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A 'ballet/dance miscellany' thread

Ondine
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Ondine

Ondine

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I frequently come across items which interest / amuse / fascinate / inform / entertain which are connected to the world of ballet but which don't really warrant a thread in their own right.

 

I thought I'd begin a thread which can be added to over time as I'm sure many others who read this forum find items which are worth sharing but again, not really worth a fresh thread Also, in those wee small hours when sleep eludes it could be better browsing this than sheep counting?

 

So I'll begin with The Margo Hatto Photographic Collection, part of the Royal Opera House archive special collections. Sadly this one is not as yet online but no doubt it will be eventually.

 

https://rohcollections.org.uk/collectionsspecial.aspx

 

 

I wonder how many of us have sent and received her cards in the past? She sounds an amazingly entrepreneurial woman.

 

https://rohcollections.org.uk/CollectionPhotHatto.aspx

 

Of particular delight in that short bio is this about the trouser press!

 

When conditions began to deteriorate in Germany, Margot (with the help of Arthur) obtained leave to bring her parents to Britain in early 1939. Margot started her first venture in the production of greeting cards to enable her to help look after her parents.

Her first greeting card publications were prints of black and white photographs taken with her Leica camera. These were dried using her husband's trouser press. Her products were noticed by a retailer in the Strand, possibly named Wilson. Following his guidance in marketing, Margot began selling her greeting cards to well known high street chains under the trade name of Manor Cards. She progressed to producing cards and gift tags illustrated in colour with photographs taken by professional photographers. Ballet subjects were a particular favourite.

 

 

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trog

trog

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An excellent idea for a thread. I was wondering where to post this slideshow video I found last night. It should start at a picture of the RAD from 1949. There are lots of other interesting pix too

 

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Guest oncnp

Guest oncnp

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1 hour ago, alison said:

Fascinating, thank you, Ondine.  I'm just surprised to see that it was the Museum of London, rather than the V&A, which was involved.

Perhaps it was donated to the Museaum of London, not the V&A?

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Peanut68

Peanut68

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Oh gosh - seeing that cake I got an instant childhood memory of a (rather worn) ballerina figure just like those (though somehow seemed classier for having very little colour left!!) that would adorn birthday & Xmas cakes! Actually think a love for ballet subliminally got to me through things like that! 

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Irmgard

Irmgard

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9 hours ago, oncnp said:

Perhaps it was donated to the Museaum of London, not the V&A?

The Museum of London has a precious collection of Pavlova memorabilia, including her Dying Swan tutu.  There was a special exhibition of all the items in the late 1970s/early 1980s.  I am not sure, but I believe it was Victor Dandre, Pavlova's common-law husband, who donated the items to the Museum of London.

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Ondine

Ondine

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There's a little history here about the Museum of London's theatrical collections. 'Controversial'!  Who knew?

 

https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/controversial-history-museum-londons-theatrical-collections

 

Yes, Dandre gave the Museum of London that swan costume. Thanks for that info. I'm looking forward to the Museum moving to its new home at Smithfield Western Market buildings.

 

A tutu or three... the mystery of Anna Pavlova's Dying Swan costume

 

https://carolinehamiltonhistorian.com/2020/05/05/thedyingswan/

 

 

Also this, though there's a very rich seam of other reading in the rest of this history to mine,  one part is about Pavlova, the woman, Dandre,  and her company:

 

Having read that she and Victor Dandré were not married, yet passed themselves off as such, I once asked Muriel about Pavlova’s love life: was she faithful to Dandré? Emphatically not, according to Muriel! Dandré, an older man, though kind and reliable, loved and loving, must have cut a staid figure when compared with some of the virile males who partnered Pavlova throughout her career. Nonetheless, their bond was strong, and outlasted any flings Pavlova may have had.

 

https://naldamurilova.wordpress.com/6-the-pavlova-tournee-1926-1927/

 

 

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Ondine

Ondine

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Oh my! This is via  @Susan Lucas FB page which I'll be shamelessly plundering.

 

https://www.facebook.com/SusanLucasBalletCoach

 

1929 advert, Anna Pavlova  'My hands too must dance'  says charming Anna Pavlowa (sic)

 

'The new Cutex polish gives them sparkle and vivacity' 💅

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/TheBalletStudioDC/photos/a.10152662237578448/10161829590748448/

 

Celebrity endorsements are not new!

 

 

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Ondine

Ondine

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You aren't alone!

 

 

There's a film of Markova on YouTube ('John Hall') teaching them, talking of her 'Italian training' and  where the weight should be.

 

Not many people do them properly, do they? They manage the en dehors with leg 1 but fudge the en dedans second leg.

 

It's most certainly part of the 'Cechetti method' still.

 

 

 

 

 

'How to teach gargouillade'

 

 

https://dance-teacher.com/how-to-teach-gargouillade-gar-goo-yahd/

 

Claire Calvert giving them a good try here! (rehearsal vid)

 

 

 

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Jane S

Jane S

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A propos absolutely nothing: I just came across a mention of a performance of Ashton's Tweedledum and Tweedledee  at an ROH gala or something a few years ago, which said that the Tweedles were Bennet Gartside and Ricardo Cervera - for some reason just thinking about this (which I didn't see) makes me laugh! Lucky Alice, too, whoever she was.

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Ondine

Ondine

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17 minutes ago, Jane S said:

whoever she was.

 

 

Alas, no mention here!

 

http://www.frederickashton.org.uk/tweedledum.html

 

It is very, very funny, as Ashton could be. 

 

https://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=4859&row=0

 

It is on YouTube for anyone who hasn't seen it,  Tweedledum and Tweedledee channel of quillerpen and I'd love to see it revived!

 

Premiered at Wayne Sleep's 'A Good Night's Sleep' Gala in 1977, this short ballet by Sir Frederick Ashton features Wayne Sleep and Graham Fletcher as the twins and Lesley Collier as Alice.

 

 

 

 

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offmenu

offmenu

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Hi everyone! Long time lurker, first time poster. Thought I’d pass along a YouTube Channel I’ve been watching for a few months: https://youtube.com/@tirionlaw219?si=qf_7pzGLxgv85Ptq

 

Tirion Law is a second soloist of the National Ballet of Canada and her videos are usually “day in the life of a dancer” style that takes viewers BTS of the rehearsal process for a lot of wonderful productions. She recently made her Juliet debut and it looks like she’ll be playing Alice soon!

 

I’ve really enjoyed the backstage glimpse and thought some of you might as well :)

 

edited to say she does speak Cantonese but half of the videos are usually in English or with subtitles!

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Sebastian

Sebastian

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Just found an excellent poem from 1840, Lady Blessington’s The Belle of a Season (free on the internet). Here is a short extract which tells us something about how ballet was seen in England at the time (as well as a little more about women in white, a discussion we had here on the Forum a while ago):

 

Brisk music gayer scenes announces,

And in a half-dress'd danseuse bounces,

With arms that wreathe and eyes that swim,

And drapery that scarce shades each limb,

And lip that wears a studied smile,

Applauding coxcombs to beguile,

As entre-chat or pirouette

Doth « brava!" thunder'd loud, beget.

When Mary saw her vault in air,

Her snow-white tunic leaving bare

Her limbs--and heard that deafening shout

Grow louder as she twirl'd about,

With one leg pointing towards the sky,

As if the gallery to defy,

Surprised and shock'd she turn'd away,

Wondering how women ere could stay,

And thinking men must sure be frantic,

Who patronised such postures antic;

She felt abash'd to meet the eye

Of every fop that loiter'd by;

And, oh! how rudely did it vex

Her fresh pure heart, to mark her sex

Thus outraged, while the noblest came

To gaze and revel in their shame.

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Sim

Sim

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I love this.  A student at the Baghdad Ballet Academy prepares for Sleeping Beauty at the Al-Rashid National Theatre in the city.  How lovely.

 

Photo credit:  SABA KAREEM / REUTERS

Via the BBC website

A ballerina prepares for her role

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