It was de Valois, the school’s artistic director, who chose the name Julia Farron.

She joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (known now as the Royal Ballet) in 1936 on her 14th birthday. Nine months later, in 1937, she was still the company’s smallest and youngest dancer when she created the role of Pépé the Dog in Ashton’s “A Wedding Bouquet.”