Jane S

Nureyev died 30 years ago today, and to mark the occasion the Paris Opera has put up a homage to him, with tributes from Jose Martinez and Elisabeth Platel, and many video clips of the dancer and the ballets he staged in Paris - including film of him rehearsing for his first appearance there.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/05/arts/dance/alexei-ratmansky-new-york-city-ballet.html

Lead Snowflakes most likely to have been Deanne Bergsma and Monica Mason around then, I think?

Oliver Symons has a long history with the RB, starting with corps de ballet roles in the 1950s and returning after a 30-year gap to do the Ashton sister in Cinderella and Mrs Tiggywinkle on numerous occasions. In between he danced with Western Theatre Ballet and with Ballet for All and others. He and Sandra Conley talked to the Ballet Association in 2002 and it's a nice read. He must be about 86 by now!

Beryl Grey wrote a long piece about her early years in the Girl's Book of Ballet (which I'm sure some of you will have) - it is extraordinay to read, now, of what she was given to do - her Swan Lake debut was on her 15th birthday, but she'd already done Act 2, learning the role at 2 days' notice when Fonteyn was ill, and - as she said - hardly knowing which step followed another. But by the time it came to her debut in the full length role she says "I loved every minute of the performance. I experienced no nerves and I was so happy to have such a chnace so early". By the end of the war she was "accepted as a baby ballerina, But to develop from there into a grown-up dancer and become acepted as a mature ballerina was very hard indeed." I never saw her dance - I once had a ticket for a Swan Lake with the RB touring company but she cancelled - and my outstanding memory of her in real life was at Sadler's Wells, when the Queen came to see the Paul Taylor company the first time they did Comapny B in London. We had seats on the end of the back row of whatever the dress circle was called in those days, which turned out to be exactly by the door through which the Queen entered - to be met by Beryl Grey, her hostess for the evening. She (Grey) was wearing a canary-yellow dress with a huge skirt and when the Queen came in she sank right to the ground in the deepest possible curtsey and her dress billowed out for yards on the carpet around her - absolutely stunning. and far more regal than HM!

I thought they changed them somewhere around the late 1980s? They cut them into little circles ( about 5cm in diameter) and stuck them on a card saying 'Fragment of House Curtains' and made them into paperweights - you can still find them on eBay. The Royal ciphers are just sewn on, I think, and could be fairly easily replaced.

If I was there and the tree didn't grow I would want my money back.

Ten years ago David Vaughan began a series of monthly events at the NY Public Library of the Performing Arts, at which he talked about and showed films from the library's immense dance archives - other dance historians have carried on with the idea since his death, and this is a special edition to commemorate the anniversary. Details

I'm pleased to see that Stephanie Chen Gundorph was promoted to solodanser last week. She's a dancer I've admired ever since I saw her, in her first season in the company, as Eleanore, the heroine of Bournonville's Kermessen in Bruge. She's had quite a long wait to the top and I look forward to hearing great things of her in the future.

I should think there could be quite a lot! I joined in October 1962 but lapsed some years ago, but I imagine there are plenty more faithful members. The original joining fee was 5 guineas - about £105 in today's money?- and from the date I guess it fortunately coincided with my first pay packet!

I just found a copy of something called the second International Ballet Brochure which has lots of photos including the first one you posted, whch is definitely capitioned as Swan Lake (prologue); also another which makes me think your second photo is Coppelia Act 3. Unfortunately the brochure is dated 1941 - 1947 which I think is too early for their complete Sleeping Beauty though there is one photo from what sounds like Act 1 which maybe they did on its own?

C.W,Beaumont, in Ballet magazine, describes the look of International Ballet's Swan Lake Prologue (Act 1 in many productions): "... a rather pallid landscape with a castle more fairy tale than real in the background; the wings consist of stone arches..... The Prince's companions wear caps and doublets of brght blue, their chests are adorned with a looped and massive gold chain.... The peasant girls ... with white linen headdresses." Sounds like your photo. I have no idea what the other picture is but I'd say definitely not Sleeping Beauty!

Sebastian, I think the first one is more likely to be Act 1 of Swan Lake - it makes me think instantly of the old RB production.

And that Sibley/Dowell cast is still available on DVD, I think? With Penney/Lorrayne/Jenner/Bergsma as the Fairies.

I've found that a lot of the links to other topics on these ballet.co pages still work and lead to interesting discussions, arguments etc - but beware, it's a very deep rabbit hole. (What was I actuallysupposed to be doing this afternoon?)

Worth remembering that Ashton originally intended that the sisters would be danced by women, and it was only when one of those he had chosen (Moyra Fraser) dropped out that he changed his mind. Fraser and Margaret Dale finally got their chance in 1958.

It's an invention for the online version - the print copy quotes her correctly.

See ENB's Twitter page from yesterday

The one dancer above all I'd have liked to have seen as Larisch was Lynn Seymour (who never danced it as far as I know) - I can imagine her really relishing the role and having a great time.

I think it would be well worth getting the Dance & Dancers - there are several things related to Hightower: first of all a nice piece about her by Peter Williams with 3 photographs (one of them a rather sweet one of her when she was 16), then an offstage photo, and then an illustrated review of a ballet called Pleasuredrome which she had recently choreographed for the Metropolitan Ballet. (You need to know that Peter Williams who was also the editor of D&D, wrote the story for Pleasuredrome - so perhaps was not completely unbiased, though he did at least get someone else to review it!) (Also this was the first ever issue of D&D so it is interesting in itself - to me, anyway!)

Floria, I have the Dance & Dancers January 1950 - can I help you? Also, there are always dozens of old ballet magazines for sale on ebay if you have the patience to look through them.

I remember The Front Row - interesting to look at now, when we know which of them made it - but hadn't heard of the Hubbe series before. Just watched the first episode!

Yes, thank you, Yumiko - I've only managed to watch this on a tablet - PC would give me sound but only still pictures - but even on the small screen I really liked Caroline Baldwin's Giselle. Rather touching that Queen Margrethe should ask for her own gala to start with a minute's silence for our Queen.

There's a note saying it expires on December 9 2022.

One of the RB's Giselles - a Peter Wright one perhaps? - used to end like that but they took it out quite soon, reportedly because nobody understood it. I've forgotten what it was supposed to signify - maybe someone else remembers?