Capybara

[CCL]

I am very sorry to hear this news. Thank you to all those of you who have shared your very moving thoughts and memories of Capybara. My sincere sympathy to her family and friends.

[Missfrankiecat]

I too am one of those who did not have the pleasure of meeting Linda in person but enjoyed and learnt from her post in the short time I have been a member of the forum.  Now, I can see from the heartfelt tributes and remembrances here what an exceptional person she was and how greatly she is missed.  May her memory be eternal and condolences to those to whom she was a dear friend.

[LBC]

 

The Trustees of the London Ballet Circle are all deeply saddened to hear the news of Linda Gainsbury’s passing. 

 

Linda was a tour de force for us handling all facets of our organisation for over 5 years as a trustee.  When she became ill and stepped down from her responsibilities, a number of new trustees were brought on board to take over all the roles she had managed alone.  

 

Since retiring from the LBC, Linda  continued to support each of us with advice, suggestions for improvements, and much appreciated words of thanks after successful events.  

 

Members will have seen Linda via Zoom interviewing many dancers for the LBC In Conversation events during the COVID pandemic. 
 

A fuller tribute will follow in our next newsletter in June.

 

She will be greatly missed by both trustees and members.

[Linnzi5]

This is very sad news. I enjoyed her posts here very much, though I didn't know Linda in person.  My condolences to her many friends here   

[Mora]

11 hours ago, Emeralds said:

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. 

Same for me.

Knowing that she was such a generous soul and suffered so much makes me feel sad.

My condolences to her family and loved ones, especially from this forum.

[Sabine0308]

I'm very sad about these news, I always appreciated her insightful and respectful posts/replies.

Reading all the posts here made me realize the huge void she left. Wonderful contributions, she will not be forgotten ❤️ ♥️

May she rest in peace.

[Lisa O`Brien]

So sorry to hear this about Capybara. RIP.

[Minder]

I'm saddened by the news. I talked with her many times; such knowledge and expertise and the legacy of her support for ballet organisations and dance awards will live on.

[FionaM]

tribute from Laurretta Summerscales on her Instagram story 

https://www.instagram.com/stories/laurretta.s/3358216199382147305?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=NXVqMnQ3NWVxNmtz

[MAB]

I'm genuinely touched by the sincere tributes I'm reading here.  i had heard Linda had taken a turn for the worse but hadn't had further news until yesterday.  Despite her own health problems she contacted me a couple of weeks ago to wish me well after a recent operation, she was always so kind and thoughtful.

 

We met at the ballet of course, the Bolshoi in Paris in 1991.  We shared a love of Gediminas Taranda.  Whenever I went out of town to watch ENB, Linda and Michael were always there, they lived in Wales then so ballet going was more of an effort than it was for me, but they were completely dedicated to the company.

 

I always loved reading Capybara's posts, always thoroughly informed and always sympathetic to the artists she wrote about.  She is a great loss to dancers and fellow fans alike.  Her passion for ballet was profound and that's what I'll always remember about her.

 

Sleep peacefully Linda.

 

Mary B.

[Blossom]

I’d never met @capybara and wasn’t aware of her illness but have always enjoyed her posts so this has come as somewhat of a shock having had a number of days away from the forum (in fact, there was a mention in another thread which indicated what had happened before I found this one).

 

From reading the tributes, she was a lady we might all aspire to be. 

[DelphiumBlue]

Also very sorry to hear the sad news. When I joined the forum @Capybara’s posts always stood out for me. I enjoyed reading them and learned so much . 

[LinMM]

Yes I too found I wanted to see what her posts would say about issues so would look out for her name as you sensed her passion for ballet ran very deep and was central to her life. 

It is strange this Forum there are many like Capybara that you have never met but still feel some sort of affinity with after many years of sharing posts etc. So do genuinely feel a loss when their presence is no longer there. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fiz]

Exactly, @LinMM!

[Pas de Quatre]

For me too, although I never met Capybara, I looked out for her posts. She will be missed RIP.

[Christine]

I, too, am very sorry to hear this. Yes, share Angela's feeling when she wrote, it is strange how you can miss somebody whom you've never met in person. Her posts and replies to posts though made her feel very real for me. Also, I admired her sense of justice and fairness. Her voice on BCF will be missed. Condolences to all who knew her.  

[bangorballetboy]

A couple of pictures I like from NDAs past.

 

 

[LinMM]

Very nice piccies BBB 

I recognise those pink trousers …I have the very  same ones! 
 

[Sim]

With the lovely Laurretta’s permission, here is the Instagram tribute posted by Fiona above:

 

[Kate_N]

Oh what sad, sad news. Thank you to those who had the privilege to know @capybara in real life for giving a sense of her presence and humanity to those of us who know her only via the screen. She will be missed.

[li tai po]

Linda Gainsbury was a tough lady, but positive and optimistic in her approach to life.

 

She ended her professional career as a senior education advisor to the Welsh Government, based in Cardiff.  Her husband, Michael, was a secondary school headteacher in Tenby, Pembrokeshire.  They lived in Pontardawe in the Swansea Valley, half way between.  Jonathan Cope;'s father was headteacher of one of the primary schools feeding into Michael's school  As a bolt hole  they rented a cottage from the National Trust on the Stourhead estate in Wiltshire.

 

Linda and Michael took early retirement in order to travel.  They divided their time between world travel and ballet, settling in a flat in Barons Court, where they saw Monica Mason passing below their window every day to work.  They were more than regulars.  They were patrons of ENB and the Royal Opera House.

 

They went all over the world, but not without mishap.  In 2010, they lost a holiday, when their flight to Hawaii was cancelled, due to disruption from the volcanic ash of the Iceland volcano.  A cruise to Antarctica was scuppered by a violent Atlantic storm and the liner limped back to port.  Alas, they were never to see Antarctica.

 

Back in the Wayne Eagling years, as patrons of ENB, they were entitled to ring up the Friends Office and to sit in on rehearsals.  The deal was that they enquired what was on and selected the rehearsal of most interest to them.  They soon bucked the system.  A dancer gave them the password to the intranet.  They would go online, select the days and the rehearsals they wanted to see and then ring up in all innocence, feigning surprise and opting for their pre-selected choices.

 

Linda was a great leader and organiser.  When Ivan Putrov returned from a long injury in the role of James in La Sylphide, the curtain went up discovering him asleep in a chair.  Linda instructed us all that entry applause was inappropriate, but we would applaud when he woke up and got up out of the chair.  We duly complied.

 

She organised several major flower throws to mark retirements, getting into cahoots with one of the ENB dancers, to organise jointly the tributes to Elena Glurjidze at the Coliseum and unforgettably to Daria Klimentova at the Royal Albert Hall.  This amazing send off and the fruits of Linda's labour may be seen on you tube.

 

 

[li tai po]

At least twice, she submitted recommendations for deserving ballet personalities to the Honours Committee, painstakingly collating a portfolio of references and letters of support from ballet directors, principal dancers, members of the corps de ballet, critics, experts and audience members.

 

Linda and Michael travelled for ballet as well.  They followed ENB all over England.  We met up for a gala in Suttgart.  After Nancy Osbaldeston left ENB to join the Royal Ballet of Flanders, they went to Antwerp to see her debut as Kitri.  They made several trips to Amsterdam, to follow Ernst Meisner's career as a dancer and then as choreographer.  Part of their enjoyment was to attend class and rehearsals, en route for the performance.  Linda was particularly moved by Meisner's Canta ballet, which he created for 50 dancers and 55 disabled drivers in their small cars, performed in a disused gas-holder.

 

Linda told me of her diagnosis well over 10 years ago during an ENB interval at Sadler's Wells Theatre.  Michael said they would give up travel and his job now was to look after Linda.  Linda fought her illness with steely determination and never complained.  Although it became increasingly difficult to travel, Linda persevered.  She and Michael w=ent to Kyiv to see Men in Motion, which was particularly challenging for her, although Michael was there to support.

 

Linda began to devote more of her time to ballet domestically, where she joined the committees of both the London Ballet Circle and The Ballet Association.  She brought her thorough administrative skills to the service of both organisations and was able to exploit her close connections with a wide range of dancers and dance professionals.  Latterly, she withdrew from these committees, ahead of her failing health, but with characteristic foresight, she tried to set in train effective succession planning.

 

As Linda and Michael befriended a widening group of dancers, they were able to focus on philanthropy and emotional support.  They sponsored one of the National Dance awards, but anonymously.  They donated their air miles to fly overseas stars into London for charitable galas.  They stored a large mound of ballet scenery in their garage at Barons Court.  They developed a deal with overseas summer schools, whereby they would fund the travel, if the school would provide a scholarship toward fees and accommodation.  Several ex Royal Ballet School students, now established in overseas companies, took part in this route.  Most of the support was anonymous.

 

When dancers were facing difficulties in their professional or personal lives, they provided counselling.  Linda, with her HR background, steered more than one dancer through contractual difficulties.  She assisted with drafting CVs and job applications.  They followed the careers of many dancers and were delighted to mark a major debut in Liverpool or Bristol with flowers and a big fuss at the stage door.  Linda observed that, even if the director was not there to see the performance, they were there to acknowledge the debut with enthusiasm.  They also provided theatre and opera tickets, to help young dancers encounter the wider theatrical world in London, and paid membership fees for dancers to join the Wigmore Hall and the Donmar Warehouse.  Linda wrote formal references in support of at least two dancers, who were applying for British citizenship.  After he retired from dancing, former ENB principal, Zdenek Konvalina, established himself as a professional artist in Berlin - and they purchased paintings from him.

 

 

Edited May 2 by li tai po

[li tai po]

Linda and Michael supported two generations of dancers.  Linda was confident with social media, avidly following her friends, after they had moved on from England and from performing.  She followed their triumphs and successes, their students, their creations.  She was always a step ahead of me with any news.

 

In the last few years, their friendship with Vadim Muntagirov and some of his close colleagues brought them much joy.  It began in the ENB studios at Jay Mews, when Vadim was preparing for his debut in Giselle.  Over the ensuing years, Linda was able to follow him overseas, to Vilnius, Vienna, Cape Town and elsewhere.

 

Ironically it was Michael, once hale and hearty, who succumbed to cancer, in the brain.  Linda became his carer and he grew increasingly frail.  They still made the effort to meet Ernst Meisner, every time he came to the ROH to see a show.  They enjoyed the visits of his Junior Company to the Linbury, even if Michael did not have the strength to stay the entire evening.

 

In 2020 Michael decided to stop his medication and to let the disease take its course.  He was taking painkillers and in early March he was admitted to a hospice in Chiswick.  Three days later, the coronavirus lockdown was imposed and for three months, Linda was unable to visit Michael, although she rang him every morning.  It was a lonely time for Linda, but Vadim began visiting her frequently at her flat in Barons Court.  This inspired her to interview (? interrogate) him about his life and move on to preparing and publishing his autobiography.  Another of Linda's friends, the ex-ENB dancer, Amber Hunt, assisted with a selection of photographs.  Linda was reunited with Michael when lockdown was lifted, but he died a few days later.

 

Linda was radiant at the launch of Vadim's book at the Royal Ballet School, frail, but fulfilled.  I said to her that Michael would be very excited.  She told me that he had followed the progress of the book closely, during her phone calls with him at the hospice.

 

Linda kept going, enjoying Vadim's performances and hanging on for every next show.  She was very excited by his dramatic performance in Mayerling, recounting every detail of his interpretation.  She was speechless and tearful after the first Manon with Fumi and Vadim, exhausted, but so energised that she could hardly take herself home.  She was very much looking forward to Vadim's debut as Leontes.

 

Linda was a regular on this forum, sometimes posting several times a day.  A lady of firm opinions herself, she was always interested in the views of others.  She often incepted new threads, anticipating casting announcements, promotions or first nights of a new run.  Her final posts and likes were on 22 April; she passed away the following morning.

 

There was no funeral for Michael.  He expressed a wish for no fuss.  I expect Linda requested the same.

 

Linda was an inspirational lady, an unswerving friend, giving wise, but uncompromising advice.  She did not suffer fools gladly, but she was compassionate, understanding and caring.  I hope that the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet will mark her passing.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 2 by li tai po

[Candleque]

1 hour ago, li tai po said:

 

She organised several major flower throws to mark retirements

How I wish we could do a flower throw for Linda. Thank you @capybara. I learned so much from you 🌸 💗 🌸 🌸 💗 🌸🌸 💗 🌸

[Sim]

What a lovely tribute to an extraordinary lady, @li tai po   Thank you. 

[Blossom]

Thank you @li tai po, a life to truly celebrate. 

[Balletfanp]

Thank you @li tai po - this just sums up what an amazing (and amazingly generous) person Linda, along with Michael, was.

[LinMM]

Thankyou for such a detailed tribute to Capybara Li tai po. 
I had no idea of the true extent of her involvement in the Ballet World. 
She will indeed be sadly missed by so many who knew her personally as well as those of us here who did not. 

[Scheherezade]

Yes, it was lovely to read your tribute to Linda, @li tai po. A life well lived in every sense, sharing her good fortune with others and bearing her trials with dignity and resilience. Truly inspirational. Thank you for sharing this with us. 

[MildConcern]

@li tai po, thank you for such a heartfelt tribute. Reading it, I really felt the full force of Linda's love and contribution to the art form and I'm amazed at the extent of her kind hearted support and philanthropy. A life of real fulfilment and it is evident she touched many of those around her. I only ever enjoyed reading her posts on this Forum, and yet I still feel the void she leaves.

[Sophoife]

Thank you @li tai po those posts really shine a light on a wonderful person who loved something and did her utmost to share its appeal with as many as possible. Let her memory lighten grief.

[Missfrankiecat]

What an inspirational life -  Thank you to @li tai po for sharing this tribute and testimony to a life well lived, enjoyed to the full, giving support to others and living in their hearts and eternal memories.

[Lizbie1]

I haven't posted before because it's all been said so well by everyone else, but li tai po's posts made me think how wonderful it is that someone can post here and never let slip her close personal connections with and material contributions to the British ballet scene. It was plain that she knew an awful lot about ballet and went to many performances, but not once was there any bragging or pretension.

 

Some posters over the years have claimed great depth of knowledge (and were subsequently found out), or hinted at mysterious sources (which of course they were unable to reveal); Capybara's style was the exact opposite. We should all learn something from that.

Edited May 3 by Lizbie1
Very minor edit