DOCSLIB.ORG

Study Guide B Y K at E R Ay N O R

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Study Guide B Y K at E R Ay N O R A Thousand Encores: The BalleTs Russes in ausTRalia A Study guide b y K At e R Ay n o R http://www.metromagazine.com.au http://www.theeducationshop.com.au A Thousand Encores tells the fascinating and important story of how one of the greatest ballet companies of the twentieth century – the celebrated Ballets Russes – came to Australia and awoke the nation, transforming the cultural landscape of conservative 1930s Australia and leaving a rich legacy that lasts to this day. N 1936, the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo stepped off a boat into the Ibright Australian sunlight. With avant- garde music by great composers like Stravinsky, and exotic sets and cos- tumes designed by leading modernist artists, the Ballets Russes was a sensa- tion. Over five years from 1936 to 1940 they came to Australia three times, win- ning the hearts and minds of Australian audiences and ultimately sowing the Curriculum links seeds for Australian ballet today. A Thousand Encores should be compulsory viewing for all secondary school teachers and A Thousand Encores is brought to life costumes for the ballet Icare fostered students with a genuine interest in the history of Australian art and culture. The Ballets using a rich archival resource. Australia a lifelong involvement with ballet and Russes tours laid the foundations for our own has the largest collection of Ballets theatre, and changed the direction of involvement in ballet as an art form. Indeed, Russes footage in the world and an im- his art. the world-renowned The Australian Ballet pressive photographic record, with the would be impossible to imagine without this most famous pictures taken by a young At the end of their Australian tour in history. In addition, the Ballets Russes offered Australian audiences an entrée to the great Max Dupain. His glamorous shots 1940, a number of Ballets Russes modernist artists of the European avant- transformed the dancers into overnight dancers chose not to return to war- garde, and this film is wonderful in the way celebrities. Seeing this material and torn Europe. They established ballet in which it ultimately celebrates all the arts. hearing the vivid recollections of former schools and companies in their new A Thousand Encores has relevance Ballets Russes ballerinas (now in their country, setting the stage for profes- to the following Key Learning Areas: Art 90s) and Australians who witnessed sional ballet in Australia today and (Dance, Music, Theatre, Art and Design), Cultural Studies, History (Australian and the ballets in the 1930s, the excitement igniting a passion for dance in future 1930s–1940s) and SOSE/HSIE. It could also fit and impact of this remarkable company generations of Australians. into themed English units focusing on identity emerges. Despite the conservative (cultural, historical, artistic), character and climate of the time, with the prevailling A Thousand Encores travels from the relationships. focus on sport, rather than high art, past to the present, weaving history Victorian teachers are encouraged to Australians were hungry to experience with a contemporary tale. We follow ac- contact The Australian Ballet for information about their engaging education programs. the best in avant-garde music, dance claimed choreographer Graeme Murphy and art – all that the Ballets Russes as he returns to his old company, The embodied. Seeing the radical sets and Australian Ballet, to breathe new life into costumes of European modernists like perhaps the most famous Ballets Russ- of this classic ballet. The film follows Miró, Picasso and de Chirico inspired a es creation of all, The Firebird. Based the sometimes stormy process from generation of Australia’s greatest artists, on a Russian fairytale, The Firebird was rehearsal through to opening night. The SCREEN EDUCATION including Grace Cossington Smith, first performed in Paris in 1910 to great Australian Ballet, Murphy, Vernon and Jeffrey Smart and Sidney Nolan. Some acclaim. Murphy and his partner Janet the magical Firebird ballet that finally went on to add their own unique talents Vernon are very much aware of the emerges, are all part of a living legacy to Ballets Russes productions. For a weight of history and the huge expec- that goes back to those 1930s Ballets young Nolan, designing the set and tations that greet any new production Russes tours of Australia. 2 Above: The cover of The home Magazine, 1 March 1940, feaTuring TaTiana riabouchinska wiTh her husband david Lichine. Although riabouchinska was known for her speed and grace, she was aLso The ModeL for The hippopoTaMus baLLerina Miss upanova in The walt disney aniMaTed fiLM FanTasia (1940). perforMing arTs coLLecTion MeLbourne. 1: TaMara Tchinarova as zobeide in scheherazade. Tchinarova caMe To ausTraLia in 1936 on The firsT baLLeTs russes Tour, sTayed in ausTraLia afTer The end of The Tours and Married acTor, peTer finch (© naTionaL Library of ausTraLia) 2: igor youskeviTh as The harLequin in carnaval in 1936 or 1937 (© Max dupain) 1 DISCUSSION POINTS & ACTIVITIES 2 The main aim of this guide is to present a wide variety of teaching and learning opportunities based on the film, the history of these two fascinating ranging in sophistication and complexity. Teachers are men and their turbulent relationship. encouraged to pick and choose tasks that suit the particular • ‘Stravinsky’s name should be prominent in any account of the interests and abilities of their students and the timeframes legendary Ballets Russes.’ Discuss. within which they are operating – not to work through the • ‘Diaghilev’s true talent was as a guide systematically. Most of the activities target literacy “collector of geniuses”.’ Discuss. outcomes: speaking and listening, reading and writing. There • What can you find out about the are also activities that address film analysis, ICT and creative magazine Diaghilev founded, World of Art? thinking. Some of the statements presented in quotation • In what ways could Diaghilev’s marks are intended to be thought-provoking or controversial Ballets Russes be considered to and can be used in a number of ways: as a focus for embody the principles of ‘total thea- discussion, debate or oral presentations; and as a direction tre’? (Consider Graeme Murphy’s for further research, analysis or creative writing tasks. comments on Firebird’s blend of music and dance: ‘It’s no longer dance or music, it’s something even more communicative and important, the Flaming Stars of the Consult the Resources section at something sublime that arises out ballets Russes the end of this guide for some pos- of their encounter.’ Murphy speaks sible starting points. of ‘a mosaic of sounds’, where ‘These fascinating people from the • Diaghilev and Stravinsky’s relation- the music, the movement and the other side Of the world.’ – Max Dupain ship was intensely productive on dancers’ bodies form symbiotic an artistic level, but stormy and relationships alongside the other • Compile a list of the key figures tempestuous on a personal level. crucial elements: lighting, sets and in the Ballets Russes. Divide the They died estranged and many costumes.) class into small groups to re- years apart, but, perhaps fittingly, • Nicolette Fraillon, The Australian search one of these figures and they were reunited in death, buried Ballet’s Music Director and Chief present their findings to the class. just metres away from each other Conductor, describes Diaghilev as SCREEN EDUCATION Consider: Sergei Diaghilev, Igor on the island of San Michele in Ven- ‘an incredible force majeure’. What Stravinsky, Michel Fokine, Colonel ice. Stravinsky once said: ‘Diaghilev do you think she means by this? Wassily de Basil, René Blum, Léon and I were on good terms and bad • There were in effect two Ballets Bakst, Alexandre Benois, Léonide terms, in good times and bad times, Russes companies: Diaghilev’s and Massine, George Balanchine, but, after all, he was my brother.’ the later Monte Carlo company of Serge Lifar and Vaslav Nijinsky. Conduct some further research into de Basil and Blum. What continui- 3 1 ties and differences can you trace between these two versions of the troupe? • The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo premiered in Paris in 1932. Why was the company called ‘de Basil’s kin- 1: hoLLywood pubLiciTy shoT of irina baronova, who sTarred dergarten’ prior to this performance in severaL Movies, incLuding and what happened afterwards? (De Florian and a Train oF evenTs. Basil recruited a number of teenage (© perforMing arTs coLLecTion ballerinas for the refashioned com- MeLbourne) 2: irina baronova in chorearTium, eiTher 1938 or 1939 pany and the press were sceptical (© Max dupain) about this, but the premiere was a 2 huge success.) • ‘The key to understanding the significance of the original Bal- ing of ballet changed since the ‘People After sixTy years still remem- lets Russes lies in identifying the 1930s and 1940s? Has the audi- ber uS AnD I thinK that’S A wOnderfuL founding impulse in visual arts and ence for ballet changed? thing to be very prouD Of. The Ballets design – think of Bakst and Benois • The early Ballets Russes dancers Russes: wE made A colossal differ- – not primarily in dance.’ Discuss. were predominantly trained in the Ence.’ – Anna Volkova • Michel Fokine, The Firebird’s cho- style of the Imperial Russian Ballet. reographer, is credited with fusing What does this style emphasise? • Mention is made in the film of the acting and dance, and extending Choose one of the key ballet hardships endured by the dancers the limits of ballet as an art form. training techniques (for example, on tour (‘tours of hell’, to quote Compile a list of his major works Cecchetti, Vaganova method, Nicolette Fraillon): the frantic pace, and achievements. Bournonville School, Balanchine the long hours on trains and the • Who were the Baby Ballerinas and or Royal Academy of Dance), and tremendous dedication required.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by eScholarship - University of California UC Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Modern Physis of Léonide Massine: Corporeality in a Postwar Era Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8vf939db Author Vallicella, Lauren Elda Publication Date 2018 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara The Modern Physis of Léonide Massine: Corporeality in a Postwar Era A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Theater Studies by Lauren Elda Vallicella Committee in charge: Professor Ninotchka D. Bennahum, Chair Professor Leo Cabranes-Grant Professor Anurima Banerji, University of California Los Angeles December 2018 The dissertation of Lauren Elda Vallicella is approved. _____________________________________________ Anurima Banerji _____________________________________________ Leo Cabranes-Grant _____________________________________________ Ninotchka D. Bennahum, Committee Chair December 2018 The Modern Physis of Léonide Massine: Corporeality in a Postwar Era Copyright © 2018 by Lauren Elda Vallicella iii ACNOWLEDGMENTS The writing and research of this dissertation would not have been possible without the guidance, support, knowledge, and encouragement of myriad individuals. Foremost, I give my deepest gratitude to my committee members Anurima Banerji, Leo Cabranes-Grant, and my Chair Ninotchka Bennahum. Through directed readings, graduate seminars, and numerous conversations, each committee member has shaped my understanding of Performance Studies and Dance History in relation to theories such as Post-Structuralism, Phenomenology, Psychoanalysis, Embodiment, the Post Human, Affect, and “Otherness.” Dr. Banerji has helped me to approach Western ideologies (like Modernism) with a critical lens, and to write with more nuance and cultural specificity.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Kit for Ballets Russes, Presented by Capri Releasing
    PRESENTS BALLETS RUSSES A film by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine. A fifty-year journey through the lives of the revolutionary artists who transformed dance. Running Time: 120 Minutes Media Contact: Anna Maria Muccilli AM Public Relations 1200 Bay St., Suite 900 Toronto, Ontario, M5R 2A5 416.969.9930 x 231 [email protected] For photography, please visit: http://www.caprifilms.com/capri_pressmaterial.html Geller/Goldfine P R O D U C T I O N S Ballets Russes Synopsis Ego, politics, war, money, fame, glamour, love, betrayal, grace… and dance. Ballets Russes is a feature-length documentary covering more than fifty years in the lives of a group of revolutionary artists. It tells the story of the extraordinary blend of Russian, American, European and Latin American dancers who, in collaboration with the greatest choreographers, composers and designers of the first half of the 20th century, transformed ballet from mere music hall divertissement to a true art form. From 1909, when Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev premiered his legendary Ballet Russe company in Paris, to 1962 when Serge Denham’s Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo performed for the last time in Brooklyn, Ballets Russes companies brought their popular, groundbreaking and often controversial choreographies to big cities and small towns around the world. Along the way, these artistic visionaries left their mark on virtually every other area of art and culture – from stage design, painting and music to Hollywood and Broadway. Through their inclusive cosmopolitanism, they also put the first African-American and Native American ballerinas on the stage. Using intimate interviews with surviving members of the Ballets Russes companies (now in their 70s, 80s and 90s) as well as rare archival materials and motion picture footage, Ballets Russes is both an ensemble character film and an historical portrait of the birth of an art form.
    [Show full text]
  • Nicolle Greenhood Major Paper FINAL.Pdf (4.901Mb)
    DIVERSITY EN POINTE: MINIMIZING DISCRIMINATORY HIRING PRACTICES TO INCREASE BALLET’S CULTURAL RELEVANCE IN AMERICA Nicolle Mitchell Greenhood Major paper submitted to the faculty of Goucher College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Arts Administration 2016 Abstract Title of Thesis: DIVERSITY EN POINTE: MINIMIZING DISCRIMINATORY HIRING PRACTICES TO INCREASE BALLET’S CULTURAL RELEVANCE IN AMERICA Degree Candidate: Nicolle Mitchell Greenhood Degree and Year: Master of Arts in Arts Administration, 2016 Major Paper Directed by: Michael Crowley, M.A. Welsh Center for Graduate and Professional Studies Goucher College Ballet was established as a performing art form in fifteenth century French and Italian courts. Current American ballet stems from the vision of choreographer George Balanchine, who set ballet standards through his educational institution, School of American Ballet, and dance company, New York City Ballet. These organizations are currently the largest-budget performing company and training facility in the United States, and, along with other major US ballet companies, have adopted Balanchine’s preference for ultra thin, light skinned, young, heteronormative dancers. Due to their financial stability and power, these dance companies set the standard for ballet in America, making it difficult for dancers who do not fit these narrow characteristics to succeed and thrive in the field. The ballet field must adapt to an increasingly diverse society while upholding artistic integrity to the art form’s values. Those who live in America make up a heterogeneous community with a blend of worldwide cultures, but ballet has been slow to focus on diversity in company rosters.
    [Show full text]
  • Remembering Edouard Borovansky and His Company 1939–1959
    REMEMBERING EDOUARD BOROVANSKY AND HIS COMPANY 1939–1959 Marie Ada Couper Submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 School of Culture and Communication The University of Melbourne 1 ABSTRACT This project sets out to establish that Edouard Borovansky, an ex-Ballets Russes danseur/ teacher/choreographer/producer, was ‘the father of Australian ballet’. With the backing of J. C. Williamson’s Theatres Limited, he created and maintained a professional ballet company which performed in commercial theatre for almost twenty years. This was a business arrangement, and he received no revenue from either government or private sources. The longevity of the Borovansky Australian Ballet company, under the direction of one person, was a remarkable achievement that has never been officially recognised. The principal intention of this undertaking is to define Borovansky’s proper place in the theatrical history of Australia. Although technically not the first Australian professional ballet company, the Borovansky Australian Ballet outlasted all its rivals until its transformation into the Australian Ballet in the early 1960s, with Borovansky remaining the sole person in charge until his death in 1959. In Australian theatre the 1930s was dominated by variety shows and musical comedies, which had replaced the pantomimes of the 19th century although the annual Christmas pantomime remained on the calendar for many years. Cinemas (referred to as ‘picture theatres’) had all but replaced live theatre as mass entertainment. The extremely rare event of a ballet performance was considered an exotic art reserved for the upper classes. ‘Culture’ was a word dismissed by many Australians as undefinable and generally unattainable because of our colonial heritage, which had long been the focus of English attitudes.
    [Show full text]
  • Leonide Massine: Choreographic Genius with A
    LEONIDE MASSINE: CHOREOGRAPHIC GENIUS WITH A COLLABORATIVE SPIRIT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DANCE COLLEGE OF HEALTH, PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND RECREATION BY ©LISA ANN FUSILLO, D.R.B.S., B.S., M.A. DENTON, TEXAS Ml~.Y 1982 f • " /, . 'f "\ . .;) ;·._, .._.. •. ..._l./' lEXAS WUIVIAI'l' S UNIVERSITY LIBRAR't dedicated to the memories of L.M. and M.H.F. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express her appreciation to the members of her committee for their guidance and assistance: Dr. Aileene Lockhart, Chairman; Dr. Rosann Cox, Mrs. Adrienne Fisk, Dr. Jane Matt and Mrs. Lanelle Stevenson. Many thanks to the following people for their moral support, valuable help, and patience during this project: Lorna Bruya, Jill Chown, Mary Otis Clark, Leslie Getz, Sandy Hobbs, R. M., Judy Nall, Deb Ritchey, Ann Shea, R. F. s., and Kathy Treadway; also Dr. Warren Casey, Lynda Davis, Mr. H. Lejins, my family and the two o'clock ballet class at T.C.U. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION • • • . iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . iv LIST OF TABLES • . viii LIST OF FIGURES . ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . X Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . 1 Purpose • • • • • • • . • • • • 5 Problem • • . • • • • • . • • • 5 Rationale for the Study • • • . • . • • • • 5 Limitations of the Study • • . • • • • • 8 Definition.of Terms • . • • . • . • • 8 General Dance Vocabulary • • . • • . • • 8 Choreographic Terms • • • • . 10 Procedures. • • • . • • • • • • • • . 11 Sources of Data • . • • • • • . • . 12 Related Literature • . • • • . • • . 14 General Social and Dance History • . • . 14 Literature Concerning Massine .• • . • • • 18 Literature Concerning Decorative Artists for Massine Ballets • • • . • • • • • . 21 Literature Concerning Musicians/Composers for Massine Ballets • • • .
    [Show full text]
  • Swan Lake Audience Guide
    February 16 - 25, 2018 Benedum Center for the Performing Arts, Pittsburgh Choreography: Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov ​ ​ Staging: Terrence S. Orr Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Sponsors: The Benter Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, Eden Hall Foundation, ​ Anonymous Donor February 16 - 25, 2018 Benedum Center for the Performing Arts | Pittsburgh, PA PBT gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their commitment to our education programming: Allegheny Regional Asset District Henry C. Frick Educational Fund of The Buhl Anne L. and George H. Clapp Charitable Foundation Trust BNY Mellon Foundation Highmark Foundation Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation Peoples Natural Gas Eat ‘n Park Hospitality Group Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Edith L. Trees Charitable Trust Pennsylvania Department of Community ESB Bank and Economic Development Giant Eagle Foundation PNC Bank Grow up Great The Grable Foundation PPG Industries, Inc. Hefren-Tillotson, Inc. Richard King Mellon Foundation James M. The Heinz Endowments and Lucy K. Schoonmaker Cover Photo: Duane Rieder Artist: Amanda Cochrane 1 3 The Setting and Characters 3 The Synopsis 5 About Swan Lake ​ 6 The Origins of the Swan Lake Story ​ ​ 6 Swan Lake Timeline ​ 7 The Music 8 The Choreography 9 The Dual Role of Odette + Odile 9 Acts 1 & 3 10 Spotlight on the Black Swan Pas de Deux 10 The Grand Pas Explained 11 What’s a fouette? 11 Acts 2 & 4 12 Dance of the Little Swans 13 The White Act 13 Costumes and Scenic Design 13 Costumes By the Numbers 14 The Tutus 14 A Few Costume Tidbits! 15 Did You Know? Before She was the Black Swan 16 Programs at the Theater 17 Accessibility 2 The Setting The ballet takes place in and near the European castle of Prince Siegfried, long ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Ballets Russes Press
    A ZEITGEIST FILMS RELEASE THEY CAME. THEY DANCED. OUR WORLD WAS NEVER THE SAME. BALLETS RUSSES a film by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller Unearthing a treasure trove of archival footage, filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have fashioned a dazzlingly entrancing ode to the rev- olutionary twentieth-century dance troupe known as the Ballets Russes. What began as a group of Russian refugees who never danced in Russia became not one but two rival dance troupes who fought the infamous “ballet battles” that consumed London society before World War II. BALLETS RUSSES maps the company’s Diaghilev-era beginnings in turn- of-the-century Paris—when artists such as Nijinsky, Balanchine, Picasso, Miró, Matisse, and Stravinsky united in an unparalleled collaboration—to its halcyon days of the 1930s and ’40s, when the Ballets Russes toured America, astonishing audiences schooled in vaudeville with artistry never before seen, to its demise in the 1950s and ’60s when rising costs, rock- eting egos, outside competition, and internal mismanagement ultimately brought this revered company to its knees. Directed with consummate invention and infused with juicy anecdotal interviews from many of the company’s glamorous stars, BALLETS RUSSES treats modern audiences to a rare glimpse of the singularly remarkable merger of Russian, American, European, and Latin American dancers, choreographers, composers, and designers that transformed the face of ballet for generations to come. — Sundance Film Festival 2005 FILMMAKERS’ STATEMENT AND PRODUCTION NOTES In January 2000, our Co-Producers, Robert Hawk and Douglas Blair Turnbaugh, came to us with the idea of filming what they described as a once-in-a-lifetime event.
    [Show full text]
  • Ballets Russes
    CINEMIEN Film & Video Distribution ABC Distribution Amsteldijk 10 Kaasstraat 4 1074 HP Amsterdam 2000 Antwerpen t. 020 – 577 6010 t. 03 – 231 0931 www.cinemien.nl www.abc-distribution.be [email protected] [email protected] presenteren / présentent: BALLETS RUSSES EEN FILM VAN / UN FILM DE DAYNA GOLDFINE & DAN GELLER Persmappen en beeldmateriaal van al onze actuele titels kunnen gedownload van onze site: www.cinemien.nl of www.abc-distribution.be Link door naar PERS en vul in; gebruikersnaam: ‘pers’, wachtwoord: ‘cinemien’ BALLETS RUSSES– synopsis (NL) Een schitterende documentaire over een revolutionaire dansgroep die bekend staat als het Ballet Russe. De groep is ontstaan uit een groep Russische vluchtelingen die nooit in Rusland hebben gedanst en splitste zich later op in twee rivaliserende dansgroepen: de ‘Original Ballet Russe’ en de ‘Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo’. De documentaire begint bij de oprichting in 1909 door de befaamde Serge Diaghilev, beschrijft de oprichting van de Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo na de dood van Diaghilev in 1929, het ontstaan van een tweede Ballets Russes groep, de voorspoedige jaren ’30 en ’40 toen het Ballet Russe door Amerika toerde, tot de ondergang in de jaren ’50 en ’60 door stijgende kosten, groeiende ego’s, competitie van buiten en intern wanbeleid. Niet alleen choreografen als Balanchine en Massine, maar ook schilders als Matisse, Dali en Picasso werkten voor de revolutionaire Ballets Russes. Om over componisten als Claude Debussy en Igor Stravinsky nog maar te zwijgen. Wereldsterren als Alicia Markova, Irina Baranova en Marc Platt halen herinneringen op. Velen van de Ballets Russes dansers van weleer zijn nu tachtig of negentig, maar zijn nog steeds actief in de balletwereld.
    [Show full text]
  • One of a Kind 43
    Illustration by Tom Allen for Dance Gazette Imagine a balletONE teacher, and you will probably imagine a woman. OF But more men are beginning to teach ballet. A Deirdre Kelly asks about their challenges and distinctive approach. KIND 42 ONE OF A KIND 43 ‘A male teacher is like having a new pair of eyes’ HAYDEN DOUD, STUDENT Tread lightly… (left to right) Glen Curtis; Terry Gardiner; Guy Burden Photos: Benedict Johnson; courtesy of teachers choreography with boys in mind and maintaining a culture gets dancers ready for what it will be like to deal with a female dance teachers for advice. I can only imagine how nurturing and authoritative; he insisted on hard work and of mediocrity just to keep the few boys engaged.’ variety of choreographers and styles in the real world.’ it would feel, having not had the experience.’ also that his students learn culture as well as dance and so A former elementary school teacher and public school But male teachers will still stand out, especially when Are there things men do better? Don Hewitt thinks would ask them to listen to the music they were dancing administrator who three years ago took over the dance they impart lessons gleaned from their own experiences as so. Born in 1935 in Portland, Hewitt developed a reputation to in class, to know what ballet it came from and which school his mother founded, Burns sees all teachers sharing maverick dancers. Lee Davall, also an RAD dance education as an exceptional teacher after opening, with his partner composer created it.
    [Show full text]
  • Madame Ballet' As Establish a Perth-Based Ballet Company Western Australian Author Ffion Murphy As a Result of Those Who Had Prepared the Ground for Her
    Michelle Potter reveals how Bousloff, whose youth had been lived out Russian dancer Kira Bousloff boldly of a suitcase as she travelled the world as a dancer with the Ballets Russescompanies created an environment for dance of Colonel de Basil, decided to remain in to flourish in Western Australia Australia in 1939 at the end of a tour by the Covent Garden Russian Ballet. She recalls When I came to the airport here in little Perth, that decision in an oral history interview at the end of the world, I put my feet on the recorded for the National Library in 1990: ground, I looked around, and I said loudly and strongly 'That's where I'm going to live and I was sitting in my hotel room in Melbourne that's where I'm going to die'. on my own and I had a strong feeling that my father (who had died many years ago) -Kira Bousloff touched my shoulder. It was a physical feeling practically. Then I had suddenly this strong ira Bousloff, or Kira Abricossova as feeling that I had to stay in Australia. So she was known during her early without even thinking twice (of course, you see, Kperforming career, was the founder of I'm a bit queer, eccentric, but that's the truth, the West Australian Ballet, one of Australia's that's what happened) I ran down the stairs and earliest state-based ballet companies-the rang up ... a very good friend and I said, 'I want first, in fact, to call itself a state company.
    [Show full text]
  • A Thousand Encores: the Ballets Russes in Australia
    PUBLICITY MATERIAL A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes in Australia CONTACT PRODUCTION COMPANY flaming star films 7/32 George Street East Melbourne 3002 Tel: +61 3 9419 8097 Mob: +61 (0)417 107 516 Email: [email protected] EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Sharyn Prentice WRITER / DIRECTOR Mandy Chang PRODUCERS Marianne Latham / Lavinia Riachi EDITOR Karin Steininger Ballets Russes dancer Anna Volkova as the Golden Cockerel in Fokine's Le Coq d'Or A Thousand Encores: The Ballets Russes in Australia SHORT SYNOPSIS A Thousand Encores is the story of how the greatest ballet company of the 20th Century - the celebrated Ballets Russes, came to Australia and awoke a nation, transforming the cultural landscape of conservative 30’s Australia, leaving a rich legacy that lasts to this day. EXTENDED SYNOPSIS A Thousand Encores tells the surprising and little known story of how, over 70 years ago, an extraordinary company of dancers made a deep impact on our cultural heritage. In 1936, the celebrated Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo stepped off a boat into the bright Australian sunlight. With exotic sets and costumes designed by cutting edge-artists and avant-garde music by great composers like Stravinsky, the Ballets Russes inspired a nation and transformed our cultural landscape. Over five years from 1936 to 1940 they came to Australia three times, winning the hearts and minds of Australian audiences, inspiring a generation of our greatest artists - Grace Cossington Smith, Jeffrey Smart and Sidney Nolan - and ultimately sowing the seeds for Australian ballet today. The story is bought alive using a rich archival resource. Australia has the biggest collection of Ballets Russes footage in the world and an impressive photographic record - the most famous pictures taken by a young Max Dupain.
    [Show full text]
  • Irina Baronova Stopped Dancing Years Ago but Took a Leap Into the Past to Write Her Autobiography, Writes VALERIE LAWSON
    Saturday 29th of October 2005 - Sydney Morning Herald (First) Pagenumber: 20 Section: Spectrum Subsection: Books A rich life fully lived THE INTERVIEW VALERIE LAWSON Irina Baronova stopped dancing years ago but took a leap into the past to write her autobiography, writes VALERIE LAWSON. Irina: Ballet, Life and Love By Irina Baronova Viking, 534pp, $35 'My life has been lived out of suitcases, in foreign lands, with foreign people," writes Irina Baronova. But what lands and what people. In her dancing years, Baronova, 87, met Hitler, danced with Edward, the Prince of Wales, worked with Shirley Temple and took tea with Vaslav Nijinsky. She danced for the legendary choreographers George Balanchine, Leonide Massine, Michel Fokine and Nijinsky's sister, Bronislava Nijinska, creating roles for their ballets when she was still in her mid-teens. As a child, she escaped Bolshevik Russia and travelled to Paris, Monte Carlo, London and throughout the United States before capturing Australian audiences in the 1930s as one of a trio, along with Tamara Toumanova and Tatiana Riabouchinska, dubbed "the baby ballerinas". Although her sight has now almost gone, she spent the past four years writing her autobiography, Irina: Ballet, Life and Love, in Byron Bay, where she lives with one of her daughters. Writing her life story up to the age of 48 (when her second husband, Cecil Tennant, died in a car smash) was "very difficult because the things that happened to me took 48 years and I had to relive it in four years. It was emotionally very hard to write about the accident ..
    [Show full text]