David Wall - A Service of Thanksgiving

[Jamesrhblack]

A brief line to say how moving the Service of Thanksgiving for David Wall was this morning at an absolutely packed St Martin in the Fields. Some beautiful piano music from Henry Roach and eloquent addresses from, in particular, Patricia Linton, Lady MacMillan and James Streeter. He was one of the idols of my dance youth (we all wanted to grow up to be him as Junior Associates of the RBS forty year and more ago) and was very pleased that I managed to attend.

[Sim]

I am so pleased that David got the service he deserved.  He was a lovely man, and a brilliant dancer and actor.  He is much missed.

[elisabeth]

My friend and I also thought it was a beautiful service in a suitably dramatic setting.  The choir sang a very moving version of John Rutter's 'For the Beauty of the Earth' but perhaps even more poignant were the ballet extracts wonderfully played on the piano by Henry Roach. It was also touching to hear from David's friends and fellow dancers personal reminiscences, not only at the height of his dancing and coaching career but also from the priest who only knew him during the last 9 weeks of his life.  His wife, children and grandchildren must have drawn great comfort from not only the service but the huge numbers of fellow dancers, actors and admirers who attended.  

[MAB]

Sadly the demands of work meant I couldn't attend, so thank you for writing about the service.

[alison]

Thanks you James and elisabeth for reporting on the service.  Perhaps some of it will find its way into print in due course. 

If the Rutter is the one I think it is, I love it.

[Jamesrhblack]

Sadly the demands of work meant I couldn't attend, so thank you for writing about the service.

I have a copy of the Order of Service and could try to scan if that would be of interest....

[MAB]

Thank you, that s very kind.

[Thecatsmother]

He was a truly inspiring dancer and teacher whose legacy shall live on in the people whose lives he touched. I feel v fortunate to have been taught by him and my thoughts go out to Alfreda and her family at this time.

[Ian Macmillan]

Having been away since Thursday, I'd just like to add a word to say that the Service was, indeed, impressive.  I hardly knew David, though I had been introduced by my wife who knew him from the time he first joined the RB, so I was there very much as an outside observer.  In that capacity, the words of those who spoke in tribute made it clear how deeply liked he was by those who knew him, and we would all be fortunate to have ourselves remembered with anything like the wit and profundity used by Christopher Lawrence-Price and Father Joseph McCullough.  The congregation filled the church, with dancers way back at least to the 1950s, with present and past Directors of both RB and ENB there, together with senior representatives from the RAD.

 

As a footnote, Lady MacMillan revealed that her husband planned to ditch the 'drunken pdd' in Manon, which he felt was not working, until David and Monica Mason performed it at the General Rehearsal and brought the house down.  Is that widely known?