Ondine Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 (edited) 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. Edited August 24, 2023 by Ondine 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 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 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted September 1, 2023 Share Posted September 1, 2023 (edited) William Bracewell in States of Being, in a Small Space. A film made by me and commissioned by @clarefarrowstudio for her exhibition Small Spaces: Rethinking Inside the Box at @rocalondongallery https://www.instagram.com/p/CwXs6nSKOd0/ Edited September 1, 2023 by oncnp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 Conserving Anna Pavlova's Dying Swan tutu. Fascinating. Museum of London. Conservation en pointe: The treatment and mounting of Anna Pavlova’s Dying Swan costume https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/discover/conservation-en-pointe-anna-pavlovas-dying-swan-costume 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 (edited) More miscellany.... Some lovely wedding pictures on Yamine Naghdi's IG stories. Yasmine Naghdi (@yasmine_naghdi) • Instagram photos and videos Edited September 3, 2023 by oncnp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 2 hours ago, oncnp said: More miscellany.... Some lovely wedding pictures on Yamine Naghdi's IG stories. Yasmine Naghdi (@yasmine_naghdi) • Instagram photos and videos Beautiful photos. What a privilege to be able to have a glimpse of her special day. So many of her fellow artists there too. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nina99 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 What an absolutely beautiful place to have a wedding in front of so many of your friends and family. Wishing lots of happiness to Yasmine and her lovely husband, Riccardo. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 3 hours ago, Odyssey said: Beautiful photos. What a privilege to be able to have a glimpse of her special day. So many of her fellow artists there too. And Kevin O’Hare. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 That's simply magnificent. I am going to replicate that for my birthday, a Google shows me I can still buy those ballerina figures. 🙂 Classy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 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! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irmgard Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 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. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 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/ 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 4, 2023 Author Share Posted September 4, 2023 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! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peanut68 Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 Loved the Pavlova advertorial! she really was the ‘influencer’ of the day! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 7, 2023 Author Share Posted September 7, 2023 (edited) This is lovely. Alicia Markova dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy variation, Jacob's Pillow. Weightless! The tutu too, what a period piece! https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/alicia-markova/sugar-plum-fairy-variation-nutcracker/ Edited September 7, 2023 by Ondine 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 17 minutes ago, Ondine said: This is lovely. Alicia Markova dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy variation, Jacob's Pillow. Weightless! The tutu too, what a period piece! https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/alicia-markova/sugar-plum-fairy-variation-nutcracker/ I hate gargouillades, but she manages to make them look beautiful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 7, 2023 Author Share Posted September 7, 2023 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) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 9, 2023 Author Share Posted September 9, 2023 Dame Monica Mason's portrait in the National Portrait Gallery. I love how theatrical it is. https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw225700/Dame-Monica-Margaret-Mason 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxStWA0ozBN/ 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 23, 2023 Author Share Posted September 23, 2023 TERRIFYING! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 Sacre bleu!! 😱 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted September 26, 2023 Share Posted September 26, 2023 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted September 26, 2023 Author Share Posted September 26, 2023 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offmenu Posted September 28, 2023 Share Posted September 28, 2023 (edited) 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! Edited September 28, 2023 by offmenu 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted September 28, 2023 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Thank you, offmenu, and welcome to the forum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted September 28, 2023 Share Posted September 28, 2023 Looks like Farukh Ruzimatov has a dancing son. He has recently graduated from the Vaganova School and is called Daler. He will be 20 on Sunday. Might be one to watch if anything like his dad!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 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. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 (edited) And here is a picture by A E Chalon illustrating the scene, reproduced in Ballet and Opera magazine from October 1948: Edited October 6, 2023 by Sebastian 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted October 7, 2023 Author Share Posted October 7, 2023 3 hours ago, Sebastian said: And thinking men must sure be frantic, Who patronised such postures antic; 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted October 8, 2023 Share Posted October 8, 2023 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 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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