Johaar Mosaval RIP

[Jan McNulty]

Sad news today that ex-Royal Ballet dancer Johaar Mosaval has passed away at the age of 95.

 

https://www.gov.za/speeches/western-cape-cultural-and-sport-mourns-passing-johaar-mosaval-16-aug-2023-0000

[Ondine]

Sad news indeed.

 

He was 'spotted' by the great Dulcie Howes

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulcie_Howes

 

who had studied ballet with Cecchetti teachers Helen White and in UK  Margaret Craske. It was Howes who ensured he was given his early training.

 

When Mosaval was a youth, he was noticed by Dulcie Howes, the doyenne of South African theatrical dance, while he was performing gymnastics. She invited him to attend the University of Cape Town Ballet School. Despite the disapproval of his Muslim parents and the white ("European") community, Mosaval accepted her invitation and began his dance training at the ballet school in 1947.^[5] He later explained, "It was the height of apartheid and there was no scope for me. She broke the race barrier by taking me to ballet classes. [...] I had to stand at the back of the class. The white boys in the class would give me sideways glances if I happened to grand jeté myself to the front."^{[6][Note 1]} In the classes of Jasmine Honoré, Mosaval advanced quickly, as his strong, flexible physique and iron determination to succeed reinforced his natural facility for classical ballet technique.

Apartheid prevented Mosaval from pursuing a dance career in his home country, but in 1950 he was noticed by visiting ballet celebrities Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, after he was smuggled into Cape Town's Alhambra Theatre for an audition. They arranged for him to receive a scholarship to attend the Sadler's Wells Ballet School in London. Travel to London was paid with money gathered from friends and fundraising by the local Muslim Progressive Society.^[4] His parents never paid a cent towards his education in dance, either because they were too poor or because they never approved of it. "I had many obstacles in terms of my religion; my family was against me," he told the Cape Times in 2018. "As the eldest of 10 children and being a male dancer, my decisions were frowned upon because they were unheard of."^[7]

 

 

A most interesting man. We should not forget how much of a struggle a ballet career was for some.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johaar_Mosaval

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ondine

[ninamargaret]

Loved watching him dance. Always looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. And  particularly notable in Pineapple Poll.

[SheilaC]

He was a wonderful dance artist, beautiful dancer, very moving actor in roles such as Jasper in Pineapple Poll and in The Lady and the Fool. His career was affected by apartheid even once he got to England as South Africa refused to let him perform when the Royal Ballet touring group planned going to South Africa ( similar to what happened to the cricketer Basil D'Oliveira).

[Jan McNulty]

32 minutes ago, SheilaC said:

He was a wonderful dance artist, beautiful dancer, very moving actor in roles such as Jasper in Pineapple Poll and in The Lady and the Fool. His career was affected by apartheid even once he got to England as South Africa refused to let him perform when the Royal Ballet touring group planned going to South Africa ( similar to what happened to the cricketer Basil D'Oliveira).

 

I was thinking of Marge today.  I think she was very keen on him as a dancer because she mentioned him often to me.

[Ondine]

This short bio also has a linked video which I recommend watching.

 

'Curating the Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet'  Johaar Mosaval

 

https://mobballet.org/index.php/2021/05/17/johaar-mosaval/

 

 

Official link 

 

 

[alison]

I hadn't realised he was from a Muslim background.  He's hardly the only dancer to have had that affect his progress.

[Dawnstar]

4 hours ago, Ondine said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johaar_Mosaval

 

Reading this, I noticed this sentence "He became a principal dancer in 1960 and a senior principal in 1965." Did the RB used to have multiple levels of principals, like ENB does now?

[Emeralds]

Sad news 😟 Rest in peace, Johaar Mosaval. A pioneer. 💐

[SheilaC]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Reading this, I noticed this sentence "He became a principal dancer in 1960 and a senior principal in 1965." Did the RB used to have multiple levels of principals, like ENB does now?

My impression is that there are quite a few inaccuracies in the obituaries, Dawn. I haven't had time to check my records but I think it's unlikely there was that status. I'm not sure it's completely clear in the obits that it was the touring group that he mostly danced for. To pick up a recent discussion the demi-caractere strengths of Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet/ RB Touring Group were particularly suited to his talents.

[Ondine]

“Well now you know, for me to be trained as a dancer, and to be trained professionally, was unheard of. I was Muslim and, in my era, many, many, many years ago, Muslims were not trained as dancers. Not only that, I was also a black boy from District Six,” he said.

 

My teacher always told me that it would be very difficult for me to get a job, not because of my colour but because of my height. [Fortunately] she was wrong.”

 

I think certain aspects of his life history were written by those a little hazy of the details, but there is no doubt Johaar Mosaval's is a remarkable story. More here.

 

https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2019-09-25-sa-ballet-star-91-remembers-his-starring-role-at-queen-elizabeths-coronation/

 

 

Cape Town Museum, official link:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Ondine

[Jane S]

Yes, SheilaC - I have a programme from early 1965 listing him as a soloist, and then another from 1966 listing him as a principal: I think he was maybe promoted to some sort of senior soloist in 1960, rather than to principal.

 

They certainly worked  him hard - 310 Jaspers (Pineapple Poll), 97 Blue Skaters (Patineurs), 91 Bluebirds - I must have seen him dozens of times over the years and remember him with pleasure and admiration.

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Jane S

[Jan McNulty]

BRB tribute:

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/tribute-to-johaar-mosaval

[SheilaC]

It's good that they refer to his death but it's lazy, almost disrespectful, just to tag another organisation's piece, fascinating though his personal account is. The very least that BRB could do is give an account of his long career with the company in its previous forms, discussing the major contribution he made to the company. 

[alison]

Maybe the people who would be in a position to do that are on holiday or something?

[SheilaC]

9 hours ago, alison said:

Maybe the people who would be in a position to do that are on holiday or something?

Given his age, his death was no surprise. A company-related obituary could have been prepared in advance (as happens with newspapers). But the current administration of BRB has little interest in its rich history.

[Jane S]

16 hours ago, SheilaC said:

It's good that they refer to his death but it's lazy, almost disrespectful, just to tag another organisation's piece, fascinating though his personal account is. The very least that BRB could do is give an account of his long career with the company in its previous forms, discussing the major contribution he made to the company. 

 

Entirely agree.

 

I was interested to see several mentions of Mosaval dancing a solo in the Coronation performances for Queen Elizabeth 2, as he definitely wasn't in the ballet programme on Coronation night - it was actually in the Coronation opera , Benjamin Britten's Gloriana, where Mosaval danced the solo Morris dance  - choreographed by John Cranko, also a South African.  (Also mentioned, I see, in Ashley Killar's new Cranko biography.)

 

[Ondine]

4 hours ago, Jane S said:

John Cranko, also a South African

 

Another who received his early training courtesy of Dulcie Howes. 

[Ondine]

A statement on the death of Johaar Mosaval from President Cyril Ramaphosa which mentions Gloriana. It's a fine tribute, detailing his many achievements.  Nor does it gloss over the awfulness of apartheid, and the part Mosaval played in opposing it.

 

https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/president-mourns-passing-dance-pioneer-johaar-mosaval-0

 

While dancing in Michel Fokine’s Petruskha, Mosaval’s contract stated that he was not allowed to touch a white ballet dancer with his bare hands. By 1975, the theatre allowed all races onto its premises, but black people required a permit to enter. As a result, the boycott of the theatre lasted until the end of apartheid.

 

Mr Mosaval opened his own ballet school in 1977 and was employed as the first black Inspector of Schools of Ballet under the then Administration of Coloured Affairs. He resigned from this position when he discovered that he could share his expertise only with a certain segment of the population. Subsequently, the apartheid regime closed his school because it was multiracial.

Following the principles of his mentor, Dulcie Howes, Mosaval wanted to share his knowledge and love of ballet with students of all races, so he continued to find ways to dance and to teach...

 

 

“His life story is one that fills us at one level with pride and inspiration but which also reopens for us the inhumanity and hurt that apartheid inflicted on individuals and entire sectors of our society, including our cultural life and the performing arts. “Under difficult conditions, Johaar Mosaval enjoyed and leveraged his life of celebrity to create a legacy of service to the people of Cape Town and our nation more broadly. May he rest in peace.”