Capybara

[Irmgard]

 

I regret to inform Balletcoforum members that Linda Gainsbury, who wrote here under the pseudonym of Capybara, died on 23 April 2024.  Some of you may know she was diagnosed with terminal cancer a number of years ago and had been continually confounding the doctors by surviving far longer than they thought possible.  She had such amazing willpower and, in the last few years when the medication appeared to have stopped working, she set goals for herself, always around ballet performances, to keep herself going.  Her first goal was to make it to “Mayerling”, which she did, and then to the Skeaping “Giselle”, managing to get to four performances this January.  In the last couple of years, I was very happy to act as her chauffeur for performances whenever I could as we always enjoyed each other’s company.  I know that she intended to get to the matinée of “Swan Lake” on the 20^th but I’m not sure that she made it, as she was admitted to a hospice on the 21^st.  However, she did make it to the Insight on “The Winter’s Tale” on 16 April.  We were scheduled to attend the performance on 15 May together and I expect she had other things planned before then.  Our last messaging was about the National Dance Awards nominations, about which she had her usual insightful comments to make, and I expect she would have had a lot to say about the announcement of the Royal Ballet’s 2024/25 season!

 

Together with her husband Michael, who died of brain cancer during the Covid lockdown, she was a huge supporter of both English National Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and became a well-loved friend to many dancers while never exploiting these treasured friendships.  One such dancer was Vadim Muntagirov (who gave me the sad news about Linda this morning), whom she helped with his autobiography although, as she said, every word and idea in it was his. 

 

As well as supporting ENB and the RB, Linda was also active for a number of years as a director of Morley College, and she and Michael sponsored the Emerging Artist award in the National Dance Awards, setting up the L&M Trust to do this.  She also served on the committee of the London Ballet Circle for many years, and I am sure there are many other organisations who benefitted from her enthusiasm and knowledge.

 

I first met Linda and Michael in 2009 when I was working with ENB on Mary Skeaping’s “Giselle” and they would attend rehearsals at Jay Mews. They then came to see some performances on tour, attending the pre-performance talks I gave, and so I got to know them as very dedicated followers of the ballet.  We gradually became firm friends, and I will very much miss the lively and in-depth discussions I had with both of them about their favourite topic – the ballet.  Although Linda was suffering a lot physically during the last months of her illness, mercifully she remained as sharp as ever mentally, with a fierce determination to live every day to the full. 

 

I know she will be sorely missed by many people in the ballet world and I would encourage those on here who knew her to share their memories of this very lovely lady.

[Fiz]

Oh no! What awful news! Thank you for telling us, Irmgard, and I am so sorry for the loss of your friend. May she rest in peace.

[lady emily]

Oh this is such sad news, and I am so sorry for your loss. My time on her overlapped very briefly with Capybara, but I always enjoyed her insights and comments, which I almost always agreed with! The ballet world has lost a great friend and supporter. May she rest in peace. 

[Anna C]

What tragic news.  Thank you very much for letting us know, @Irmgard.  May Linda rest in eternal peace.

[Bruce Wall]

Such passionate dedication with earnest regard, Linda's voice leaves a reasoned void but oh, so many vivid memories to cherish.  RIP.  

Edited April 30 by Bruce Wall

[Sophoife]

Exactly what @Bruce Wall said.

 

Thank you @Irmgard and may her memory lighten grief.

[Roberta]

Dreadfully sad and shocking news. Lost for words. 

[Sim]

11 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

Such passionate dedication with earnest regard, Barbara's voice leaves a reasoned void but oh, so many vivid memories to cherish.  RIP.  

Barbara?

[bridiem]

So very sad to hear this. Linda/Capybara was so knowledgeable, so interesting, and so brave. She will be greatly missed and is a major loss to the ballet community and to this forum. May she rest in peace.

[Bruce Wall]

3 minutes ago, Sim said:

Barbara?

 

Thanks so for the prompt, Sim.  A simple matter of doing too many things at once .... Was preparing a programme for my project next year in Mexico - and the head of that is Barbara - was typing a note to her at the same time as I saw the sad news about Linda.  Will now have to check what I called her in that email!!!  Heaven only knows.  Again, thanks. 

 

 

Edited April 30 by Bruce Wall

[bangorballetboy]

5 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

Thanks so for the prompt, Sim.  A simple matter of doing too many things at once .... Was preparing a programme for my project next year in Mexico - and the head of that is Barbara - was typing a note to her at the same time as I saw the sad news about Linda.  Will now have to check what I called her in that email!!!  Heaven only knows.  Again, thanks. 

 

 

 

I have to say that Linda would have been one of the first to pounce on that (and that makes me smile, bittersweet)!

[Balletfanp]

I am heartbroken that Linda has gone - I have known about it unofficially for a few days. Over the past few years Linda became a great friend to me - we met via Facebook and the stage door initially, but bonded over our shared love of ballet and our similar opinions on many things. For the past several years we conversed online on a pretty much daily basis about anything and everything as well as ballet. I really valued her experience and opinions and her advice was always worth having. Linda was a very private person, but having got to know her better over time, she became a much-loved friend and I will miss her dearly. My last message was from the hospice she had just gone to and I was hoping to visit her next weekend, but when the messages stopped I knew it wasn’t going to happen 💔😢. Her courage in the face of her long-standing illness was astounding. I was so glad she managed to attend the recent Insight on the Winter’s Tale featuring Vadim and Fumi. She desperately wanted to see his debut as Leontes but I think knew it was unlikely.

 

I won’t say much more because Linda hated fuss and wasn’t keen on drawing attention to herself! But I’m sure we will all miss her posts here - always fair, always balanced and to the point. I am already missing my daily contact with her more than I supposed possible 😢.

Edited April 30 by Balletfanp

[zxDaveM]

That is very sad to hear. Thank you Irmgard for the detailed posting, some of us had been fearing this news, but it is still very sad when it actually arrives.

[li tai po]

Linda and Michael were very dear friends of mine, but even more provided strong emotional and financial support to dancers over decades.

 

She had been admitted to a hospice last Sunday and her last post here was on the following evening, the night before she passed away.  I have been checking this forum daily to see if she posted again.

 

I am too upset to write more at the moment, but I will post a full tribute in due course.

[Bruce Wall]

9 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I have to say that Linda would have been one of the first to pounce on that (and that makes me smile, bittersweet)!

 

And rightly so.  She also would have been wittily understanding.  That was part of her enormous gift.  It is, as stated, a sad loss.  A life certainly to be celebrated.  

[bridiem]

10 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

 I was so glad she managed to attend the recent Insight on the Winter’s Tale featuring Vadim and Fumi. She desperately wanted to see his debut as Leontes but I think knew it was unlikely.

 

I thought I saw her in the audience when I was watching it online. How wonderful that she was able to go to it.

[Richard LH]

This is a real shock for me, and others I expect on the Forum,  who didn't know her diagnosis.  I never met her but we occasionally exchanged private messages, and she was always someone whose opinion and ballet knowledge I greatly valued and respected.  Very sad...she will be greatly missed. 

[Sim]

This is such sad news.  Even when it is expected, it doesn't diminish the sadness of loss.

 

I have known Linda for a few years, mainly through this forum, and then meeting at the ROH or wherever ENB might have been.  We have always messaged each other on a regular basis, and she often sent me messages of support when things on the forum were nasty or difficult.  We shared a love of the same dancers, and had the same outlook about many things, both balletic and otherwise.  In the past couple of weeks we were in close contact, and on the 21st she told me she had gone into the hospice for what she hoped would be a 'short term stay.'  Sadly, that wasn't to be the case (although, knowing Linda, she might have known that her time was coming and she wanted it to be a short goodbye).  On the 23rd, I sent her a message asking how she was doing, but sadly that was the day she left us.

 

In one of her last messages to me she said that the one thing she regretted was not being able to see Onegin next season.  She said she would have loved to see some new casts, and especially Vadim in the title role.  I told her a few months ago that on May 4th, thanks to someone's generosity, I will be sitting in the front row of the stalls to watch Vadim and Fumi debut as a pair in Swan Lake.  She said she would also be sitting there if she could.  Sadly, she can't, so I am sure I will feel her presence there in row A, where she sat for so many years as an avid attendee of her beloved artform.  I am also sure that Vadim will be thinking of her, and miss seeing her sitting there in the front row, supporting him as always. 

 

As with others, I was astounded by how she kept defying the doctors with her illness.  Mind over matter was something that Linda truly embodied.  She got to as many ballets as she could, even when she was feeling lousy, and I was so happy to see her smiling face in the audience at the Insight on April 16th.  A week before she left us, she was still able to get to the ROH and derive so much pleasure from being there.  She often used to open her messages with "I'm still here", and when I used to tell her how inspirational she was, she wouldn't hear of it.  

 

I for one will miss her messages, her support and her sense of humour.  I will always deeply appreciate the support, insightful contributions and encouragement she always gave to this forum, from the very beginning.  I will always appreciate, and never forget, the support and encouragement she always gave to my daughter with her ballet blog and then her podcast with Brandon Lawrence.  Let's face it, I will always miss her, full stop.  She leaves a huge void in the lives of all who knew and loved her, and in the wider ballet community as a whole.  Her steadfast support of companies and individuals has been widely and deeply appreciated, and has achieved much.

 

I would love to think that she is with Michael again, and I know that she will always be in the hearts of all those she loved, helped and encouraged.  My condolences go to all her friends and family.  RIP dear Linda, you will be deeply missed.

[Scheherezade]

How very sad. I have never met Linda but loved to read her informed and considered views. 
 

My thoughts are with those who loved her, and whom she counted as friends. It is never possible to be prepared for loss. May she rest in peace. 

[LinMM]

Oh dear have just read this news on the train up to London  and was only thinking yesterday that hadn’t heard anything from her about the new ballet season!  
So very sad to hear she has died as always enjoyed her posts and it was obvious she was very knowledgeable 

I think we both happened to share

a love of Cesar Corrales from back in ENB days and will think of her on the 15th when also going to see him in Winters Tale. 
I didn’t know we also shared a first name!! 
Such sad news. 
 

[art_enthusiast]

Very sad to hear this. I really enjoyed her insightful posts on this forum.

 

I will be thinking of her when I see the Winter's Tale this week. 

[Emeralds]

Very sad to hear this news about @capybara. As a recent joiner I didn't know Linda as well as long term members but as I got to know her from her writing, I was very impressed by her long time support of the dancers, graduates and companies in Britain, especially her support of smaller, less high profile but diligent and talented dancers, projects or companies, and her encouragement of those who supported them. I also remember her diligence in painstakingly typing out casting information for fellow readers who would benefit from having it to book travel, take time off,  &/or book accommodation for attending performances.

 

Very sad to hear of her diagnosis and passing, and not to have had the opportunity to know Linda longer. Her love for dance and love for sharing the joy of the art form with others will shine on. I hope Linda derived much comfort from the performances and events she was able to enjoy in person or watch online in the last months of her illness, and I thank her for all her hard work and kindness in providing information to benefit others, even though she was ill. My condolences to Linda's loved ones and may she rest in peace. Thank you Linda, aka Capybara. 

Edited April 30 by Emeralds

[Ian Macmillan]

I have only known Linda through her most distinctive username.  She was certainly an early Forum member and, in all possibility, was a ballet.co contributor as well.  As is already becoming clear, she will be greatly missed.

 

Requiescat in pace.  

[Balletfanp]

27 minutes ago, Sim said:

This is such sad news.  Even when it is expected, it doesn't diminish the sadness of loss.

 

I have known Linda for a few years, mainly through this forum, and then meeting at the ROH or wherever ENB might have been.  We have always messaged each other on a regular basis, and she often sent me messages of support when things on the forum were nasty or difficult.  We shared a love of the same dancers, and had the same outlook about many things, both balletic and otherwise.  In the past couple of weeks we were in close contact, and on the 21st she told me she had gone into the hospice for what she hoped would be a 'short term stay.'  Sadly, that wasn't to be the case (although, knowing Linda, she might have known that her time was coming and she wanted it to be a short goodbye).  On the 23rd, I sent her a message asking how she was doing, but sadly that was the day she left us.

 

In one of her last messages to me she said that the one thing she regretted was not being able to see Onegin next season.  She said she would have loved to see some new casts, and especially Vadim in the title role.  I told her a few months ago that on May 4th, thanks to someone's generosity, I will be sitting in the front row of the stalls to watch Vadim and Fumi debut as a pair in Swan Lake.  She said she would also be sitting there if she could.  Sadly, she can't, so I am sure I will feel her presence there in row A, where she sat for so many years as an avid attendee of her beloved artform.  I am also sure that Vadim will be thinking of her, and miss seeing her sitting there in the front row, supporting him as always. 

 

As with others, I was astounded by how she kept defying the doctors with her illness.  Mind over matter was something that Linda truly embodied.  She got to as many ballets as she could, even when she was feeling lousy, and I was so happy to see her smiling face in the audience at the Insight on April 16th.  A week before she left us, she was still able to get to the ROH and derive so much pleasure from being there.  She often used to open her messages with "I'm still here", and when I used to tell her how inspirational she was, she wouldn't hear of it.  

 

I for one will miss her messages, her support and her sense of humour.  I will always deeply appreciate the support, insightful contributions and encouragement she always gave to this forum, from the very beginning.  I will always appreciate, and never forget, the support and encouragement she always gave to my daughter with her ballet blog and then her podcast with Brandon Lawrence.  Let's face it, I will always miss her, full stop.  She leaves a huge void in the lives of all who knew and loved her, and in the wider ballet community as a whole.  Her steadfast support of companies and individuals has been widely and deeply appreciated, and has achieved much.

 

I would love to think that she is with Michael again, and I know that she will always be in the hearts of all those she loved, helped and encouraged.  My condolences go to all her friends and family.  RIP dear Linda, you will be deeply missed.

That is a beautiful tribute, @Sim, and I couldn’t have put it better myself.

 

She was really hoping to see Vadim and Fumi this weekend and I will be struggling to hold it together as her usual seat is right in my line of view from the Stalls Circle - we would wave and I would pop down for a chat in the interval.

 

One of the things I’m glad about is that she managed to pack in as many performances as she possibly could, right up until the end. And how delighted she was that her longstanding campaign (along with some others on this forum) to allow flowers onstage for the male dancers finally bore fruit!

 

[Jan McNulty]

Although not unexpected I am deeply saddened by this news.

 

I've always enjoyed reading Linda's posts with her deep and obvious love of ballet, her erudition on the subject and her robust support for all the companies.

 

As with Sim we had messaged conversations and I knew her from LBC zooms and from my occasional forays to ROH.  I will miss her in all of those capacities.

 

On a personal note, when Linda realised I was missing performances last spring due to illness she messaged me and was incredibly supportive.  She was open about her own diagnosis and that she had way outlived the doctors' expectations.

 

I will greatly miss her messages and her contributions to this forum. 

 

RIP Linda

[Suffolkgal]

My condolences to all who knew this lady. I never met her but always enjoyed her posts. She loved life, that’s clear, and ballet! 

[fromthebalcony]

I am so sorry to hear this news. May she rest in peace. Condolences to those who knew her.

[Odyssey]

I was so sorry to hear this sad news. I will miss seeing her distinctive user name which would appear regularly across a wide range of topics. . Although I didn’t know her personally, I felt I did because we seemed to share many similar thoughts, and her observations on my posts were always welcome and supportive.  Thank you Capybara. 

[Dawnstar]

I'm very sorry to read this. As far as I know I never met her in person but I have enjoyed her posts for the years since I joined the Forum. I am so sorry for her that she wasn't able to live a few more weeks to see the upcoming performances that she wanted to see in the rest of this season.

[FionaM]

I too am in shock. Like others here, I very much appreciated capybara’s comments and insights on this forum over a number of years.  
 

We met first in person at a visit of the London Ballet Circle to watch classes taught by Vadim at the RBS studios at Barons Court.  How apt that seems now that she was also his ghostwriter.  She supported his publication in every way possible. She was even involved in such details as arranging deliveries to ROH and abroad.  All this whilst coping with her illness.  
 

We met often since at ballet performances and events in multiple venues across London, and I know she also enjoyed travelling abroad to elite ballet venues with her husband prior to Covid.  A particular highlight was Mayerling at the Stanislavsky in Moscow where they’d been hoping to see Sergei Polunin in the main role but their tickets turned out to be for the alternative cast of Igor Zelensky who impressed them both with his considered portrayal.

 

A more recent trip which brought much joy to Linda was to Cape Town in summer 2022 to see Fumi Kaneko and Vadim in Romeo & Juliet with the local ballet company. 

 

She was a hugely capable person and has inspired me in many ways.  I will carry her love and respect for ballet with me.

 

I have no doubt that her love of ballet extended her life. 
 

My condolences to her family and anyone who knew her.  A great loss to the ballet world.  RIP

[LinMM]

It will definitely be very strange not to see her name on the Forum any more as she was such a frequent contributor. 
When I first joined the Forum I thought her user name was unusual and somebody told me that it was the name of an animal native to Australia so I looked it up to see what it looked like! So learned something new. 
For this reason I always imagined she came from Australia or New Zealand. 

 

[Nina99]

I was very sorry to read this news. I didn’t know Linda Gainsbury myself, but I remember seeing her when I went to see Vadim’s interview and book signing at the London ballet circle evening. From the beautiful tributes paid to her, she sounds like a wonderful person and was certainly a true friend to Vadim especially in the way she was instrumental in getting his book published. My deepest condolences to him and all her other friends and family.

[Angela]

It's strange how you can miss someone whom you did not know personally, not even by her real name or photo - just by a big green C, a funny alias, and so, so many insightful and prudent words she wrote about ballet. May she rest in peace. Condolences to all here who knew her.