Borovansky Ballet in Australia - Part of Act III PDD, 'The Sleeping Beauty'

[tarsey1977]

My Grandmother was in the Borovansky Ballet at that time. I wonder who that is dancing in the Pas de deux. No matter how many times I watch this....I still love it to this day. I only hope my daughter does ballet in the near future.

[nickwallacesmith]

hi tarsey1977 - how wonderful your grandmother was in the Borovansky Ballet - the company that did so much to intriduce ballet to this country

i'd like to know who the film is showing too - the ballet is the first i saw as a kid - with fonteyn and nureyev - not a bad introduction to the art form!

best wishes for your daughter and ballet!

[Georgi0909]

@tarsey1977 Hi Tarsey, my mother was in the Borovansky ballet, her name was Pamela Wyatt. What was your grandmother's name?

[BebeJumeau]

hi I strongly believe and have posted a comment elsewhere on youtube that this is not the Borovansky ballet but in fact the Ballets Russes - in Australia in the 1930s - the costumes are surely the Bakst costumes and are featured in a Hugh P Hall photograph I found many years ago in an opp shop and also are the same as images in the National Library of Australia's photographic collection

[nickwallacesmith]

hi BebeJumeau

good to hear from you & thanks for your input

do you know which of the three competing ballet russes companies that formed after diaghliev's death in 1929 it would have been?

'(Colonel W. de Basil's) Monte Carlo Russian Ballet' (1936-7), 'Covent Garden Russian Ballet, presented by Educational Ballets Ltd' (1938-9) and 'The Original Ballet Russe' (1939-40), all were under the aegis of Colonel W. de Basil?

everyone was using costumes that resembled to originals for credibility

[BebeJumeau]

Hi nickwallacesmith that is a little hard to determine off the top of my head. ALL 3 de Basic companies performed Aurora's Wedding (that is Act 3 of Sleeping Beauty) with extra dances from other acts and even other ballets such as the Nutcracker. Perhaps you could work out who the soloists were - BUT photographs of the 1930s show that many and different outstanding dancers from the company performed the pas de deux .

[BebeJumeau]

Also regarding the costumes - they would most likely BE the BAKST originals - or parts thereof - if you look at the costumes in the NGA in Canberra and elsewhere the de Basil company travelled with the Diaghilev productions in store and renovated and upgraded and patched the costumes bit by bit as they wore out or modified them to suit other performers - or cobbled together a "new" costume out of two or more damaged originals

[nickwallacesmith]

yes, the costumes were distributed around all the ballets russes companies - frederick franklin talks of how ratty and patched these old costumes were when with one of these B R companies

best, nick

[nickwallacesmith]

hi again bebejumeau

yes, they all did pretty much the same repertory - so that often doesn't distinguish them

counter-intuitively, i think the prince's assistant is the australian dancer rex reid who when to europe as a young prodigy like robert helpmann - rex was my teacher for years & it really looks like him - the companies picked up dancers here for a number of roles - though i wonder if for principles?

[Georgi0909]

@BebeJumeau Hi, Just thought I say this is the Borovansky Ballet as my mother is dancing as one of the chinese girls.

[Georgi0909]

Do you know what date this is from, my mother was dancing with the Borovansky company from 1942 - 1957. Also whereabouts did you find this clip please

[nickwallacesmith]

hey jeremy

yes it would - it's nice to have some music rather than silence but better still to have the original music!

best, nick

[JeremyNasmith]

It would be nice to see this with the proper music re-dubbed overtop!

[nickwallacesmith]

hey Leonnidik

i'm not sure who she is but have emailed the National Library of Australia where a copy of the footage is held - so i 'll post anything i hear back

[Leonnidik]

Petipa will never die,great historic footage.Her face looks like Toumanova, legs like Baranova, who is she Nick? I liked the combre with arms in 5th.