Lynn Seymour RIP

[Bruce Wall]

I was disheartened last night when I flipped open my phone and read this news during the interval of a play.  Lynn Seymour always brought me such instructive delights.  She inhabited an imaginative world ripe with her own unique Canadian rigour.  No matter whether hot or cold her musical realm was always scrupulous in terms of the spontaneity of its characterful meticulousness.  Those fortunate enough to have experienced it will always have much to be thankful for.  May she RIP now and forever.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Bruce Wall

[Odyssey]

I have only just picked up this sad news. I never had the pleasure of seeing her dance but I grew up with her pictures on my bedroom wall and memorably some luscious colour portraits within my much loved PrincessTina annuals. Later I read Lynn, her autobiography, and appreciated her honesty about struggles with her weight and ‘dark times’ in her private life. Despite some uneasy times, she holds a special place in the role call of wonderful ballerinas that have been part of the Royal Ballet . A class act who inspired choreographers to produce some of their greatest work.

[LinMM]

I’ve only just found out  that my main ballet teacher/mentor mostly throughout my 30’s but again more recently apparently coached Lynn Seymour and Alexander Sombart when they were dancing Onegin both here and in Russia. I think this was more ballet coaching than role coaching but really interesting to know that she had chosen him for this!! 

[Guest oncnp]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpkXpEioG7J/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Via Dancer's Diary

Edited March 9, 2023 by oncnp

[li tai po]

I am heartbroken too - Lynn was such an expressive dancer, with an extensive interpretative range - so versatile.

 

Lynn was a master of comedy, often played dead pan.  I loved the humour of MacMillan's Side Show, which she danced so many times with Rudolf.  She brought such fun and gaiety to the Green Girl in Dances at a Gathering.  Then she was a virginal innocent in The Concert, preyed upon by Michael Coleman - becoming so wonderfully frustrated as she tried on those hats, thrilled at finding one she liked and then slinking off with sagging shoulders as she met someone else wearing the same hat.

 

She was unforgettable as Anastasia, making her throwaway entrance on roller skates, and presenting the whole gamut of emotion from child, then on the cusp of adolescence at the ball and finally scarred and tortured by her horrific escape from the bolsheviks.  She also allowed herself to be thrown up into the air by the officers in Act One - a daring and risky lift and roll which was toned down and tamed for the 1996 revival.  The last time I saw her on stage was as the Queen Mother in an early performance of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.

 

Three quick memories -

 

After a performance of Onegin by London Festival Ballet at the Coliseum, there was a man drinking from a bottle of wine on the wall across the road from the stage door (before the Peabody Estate was redeveloped).  Lynn emerged with her young twins and balancing a large bouquet in her arms.  As she patiently signed through a torrent of autographs, she suddenly looked up and said, "Where are the twins?".  They were sitting on the wall with the wine-drinker.  She charged across, bouquet in her arms, to gather them back and then generously carried on signing autographs.  

 

She gave a masterclass at the Royal Academy of Dance of the R&J Balcony Scene to Mara Galeazzi and Ed Watson, neither of whom had danced the role at that time.  A choreologist was lurking in the background.  Lynn corrected Mara - enter from the second wing, not the third wing.  Not according to the score, said the choreologist.  "Kenneth definitely set a shorter entrance, because he wanted the lovers to have time to pull up short and hesitate about kissing each other".  The choreologist amended the score.

 

On my way to Budapest to see Onegin, I was astonished to see Lynn on the plane.  She was apparently on her way to cast the first Hungarian performances of Mayerling.  Remarkably I ended up sitting next to her at dinner after the show - I wanted to gush all over her, but somehow I controlled myself and we made small talk about the train service on the underground - maybe it was a wasted opportunity.

 

This great ballerina of the Royal Ballet has left me with a kaleidoscope of impressions - she was second only to Margot.

 

 

 

[Sharon]

I am so very sad to find this news after a horrible day at work.

She was always my favourite ballerina  - I watched her dance. I begged for signed photos - that she sent. I bought all her books. The last time I saw her she was giving a talk and happily signed my books.  She was tiny.

For the past month or so, since I saw the news that ROH were holding a celebration for Carlos Acosta - I wanted to get in touch with the RB and ask why they don't hold a celebration for Lynn. A celebration in which excerpts from all the ballets created for her were danced all in her presence to acknowledge her role and contribution to the world of dance. To show her our love and gratitude.  

Don't get me wrong I'm not against  a celebration for Carlos - but Lynn Seymour was an inspiration and the fact that she was a muse to both MacMillan and Ashton who created such wonderful ballets for her should not be ignored.  I'm so sorry I didn't write now.

I'm heartbroken and I hope with all my heart she passed peacefully.

Dance now with angels Lynn i will never forget you.  🙏🏽😭🙏🏽

[OnePigeon]

Such sad news.  I never got to see her dance live, unfortunately, but loved her autobiography and have scoured the internet for footage of her dancing.  She and Gable looked like a very special, golden partnership from the photos I’ve seen and from how she wrote about them in her book.  I recently saw some footage of Peter Wright leading a ballet class for a BBC programme in 1964 and Lynn Seymour is featured doing her barre work with her incredible supple upper body and perfectly arched feet.  He sets the ballerinas (Georgina Parkinson, Marion Lane, Merle Park and Doreen Wells) a little brain teaser which they drop out of one by one with much mirth by the male dancers watching(Anthony Dowell, Christopher Gable, David Drew, Derek Rencher and Bryan Lawrence).  It would be wonderful if it could be shown in full.

 

A posthumous celebration of her incredible body of work would be a wonderful tribute, though I wish she could have known, and hope she did know, how loved and revered she was by so many.

[Vanartus]

6 hours ago, oncnp said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpkXpEioG7J/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Via Dancer's Diary

Oh wow…this got me!

[Mary]

I agree that the RB should offer some kind of celebration of Ms Seymour's life, work and contribution to their repertoire -  and more than just dedicating a performance as they sometimes do.

I wish ROH would bring back the photo displays in the amphi corridor- that display gave another opportunity to offer tributes which is currently not used. I don't know why.

 

 

 

[alison]

Because it would mess up the lovely poster wallpaper, I'd guess.

[Fonty]

16 hours ago, li tai po said:

IThis great ballerina of the Royal Ballet has left me with a kaleidoscope of impressions - she was second only to Margot.

 

 

 

She was a very different dancer to Margot.  I never saw either live, but from the impressions I have got from on line videos, Margot was ethereal, while Seymour was earthy.  

[LinMM]

Seymour certainly had an earthy quality which perhaps Fonteyn did not however I think they both had a similar talent for being able to be emotionally abandoned on stage. 
I always think of Evdokimova as the ethereal one!! 

[Sim]

After I had interviewed David Wall I asked him to choose and sign a photo for me. This is what he gave me.  It’s him rehearsing Mayerling during its creation, with Lynn.  I showed it to my hubby who said “my God, that’s just the rehearsal??!!”  
 

Exactly.  
 

[Angela]

Berlin State Ballet where she was a principal dancer in Kenneth MacMillan's time (it was called Ballett of the Deutsche Oper then) and Bavarian State Ballet, which she directed for two years, both have obituaries for Lynn Seymour:

https://www.staatsballett-berlin.de/de/blog/wir-trauern-um-lynn-seymour/173

https://www.staatsoper.de/inhalte-staatsballett-home/abschied-von-lynn-seymour

 

 

[Suffolkgal]

I really feel, given she created so many ballets in the RB rep from so many choreographers, there should be a Seymour event/programme/season. I'd actually love to see the Invitation and the Burrow - early MacMillan. 

[MJW]

(NB: Behind the Telegraph's firewall)  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2023/03/10/lynn-seymour-superstar-ballerina-who-embodied-rebellious-flawed/

[Melody]

Not sure if this is accessible in the UK, but it's the Telegraph obituary at MSN and isn't behind a paywall, at least in the USA.

 

Lynn Seymour, superstar ballerina who embodied the rebellious and flawed heroines of 1960s dance – obituary (msn.com)

 

I saw her in A Month in the Country a few times back in the 1970s, as well as in The Invitation, and she was unforgettable in both. It's always nice when a retired ballerina spends so much time helping the younger generation, and she's going to be missed by a lot of people.

 

Interesting that, like Alicia Markova, she died within a day of her birthday. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Melody

[Janite]

Many years ago I saw a documentary about Lynn Seymour and I was 'blown away'. Did anyone else see it or know what it was called? I would love to watch it again.  

[Jane S]

Possibly 'Lynn Seymour  - In a Class of her Own" ?

 

 

[Jane S]

Or there was also a BBC Omnibus programme called 'When the Dancing had to Stop'.

[Jeannette]

The documentary could be the 1978 “In a Class of her Own” - also marketed on VHS tape as “Ballerina: Lynn Seymour.” In that, I especially enjoy rehearsal bits of Ashton’s Two Pigeons final pdd with Christopher Gable.

 

To me, the most fascinating Seymour doc was filmed around 1965 for British TV  that featured two artists, a pop star plus Lynn Seymour, titled “This Week: A Tale of Two Talents,” including the rape pdd from Macmillan’s The Invitation (assuming w/ Desmond Doyle; not identified). 

 

In all of the documentaries, it’s fascinating that she defied the standard look of ballerinas…different sort of face, figure, etc. Lynn Seymour overcame all obstacles. Quite a tale.

[Janite]

5 hours ago, Jane S said:

Or there was also a BBC Omnibus programme called 'When the Dancing had to Stop'.

thank you

[Janite]

3 hours ago, Jeannette said:

The documentary could be the 1978 “In a Class of her Own” - also marketed on VHS tape as “Ballerina: Lynn Seymour.” In that, I especially enjoy rehearsal bits of Ashton’s Two Pigeons final pdd with Christopher Gable.

 

To me, the most fascinating Seymour doc was filmed around 1965 for British TV  that featured two artists, a pop star plus Lynn Seymour, titled “This Week: A Tale of Two Talents,” including the rape pdd from Macmillan’s The Invitation (assuming w/ Desmond Doyle; not identified). 

 

In all of the documentaries, it’s fascinating that she defied the standard look of ballerinas…different sort of face, figure, etc. Lynn Seymour overcame all obstacles. Quite a tale.

thank you, and here's hoping they show at least one of them in honour of her life.

[Fonty]

That clip of her and Dowell in a Month in the Country is wonderful.  Her extensions are gorgeous, her arms a delight, her body supple, and her movement a continuous flow.  Forget all the talk about today's dancers dancing with more "attack" (whatever that means),  and having superior techniques,  clips such as these show just what a myth this is IMO.    Like films of Fonteyn, something about the way in which they danced was so glorious they inspire me, and I don't always feel that when I am watching performances now.  Today I am frequently in awe of the perfection on display, but I don't often get swept away in the same way as I do when I look at these segments. 

Yet I can't quite put my finger on exactly what the difference is.  Perhaps it is the way in which physiques have changed?  Neither of them had outrageously long legs, nor were they as thin and muscular looking as today's dancers seem to be required to be.  Yes, I know that Seymour was documented as having struggles with her weight, but every picture I have seen of her shows her looking slender but womanly, which applies to all the top dancers of her generation if photos are anything to go by.   

 

 

[SheilaC]

In Sunderland last week I was disappointed that BRB did not include a reference to Lynn on their cast sheets, even though they included an acknowledgement of a previous member of the orchestra who had died. (BRB has since posted about her death on their social media.)  

 

It would have been very fitting to mention her on the Swan Lake cast sheet as it was in Swan Lake, touring in Australia with the Royal Ballet touring group, the predecessor of BRB, that she made her name. She performed Odette/Odile in the first ever full length Swan Lake I ever saw, in Birmingham, I couldn't believe dancing could be so breath takingly beautiful. The previous night I had seen her in her first dramatic role for MacMillan as the young girl in The Burrow. One of the last times I saw her dance was in Onegin with LFB when she was quite astonishing, absolutely convincing me that she was going to succumb to Onegin in that final, marvellous, pas de deux. In between so many wonderful performances, including The Invitation, The Two Pigeons, MacMillan's Le Baiser de la Fee with Beriosova and MacLeary in Edinburgh, Concerto, Anastasia single act with LFB as well as the later 3 act version, Juliet- her first performance but not, of course , the premiere - Images of Love, Anastasia, Mayerling, Brahms Waltzes, Month in the Country, Dances at a Gathering.  I was never able to get to London to see her in The Concert, a great regret as she apparently was hilarious in it, she was gifted in comedy as well as drama. Not to mention Northern Ballet Theatre's A Simple Man, with Christopher Gable. Her partnership with Gable was close and it was very sad that it couldn't continue after he gave up dancing; had they continued dancing together it would have been one of the greatest ballet partnerships of all time.

 

Whilst her fame is primarily as a dramatic dancer the quality of her dancing was exceptional. An earlier contribution, comparing her with Fonteyn, talked of her as being earth bound. This could be true in some roles but, especially when younger and before she lost weight, she had the most wonderful fluid quality to her dancing as though she didn't have a bone in her body; it's trite to say poetry in motion- but that's how it seemed. And of course, she was so expressive, her emotions were portrayed though her movement. When young she often rubbished classical ballet, always regarding herself as a rebel, but you can see the quality of her classical dancing in her Giselle on the DVD her great friend Nureyev danced with her, or her Sleeping Beauty pas de deux with him in his film I am a Dancer. (One of the best Vision scenes in Sleeping Beauty I ever saw was of her with Peter Martins at the Coli- her dancing just melted). She danced with her whole body with wonderful epaulement and beautiful feet, and so musically, she could play with the music.

 

I admired the ballets she choreographed without being a total fan. She also directed companies. She was a gifted coach. So altogether she made a huge contribution to ballet.

But, sad though her death is, she lives on in the astonishing number of ballets created on her and which have continued to be performed. How many other dancers have created so many ballets which live on?

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, SheilaC said:

 

Whilst her fame is primarily as a dramatic dancer the quality of her dancing was exceptional. An earlier contribution, comparing her with Fonteyn, talked of her as being earth bound. This could be true in some roles but, especially when younger and before she lost weight, she had the most wonderful fluid quality to her dancing as though she didn't have a bone in her body; it's trite to say poetry in motion- but that's how it seemed. And of course, she was so expressive, her emotions were portrayed though her movement. When young she often rubbished classical ballet, always regarding herself as a rebel, but you can see the quality of her classical dancing in her Giselle on the DVD her great friend Nureyev danced with her, or her Sleeping Beauty pas de deux with him in his film I am a Dancer. (One of the best Vision scenes in Sleeping Beauty I ever saw was of her with Peter Martins at the Coli- her dancing just melted). She danced with her whole body with wonderful epaulement and beautiful feet, and so musically, she could play with the music.

 

 

  I am not sure if you are referring to my comment or someone else's, but I said she was earthy, not earth bound.  Maybe it was a poor choice of words, but I simply meant the photos I have seen of her, and the tiny clips, convey such passion.  

[LinMM]

I think describing a dancer as “earthy” also has an association with being “down to earth” so more identifiable with…more human in a sense. So a great quality to have. 
 

[NiniGabriel]

20 hours ago, SheilaC said:

But, sad though her death is, she lives on in the astonishing number of ballets created on her and which have continued to be performed. How many other dancers have created so many ballets which live on?

 

It is perfectly permissible to look beyond the cosmos of British ballet to see that there was - even at the same time - another great dramatic ballerina (and, at almost 86 years of age, there still is). And the major roles in major ballets created by this other dancer are certainly no less numerous:

 

Tatjana, Katharina, Julia (all John Cranko), Das Lied von der Erde/Song of the Earth, Requiem (both Kenneth MacMillan), Voluntaries (Glen Tetley), Marguerite, Blanche (both John Neumeier), Vergessenes Land/Forgotten Land (Jiri Kylian), Wien, Wien, nur Du allein, Die Stühle/Les Chaises, Isadora (all Maurice Bejart).

 

And these are just the very famous roles in ballet pieces, which are also performed by other companies/dancers worldwide and which spontaneously came to my mind...

 

Maybe I'm just a bit too sensitive when it comes to the terms "best", "only" etc., because art isn't a sport.

 

Maybe I'm just very proud of the ballet company in my hometown (Stuttgart) and therefore can't let the comment stand.

 

In either case, please forgive me. For my reply should in no way belittle the merits of a Lynn Seymour, who I consider to be one of the pre-eminent dancers of her time and who, as Kenneth MacMillan's muse, also created more than one important role in more than one important work.

Edited March 13, 2023 by NiniGabriel

[bridiem]

24 minutes ago, NiniGabriel said:

 

It is perfectly permissible to look beyond the cosmos of British ballet to see that there was - even at the same time - another great dramatic ballerina (and, at almost 86 years of age, there still is). And the major roles in major ballets created by this other dancer are certainly no less numerous:

 

Tatjana, Katharina, Julia (all John Cranko), Das Lied von der Erde/Song of the Earth, Requiem (both Kenneth MacMillan), Voluntaries (Glen Tetley), Marguerite, Blanche (both John Neumeier), Vergessenes Land/Forgotten Land (Jiri Kylian), Wien, Wien, nur Du allein, Die Stühle/Les Chaises, Isadora (all Maurice Bejart).

 

And these are just the very famous roles in ballet pieces, which are also performed by other companies/dancers worldwide and which spontaneously came to my mind...

 

Maybe I'm just a bit too sensitive when it comes to the terms "best", "only" etc., because art isn't a sport.

 

Maybe I'm just very proud of the ballet company in my hometown (Stuttgart) and therefore can't let the comment stand.

 

In either case, please forgive me. For my reply should in no way belittle the merits of a Lynn Seymour, who I consider to be one of the pre-eminent dancers of her time and who, as Kenneth MacMillan's muse, also created more than one important role in more than one important work.

 

The original question was, how many others? Implying very few, not none. Nowhere did the post say that Seymour has been the only great ballerina or the only one to create so many roles. So yes, I think you are being a bit too sensitive here.

[capybara]

45 minutes ago, NiniGabriel said:

It is perfectly permissible to look beyond the cosmos of British ballet to see that there was - even at the same time - another great dramatic ballerina (and, at almost 86 years of age, there still is). And the major roles in major ballets created by this other dancer are certainly no less numerous:

 

Tatjana, Katharina, Julia (all John Cranko), Das Lied von der Erde/Song of the Earth, Requiem (both Kenneth MacMillan), Voluntaries (Glen Tetley), Marguerite, Blanche (both John Neumeier), Vergessenes Land/Forgotten Land (Jiri Kylian), Wien, Wien, nur Du allein, Die Stühle/Les Chaises, Isadora (all Maurice Bejart).

 

And these are just the very famous roles in ballet pieces, which are also performed by other companies/dancers worldwide and which spontaneously came to my mind...

 

Maybe I'm just a bit too sensitive when it comes to the terms "best", "only" etc., because art isn't a sport.

 

Maybe I'm just very proud of the ballet company in my hometown (Stuttgart) and therefore can't let the comment stand.

 

In either case, please forgive me. For my reply should in no way belittle the merits of a Lynn Seymour, who I consider to be one of the pre-eminent dancers of her time and who, as Kenneth MacMillan's muse, also created more than one important role in more than one important work.

Presumably you are speaking of the great Marcia Haydee?

 

[NiniGabriel]

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

 

The original question was, how many others? Implying very few, not none. Nowhere did the post say that Seymour has been the only great ballerina or the only one to create so many roles. So yes, I think you are being a bit too sensitive here.

 

I'm really sorry if I misunderstood the post. Sometimes I find it a bit difficult to understand every subtlety in a foreign language. So: When I read "how many others?", it became "who else?" in my mind. And that's really not what it says. (On top of that, another post mentioned Lynn Seymour as the first real dance actress. I was about to respond then too...) So all of that together probably triggered my response. In any case, it wasn't my intention to offend anyone here.

Edited March 13, 2023 by NiniGabriel

[NiniGabriel]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Presumably you are speaking of the great Marcia Haydee?

 

 

Since this is a thread about Lynn Seymour, I didn't want to name it. But yes, of course I'm speaking of her.

Edited March 13, 2023 by NiniGabriel

[OnePigeon]

They were in the same class at the Royal Ballet, were they not?  What an incredible generation of dancers they were!  They were contemporaries so they both made their mark as great dance actresses at the same time, but obviously as most of us are British based and many were able to see Seymour dance more than they got to see Marcia Haydee once she moved to Stuttgart, and given that this is a thread in tribute to Seymour, I think it’s understandable that the praise and superlatives are focused on her.  Any footage of Marcia Haydee I’ve seen shows an incredible dancer though - if only I had been lucky enough to be able to see them both dance.  Interesting that they both originated the roles of Juliet for their respective companies, though obviously we know it didn’t turn out so well for poor Lynn Seymour.