Mona Inglesby

[Jane S]

I'm not opposing the main thread of your argument here, I am just saying that the particular incident referred to  proves nothing.

 

Are you familiar with the long article Inglesby wrote for Dance Now in 1995? She talks there extensively about her relationship  with Rambert, who was loving and supportive until Inglesby, finding the Cecchetti technique too restrictive, started taking classes with Kschessinskaya. (Compare NInette de Valois' attitude to 'her' dancers taking class with Volkova!) Inglesby was clearly hurt but continued to acknowledge her debt to Rambert, and they made it up in the end:

 

"Marie Rambert was created a Dame of the British Empire in 1962 for her work for British ballet, and surely nobody had deserved it more. In 1968, on the occasion of her eightieth birthday, I sent her flowers ... I telephoned her to wish her a happy birthday, and to tell her how much I owed to her for those early years.

 

'But you deserted me,' she said. I told her again why I had to make the choice [to leave Ballet Rambert]. She accepted this, and we made our peace. It was good to know we were friends again, with no trace of bitterness left."

 

 

 

[LinMM]

Assoluta I am trying to gauge if you are being personally responsible ...in a more formal sense ...for collecting and gathering info and interest etc on Inglesby or are you sort of hoping other people will respond and take responsibility for this by bringing her name to light. Is it something you are personally trying to make happen ...again in some more official way ...or something you would just like to happen if possible but you are hoping "others" will actually take charge etc.

For example if somebody could give a personal memory of dancing in the Company how would you expect this to happen....are you going to "interview" people personally or would you expect them to send something in writing and to whom would they send it ....would this be to yourself for example? 

[ismeneb]

I interviewed Mona Inglesby in 2000. This was what she said about her Rambert time, which does not support the idea that she thought Rambert undermined her, though she did not have instinctive sympathy with her. 

 

Inglesby: “I didn’t like the work Rambert did, I wasn’t happy with the style, although she did wonders for me. She gave me lots of principal parts to do. I was only 14. But I couldn’t get along with her idea of the right way to do things. She gave some beautiful ballets in that little Ballet Club. Walter Gore, lovely work he did.”

 

Brown: At Rambert didn’t you understudy Markova in something?

Inglesby: "Yes, Bar aux Folies Bergères by Ninette de Valois. Markova was the principal and I was the understudy. And Madame Markova would not allow me to be present at the rehearsals, so I couldn’t learn the ballet. I did half of it and it was left. Then one day Markova injured her foot and couldn’t go on, and I was pushed on. And only knowing half the ballet, I had to improvise the rest. I was only 14 or 15. She did take a lot of risks, Madame Rambert. Afterwards she just said to me, ‘Well done.’ That was all I wanted."

 

Brown: Do you maintain any contact with Markova?

Inglesby: "No. She used to live opposite us in Knightsbridge. But I never really liked her anyway. She was rather snooty. I never got on with snooty people."

 

I attach here links to other articles I wrote based on my two meetings with Inglesby and related research, for the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/9729920/Mona-Inglesby-the-forgotten-heroine-of-British-ballet.html, and a transcript of the BBC programme on The Arts Desk http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/black-out-ballet-invisible-woman-british-ballet. Kay Hunter's book Ballet in the Blitz, to which others have referred, is a good account of Inglesby's story. My earlier articles about Inglesby and the Sleeping Beauty reconstruction are no longer available on the Telegraph online archive but here are pdf versions.

 

Inglesby Keeper of old scores.pdf

Kirov Aurora's new dawn.pdf

Edited May 30, 2017 by John Mallinson
Articles file didn't seem to behave so replaced by pdfs.

[Fonty]

12 hours ago, ismeneb said:

 

Brown: At Rambert didn’t you understudy Markova in something?

Inglesby: "Yes, Bar aux Folies Bergères by Ninette de Valois. Markova was the principal and I was the understudy. And Madame Markova would not allow me to be present at the rehearsals, so I couldn’t learn the ballet. I did half of it and it was left. Then one day Markova injured her foot and couldn’t go on, and I was pushed on. And only knowing half the ballet, I had to improvise the rest. I was only 14 or 15. She did take a lot of risks, Madame Rambert. Afterwards she just said to me, ‘Well done.’ That was all I wanted."

 

 

 

I read this open mouthed with astonishment.  Full marks to Inglesby for managing to improvise, but surely Rambert should have put her foot down and insisted that the understudy had to be present at the rehearsals? Or at least had someone who could pass on the information so that she could learn the whole part herself.  

 

Nobody, but nobody, and I don't care how famous they are, should be able to wield that much power and influence.  I can only assume that Markova was jealous of the youngster.  

[LinMM]

I have to admit if the Company Director did not take charge of such a ridiculous situation I would start to lose faith that I was particularly cherished .....though may have felt "the star ballerina" just had too much power because was too valuable to the Company generally. But a strange and rather sorry state of affairs to be honest....perhaps it was this sort of thing .....apart from the style issue .....which made Inglesby look elsewhere eventually.

[Pas de Quatre]

To be honest, I find it difficult to believe that this is entirely accurate.  Here is production involving Ninette de Valois and Marie Rambert, both of whom had been in the Ballet Russe with Diahilev.  They were the founders of British ballet and knew very well how a professional company works. To my mind a more likely scenario is that Markova didn't want anyone else in the rehearsal room while the choreography was being set.  But once there were full cast rehearsals and performances, an understudy would be in the wings memorising everything about the role and the production.   

[LinMM]

I certainly hope this is the case Pas de Quatre......and would sort of make sense.

Did anyone corroborate the Mona Inglesby version? 

[DrewCo]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

I certainly hope this is the case Pas de Quatre......and would sort of make sense.

Did anyone corroborate the Mona Inglesby version? 

Inglesby was, as I understand, 14-15 at the time. Assuming her memories are accurate, still she herself may not have fully grasped what was going on if Markova just did not want her there while the ballet was being created -- or for some other reason for that matter.  Or she may have understood exactly what was happening. I doubt one can sort it out fairly now.  (And perhaps one value of time is that one can revisit the past without necessarily having to re-fight its battles. Well...sometimes.)

 

I am an American fan, and Inglesby was only known to me as the barest name before I read this thread. It's a pleasure finding out more about her. Thank you Assoluta for starting the discussion. 

Edited May 28, 2017 by DrewCo

[assoluta]

On 5/27/2017 at 14:28, Jane S said:

In 1968, on the occasion of her eightieth birthday, I sent her flowers ... I telephoned her to wish her a happy birthday, and to tell her how much I owed to her for those early years.

 

'But you deserted me,' she said. I told her again why I had to make the choice [to leave Ballet Rambert]. She accepted this, and we made our peace. It was good to know we were friends again, with no trace of bitterness left.

 

I emphasised the whole phrase to draw attention to the fact that this is a direct evidence that Inglesby felt there was indeed resentment and bitterness on Rambert's part and for a long time (1968 is when Inglesby thinks she finally made peace with Rambert).

[assoluta]

I could not resist posting here a photograph of Sergei Vikharev with Mona Inglesby taken at her Sussex house in 2000, because it is the loveliest photograph of Sergei I am aware of.

 

 

I took it from the recent article by Ismene Brown devoted to Vikharev.

[LinMM]

That's a very lovely photo altogether Assoluta ...Thankyou for posting.

[stucha]

wasn't sure where to put this piece of historical interest.

I know many on this forum have talked about ballerina Mona Inglesby and her company.

This clip of her in an excerpt from Swan Lake appeared recently. enjoy.

 

 

[Stevie]

A new piece of interesting history for me, since I had never heard of her or her company before. I found this interview on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/444198941

Thanks for providing additional education.

[MaddieRose]

Thank you for this! I have a signed photo of Madame Inglesby and some old International Ballet programmes from the era, and it's nice to see the company in action. 

[alison]

9 hours ago, stucha said:

wasn't sure where to put this piece of historical interest.

 

We had an existing thread on her, so I've moved it to that one.  Thanks, stucha.

[alison]

Ironically enough, I've just been catching up with copies of the Dancing Times from last year, and there's an article about her and the International Ballet in August 2021.

[Xballetdancer]

This subject fascinates me. I recently lost my father who how many years told me many stories about Mona Inglesbey because he was a very young man in her company. 
If indeed she created many works I would be interested to find out more about them.

 

Please direct message me or leave me a way of contacting you on here.

 

Thank you so much Antony Dowson

[Jan McNulty]

Just now, Xballetdancer said:

This subject fascinates me. I recently lost my father who how many years told me many stories about Mona Inglesbey because he was a very young man in her company. 
If indeed she created many works I would be interested to find out more about them.

 

Please direct message me or leave me a way of contacting you on here.

 

Thank you so much Antony Dowson

 

Hello Antony and welcome to the Forum.

[Xballetdancer]

Thank you Jan,

 

Obviously very new to this so I hope this is allowed with your policies. I am genuinely interested to hear from anybody that has any knowledge of any works of hers that might still be in existence? I’m not sure how they might contact me? Thank you

 

 

[MaddieRose]

I do not know whether any her works are still in existance, but there is an out-of-print book by Ms Inglesby called Ballet in the Blitz. It's unfortunately not a book I've been able to find copies of myself, but there are libraries copies floating about:

 

https://www.worldcat.org/title/ballet-in-the-blitz-the-history-of-a-ballet-company/oclc/278274339&referer=brief_results

 

(if you type a postcode into the box it will tell you the nearest library copies)

 

In my personal collection I have at least 3 International Ballet programmes (those three are from 1944, 1947 and 1951). One has a synopsis of Mona Inglesby's ballet Everyman which I would be happy to type up and send over to you. 

[Guest oncnp]

8 minutes ago, MaddieRose said:

I do not know whether any her works are still in existance, but there is an out-of-print book by Ms Inglesby called Ballet in the Blitz. It's unfortunately not a book I've been able to find copies of myself, but there are libraries copies floating about:

 

BALLET IN THE BLITZ: THE HISTORY OF A BALLET COMPANY by INGLESBY, Mona, Kay Hunter: (2008) | Any Amount of Books (abebooks.co.uk)

[Jan McNulty]

28 minutes ago, Xballetdancer said:

Thank you Jan,

 

Obviously very new to this so I hope this is allowed with your policies. I am genuinely interested to hear from anybody that has any knowledge of any works of hers that might still be in existence? I’m not sure how they might contact me? Thank you

 

 

 

There is a direct messaging facility.  If someone messages you, you should get an email alerting you and  a green notification button at the top right hand side of the forum screen.

[jm365]

Maurice Bejart was briefly a member of her company.

[alison]

6 hours ago, MaddieRose said:

I do not know whether any her works are still in existance, but there is an out-of-print book by Ms Inglesby called Ballet in the Blitz. It's unfortunately not a book I've been able to find copies of myself, but there are libraries copies floating about:

 

https://www.worldcat.org/title/ballet-in-the-blitz-the-history-of-a-ballet-company/oclc/278274339&referer=brief_results

 

(if you type a postcode into the box it will tell you the nearest library copies)

 

If we're talking libraries, I would assume that Westminster's ballet collection would have it?

[stucha]

Ismene Brown's podcast from 2012 on Mona and her company and her place in ballet history.

 

Blackout Ballet - BBC Sounds

 

 

Edited May 9, 2022 by stucha

[LinMM]

My main teacher Roger Tully danced with the Mona Inglesby Company for a couple of years. I would love to see some old programmes. 

[MaddieRose]

I shall find the programmes tomorrow. I have one Swan Lake from 1946, and two triple bills from 1944 and 1951.

 

For now, here is a signed photo of Mona Inglesby. It’s accompanied by a letter to the original owner of the scrapbook it’s been stuck in. The letter is from Miss Inglesby’s secretary. 

(I apologise for the photo quality, I had to reduce it). 

[MaddieRose]

I'm slowly working on getting all the information from the programmes I own up and online, not only as a reference for myself but for others too. It will be a very slow process, as I have about 1,500, but I've got the International Ballet ones up. 
 

https://theatrejourneys.co.uk/programme-database/ 
 

If you click the link, go down to By Company and click International Ballet, you can see the casts, crews and photos of programmes, alongside a synopsis for a ballet by Mona Inglesby, and a ballet by Algeranoff, one of her company dancers. 

[LinMM]

Thanks for these Maddie Rose. 
I think Roger Tully was with them on a tour of Italy…I can find the dates later. 
But see Bridget Kelly another long ago teacher was working quite hard in the Company in the ones you have posted!