1.
Ninette de Valois
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Dame Ninette de Valois OM CH DBE was an Anglo-Irish dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. She began life in Ireland as Edris Stannus and she also established the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of ballet and she was named Edris and in 1905 moved to England, to live with her grandmother in Kent. The young Edris Stannus started attending ballet lessons in 1908, at the age of ten and it was at this time that she changed her name to Ninette de Valois and made her professional debut as a principal dancer in pantomime at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End. In 1919, at the age of 21, she was appointed principal dancer of the Beecham Opera and she continued to study ballet with notable teachers, including Edouard Espinosa, Enrico Cecchetti and Nicholas Legat. In 1923, Valois joined the Ballets Russes, a ballet company founded by the Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev. She remained with the company for three years, being promoted to the rank of Soloist, and creating roles in some of the companys most famous ballets, including Les biches and Le Train Bleu. Later in her life, Ninette de Valois claimed that everything she knew about how to run a company she learned from working with Diaghilev. After leaving the Ballets Russes, in 1927, Valois established the Academy of Choreographic Art, a school for girls in London. In London, her goal was to form a repertory ballet company, with dancers drawn from the school. Students of the school were given professional stage experience performing in opera and plays staged at the Old Vic Theatre, with Valois choreographing several short ballets for the theatre. Lilian Baylis was the owner of the Old Vic at that time, a ballet company was also formed, known as the Vic-Wells Ballet. The Vic-Wells ballet company and school would be the predecessors of todays Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School. From November 1927 to July 1933, Ninette de Valois was responsible for the setting up, yeats, one of the founders of the Abbey Theatre. During these years she produced a number of each year. She also worked with music commissioned from Irish contemporary composers such as Harold R. Whites The Faun, Arthur Duffs The Drinking Horn. She was known as a stern and formidable teacher, and perhaps for that reason gained the nickname Madam, the name stuck, and even in articles and formal interviews she was commonly addressed as Madam. She even sometimes signed herself as Madam in correspondence, in 1935, she married as his second wife Dr Arthur Blackall Connell, an English surgeon
2.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
3.
Royal Opera House
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The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is referred to as simply Covent Garden. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, originally called the Theatre Royal, it served primarily as a playhouse for the first hundred years of its history. In 1734, the first ballet was presented, a year later, Handels first season of operas began. Many of his operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden and had their premieres there. The current building is the theatre on the site following disastrous fires in 1808 and 1856. The façade, foyer, and auditorium date from 1858, the main auditorium seats 2,256 people, making it the third largest in London, and consists of four tiers of boxes and balconies and the amphitheatre gallery. The proscenium is 12.20 m wide and 14.80 m high, the main auditorium is a Grade I listed building. The letters patent remained in the possession of the patentees heirs until the 19th century, in 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Dukes Company at Lincolns Inn Fields Theatre, commissioned The Beggars Opera from John Gay. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the area, at its opening on 7 December 1732, Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production of William Congreves The Way of the World. Despite the frequent interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was intense, often presenting the plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the repertoire, himself performing and a tradition of seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, in 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and her corset and danced in diaphanous robes, george Frideric Handel was named musical director of the company, at Lincolns Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent Garden, was not presented until 1734. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed by Ariodante, the première of Alcina, there was a royal performance of Messiah in 1743, which was a success and began a tradition of Lenten oratorio performances. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there and he bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre on 20 September 1808. In 1792 the architect Henry Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the shell of the building but deeper and wider than the old auditorium. Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, the Old Price Riots lasted over two months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audiences demands. During this time, entertainments were varied, opera and ballet were presented, kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer Master Betty, the great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden
4.
Prima ballerina assoluta
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Prima ballerina assoluta is a title awarded to the most notable of female ballet dancers. To be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta is a rare honour, there is no universal procedure for designating who may receive the title, which has led to dispute in the ballet community over who can legitimately claim it. Less common is for a dancer to become identified as a prima ballerina assoluta as a result of public, the first recorded use of the title as a company rank was in 1894, when French ballet master Marius Petipa bestowed it on Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani. He considered her to be the leading ballerina in all of Europe. The second ballerina to be given the title was Legnanis contemporary Mathilde Kschessinska, the only Soviet ballerinas to hold the title were Galina Ulanova and Maya Plisetskaya and Natalia Makarova, who defected to the West in 1970. The title was recognised by a vote of the Senate of Berlin. Other dancers awarded the title include Anneli Alhanko from Sweden, Alicia Alonso from Cuba, Alessandra Ferri from Italy and Alicia Markova, the only French dancer to hold the title is Yvette Chauviré. Nureyev also referred to the American ballerina Cynthia Gregory as Americas prima ballerina assoluta, another not to hold the title is the great Anna Pavlova, probably the best known ballerina in history. In South Africa, the only ballerina granted the title prima ballerina assoluta was Phyllis Spira, since Evdokimova is generally viewed as an international rather than an American dancer and the U. S
5.
Margot Fonteyn
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Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE, was an English ballerina. She spent her career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet. Fonteyn was born Margaret Evelyn Hookham on 18 May 1919 in Reigate and her father was a British engineer, among his family were people in literature and music. Her mother was half Irish and half Brazilian, the daughter of Brazilian industrialist Antonio Fontes and her later formal married name was Margot Fonteyn de Arias, in the Spanish-language tradition. At four years of age her mother signed her and her brother up for ballet classes. At age eight, Margot travelled to China with her mother and father, for six years Margot lived in TianJin, then in Shanghai, where she studied ballet with Russian émigré teacher George Goncharov. Her mother brought her back to London when she was 14, continuing to work in Shanghai, her father was interned during World War II by the invading Japanese. After starting with the Vic-Wells Ballet, she rose quickly through the ranks of the company, by 1939 Fonteyn had performed principal roles in Giselle, Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty and was appointed Prima Ballerina. She was most noted in the ballets of Frederick Ashton, including Ondine, Daphnis and Chloe and she was especially renowned for her portrayal of Aurora in Tchaikovskys The Sleeping Beauty. Fonteyn also worked with choreographer Roland Petit and, later in life, when the Royal Ballet toured the United States in 1949, Fonteyn instantly became a celebrity for her performances. In the 1940s she and Robert Helpmann formed a successful dance partnership. In the 1950s she danced regularly with Michael Somes, in 1955, the year in which Fonteyn married a Panamanian diplomat, they danced together in the first colour telecast of a ballet, NBCs production of The Sleeping Beauty. In 1958 they appeared together in the first British televised version of The Nutcracker and she named Helpmann the favourite partner of her entire career. Fonteyn began her greatest artistic partnership at a time many people, including the head of the Royal Ballet, Ninette de Valois. In 1961 Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West, and on 21 February 1962 he and she was 42 and he was 24. Their performance was a success, during the curtain calls Nureyev dropped to his knees. They created a partnership that lasted until her retirement—with no pension—in 1979 at age 61. Fonteyn and Nureyev became known for inspiring repeated frenzied curtain calls, sir Frederick Ashton choreographed Marguerite and Armand for them, which no other couple danced until the 21st century
6.
Birmingham Royal Ballet
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Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet. The new company remained at Sadlers Wells for many years, becoming known as the Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet and it also toured the UK and abroad, before relocating to Birmingham in 1990, as the resident ballet company of the Birmingham Hippodrome. In 1997, the Birmingham Royal Ballet became independent of the Royal Ballet in London, in 2002, the need for Birmingham Royal Ballet to have its own school led to a new association with Elmhurst School for Dance, which is now its official ballet school. In 1926, the Irish-born dancer Ninette de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art and her intention was to form a repertory ballet company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer and theatre owner Lilian Baylis. Baylis owned the Old Vic and Sadlers Wells theatres and in 1925 she engaged de Valois to stage performances at both venues. Sadlers Wells reopened in 1931 and the Vic-Wells Ballet and Vic-Wells Ballet School were established in premises at the theatre and these would become the predecessors of todays Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School. In 1939, the company lost its link with the Old Vic theatre and, in 1940 and these events forced the company to begin touring the country, becoming known as the Sadlers Wells Ballet. The company relocated to the house the same year in 1946. This sister company would become the predecessor of todays Birmingham Royal Ballet, in 1955, Sadlers Wells Theatre Ballet temporarily lost its link with Sadlers Wells theatre and relocated to the Royal Opera House as a touring unit of the main company. In 1956, a Royal Charter was granted for companies and the school and they were subsequently renamed the Royal Ballet, Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet. The Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet returned to Sadlers Wells theatre in 1970, the first indication that the company would leave London came in 1987, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre. Consequently, the relocated to Birmingham in 1990, being given its current name Birmingham Royal Ballet. Sir Peter Wright remained as the companys Artistic Director and held the post until his retirement in 1995, in 1997, Birmingham Royal Ballet was made independent of the Royal Ballet and ceased to be managed by the Royal Opera House. As an independent ballet company, Birmingham Royal Ballet no longer has official links with the Royal Ballet or Royal Ballet School. To further establish its reputation as an entity, in 2002, it began a new relationship with the Elmhurst School for Dance. Elmhurst is the oldest established dance school in the United Kingdom. It relocated to premises in Edgbaston, Birmingham in 2004, becoming known as Elmhurst School for Dance, in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet
7.
Royal Ballet School
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The Royal Ballet School is one of the worlds greatest centres of classical ballet training. The Schools aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers for The Royal Ballet, admission to the School is based purely on talent and potential, regardless of academic ability or personal circumstances, and 90% of current students rely on financial support to attend the School. The school is based over two sites, White Lodge, Richmond Park and Covent Garden based in studios on Floral Street. Graduates of the school have also achieved employment in musical theatre, contemporary and jazz dance, television, in 1926, the Irish-born dancer Ninette de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls and the predecessor of todays Royal Ballet School. Her intention was to form a repertory company and school, leading her to collaborate with the Inglisch theatrical producer. Baylis owned the Old Vic theatre and acquired Sadlers Wells theatre in 1925, at the same time, the Vic-Wells Ballet Company was formed using students of the school and other notable dancers of the era. Both the school and the company developed quickly and after ballet performances ceased at the Old Vic. Following rapid expansion, in 1955 the school secured the premises at White Lodge in Richmond Park and this was established at the time as the Royal Ballet Lower School, a residential boarding school for children aged 11–16, combining general education and vocational ballet training. The Royal Ballet School Upper School was established at the existing premises in Barons Court with students studying ballet on a full-time basis between the ages of 16–19. In October 1956, a Royal Charter was granted officially linking the company and school and they became The Royal Ballet School. A second smaller company still performed at Sadlers Wells and toured around the UK, a bridge was constructed between the school and the Opera House, linking the school with the theatre and The Royal Ballet Companys own studios. The designer of the received an architectural award and it is known as the Bridge of Aspiration. The Royal Ballet Schools younger students moved to White Lodge, Richmond Park in Richmond, the Georgian building is a former royal residence and hunting lodge built during the reign of King George II. It is the Schools permanent premises and there has been redevelopment of the site to provide state of the art dance and academic facilities. Children attend the school between the ages of 11-16 and entry to the school is by audition only, the school receives over twenty thousand applications every year and holds auditions in major UK cities. Having an international reputation, the school receives applications from other countries. As a boarding school, the majority of live on site. Hi In dance, students study ballet, character dance, contemporary, gymnastics, Irish, Morris
8.
Classical ballet
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Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique, its flowing, precise movements, there are stylistic variations related to an area or origin, which are denoted by classifications such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet. For example, Russian ballet features high extensions and dynamic turns, whereas Italian ballet tends to be grounded, with a focus on fast. Many of the variations are associated with specific training methods that have been named after their originators. Despite these variations, the performance and vocabulary of classical ballet are largely consistent throughout the world, Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts and was brought to France by Catherine de Medici in the 16th Century. During ballets infancy, court ballets were performed by amateurs rather than professional dancers. Most of ballets early movements evolved from social dances and prominently featured stage patterns rather than formal ballet technique. In the 17th century, as ballets popularity in France increased, no longer performed by amateurs, ballet performances started to incorporate challenging acrobatic movements that could only be performed by highly skilled street entertainers. In response, the worlds first ballet school, the Académie Royale de Danse, was established by King Louis XIV in 1661. The Academies purpose was to improve the quality of training in France. Shortly after the Academie was formed, in 1672, King Louis XIV established a company called the Academie Royal de Musique de Dance. While at the Academie Royal, Beauchamp revolutionized ballet technique by inventing the five positions of ballet, Ballet technique is the foundational principles of body movement and form used in ballet. A distinctive feature of ballet technique is turnout, which is the rotation of the legs emanating from the hip. There are five positions of the feet in ballet, all performed with turnout. When performing jumps and leaps, classical ballet dancers strive to exhibit ballon, pointe technique is the part of ballet technique that concerns pointe work, in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet. Students typically learn ballet terminology and the pronunciation, meaning, and precise body form, emphasis is placed on developing flexibility and strengthening the legs, feet, and body core as a strong core is essential for turns and many other ballet movements. Depending on the teacher and training system, students may progress through various stages or levels of training as their skills advance, female attire typically includes pink or flesh colored tights, a leotard, and sometimes a short wrap-skirt, or a skirted leotard. Males typically wear black or dark tights, a white, or black, shirt or leotard worn under the tights
9.
Covent Garden
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Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martins Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House. The area was settled in the 7th century when it became the heart of the Anglo-Saxon trading town of Lundenwic. By 1200 part of it had been walled off by Westminster Abbey for use as arable land, referred to as the garden of the Abbey and Convent, and later the Covent Garden, it was seized by Henry VIII and granted to the Earls of Bedford in 1552. The 4th Earl commissioned Inigo Jones to build fine houses to attract wealthy tenants. Jones designed the Italianate arcaded square along with the church of St Pauls, the design of the square was new to London and had a significant influence on modern town planning, acting as the prototype for new estates as London grew. By 1654 a small open-air fruit-and-vegetable market had developed on the side of the fashionable square. Gradually, both the market and the area fell into disrepute, as taverns, theatres, coffee-houses. By the 18th century it had become a well-known red-light district, an Act of Parliament was drawn up to control the area, and Charles Fowlers neo-classical building was erected in 1830 to cover and help organise the market. The market grew and further buildings were added, the Floral Hall, Charter Market, by the end of the 1960s traffic congestion was causing problems, and in 1974 the market relocated to the New Covent Garden Market about three miles south-west at Nine Elms. With the postcode WC2, Covent Garden falls within the London boroughs of Westminster and Camden, the area has been served by the Piccadilly line at Covent Garden tube station since 1907, the journey from Leicester Square, at 300 yards, is the shortest in London. What would become the Strand on the boundary of the future Covent Garden was used during the Roman period as part of a route to Silchester. Excavations in 2006 at St Martin-in-the-Fields revealed a late Roman grave and these revealed Covent Garden as the centre of a trading town called Lundenwic, developed around 600 AD, which stretched from Trafalgar Square to Aldwych. Alfred the Great gradually shifted the settlement into the old Roman town of Londinium from around 886 AD onwards, leaving no mark of the old town, a document from 1200 AD mentions a walled garden owned by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of St Peter, Westminster. A later document, dated between 1250 and 1283, refers to the garden of the Abbot and Convent of Westminster. By the 13th century this had become a 40-acre quadrangle of mixed orchard, meadow, pasture and arable land and this is how it was recorded from then on. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, Henry VIII took the land belonging to Westminster Abbey for himself and his son, Edward VI, granted it to John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, in 1552. The Russell family, who in 1694 were advanced in their peerage from Earl to Duke of Bedford, held the land until 1918
10.
Royal charter
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A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organisations such as cities or universities, Charters should be distinguished from warrants and letters of appointment, as they have perpetual effect. Typically, a Royal Charter is produced as a high-quality work of calligraphy on vellum, the British monarchy has issued over 980 royal charters. Of these about 750 remain in existence, the earliest was to the town of Tain in 1066, making it the oldest Royal Burgh in Scotland, followed by the University of Cambridge in 1231. Charters continue to be issued by the British Crown, a recent example being that awarded to the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, Charters have been used in Europe since medieval times to create cities. The date that such a charter is granted is considered to be when a city is founded, at one time, a royal charter was the sole means by which an incorporated body could be formed, but other means are generally used nowadays instead. In the period before 1958,32 higher education institutes had been created by royal charter and these were typically engineering or technical institutions rather than universities. Royal decrees can therefore no longer grant higher education status or university status. A Royal Charter is granted by Order in Council, either creating an incorporated body and this is an exercise of the Royal Prerogative, and, in Canada, there are hundreds of organisations under Royal Charters. Such organisations include charities, businesses, colleges, universities, today, it is mostly charities and professional institutions who receive Royal Charters. Application for a charter is a petition to the Queen-in-Council, however, meeting these benchmarks does not guarantee the issuance of a Royal Charter. Companies, corporations, and societies in Canada founded under or augmented by a Royal Charter include, Royal Charter was issued in August 1826 to purchase and develop lands. Purchased the Crown Reserve of 1,384,413 acres, cities under Royal Charter are not subject to municipal Acts of Parliament applied generally to other municipalities, and instead are governed by legislation applicable to each city individually. The Royal Charter codifies the laws applied to the particular city, the Universitys Pontifical Charter was granted by Pope Leo XIII in 1889. Several Canadian private schools were founded or reconstituted under Royal Charter, the Royal Gibraltar Post Office was granted Royal Charter in 2005. The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club obtained Royal Charter in 1959 and it is one of the three banknote-issuing banks in Hong Kong. The Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch Chartered originally in 1847, disbanded 1859, the Institution of Engineers was incorporated by royal charter in 1935. A number of Irish institutions retain the Royal prefix, even though Republic of Ireland severed all remaining connections between the state and the British monarch in 1949, the University of South Africa received a Royal Charter in 1877
11.
Lilian Baylis
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Lilian Mary Baylis CH was an English theatrical producer and manager. Lilian Baylis was born in Marylebone, London, England to parents Newton Baylis and she was the eldest of six children, and grew up surrounded by music and performance. Her mother was a successful vocalist and pianist, and Bayliss education was grounded in the arts and she attended St. Augustines school, Kilburn. She also took lessons with leading professionals, such as John Tiplady Carrodus. In 1891, the Baylis family emigrated to South Africa when their performance troupe The Gypsy Revellers were offered a contract to tour. As a teenager Lilian played violin and mandolin in The Gypsy Revellers and she also taught her mothers music and dance students. She earned a living and played in many concerts. When Baylis fell ill and had to have an operation on her kidneys, her family became concerned for her heath, Baylis returned to London to recuperate and her aunt Emma Cons offered her a job at The Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern which she managed. Baylis spent most of her adolescent years in South Africa and, in leaving, she left behind her family, many friends. Following Cons death in 1912, Baylis became lessee and obtained a license for The Royal Victoria Hall to begin staging theatrical performances. Initially Baylis was interested in opera which she preferred to other art form. Baylis joined forces with Charles Corri to arrange and perform operas at The Old Vic with a small orchestra, plays were introduced to the Old Vic by Rosina Filippi, husband and wife team, Matheson Lang and Hutin Britton, and Sir Philip Ben Greet. The plays of William Shakespeare were often performed and Baylis claimed that the Old Vic had become the London Home of Shakespeare. In the run up to the 300th anniversary of the publication of the First Folio Baylis produced all of Shakespeares plays, musical direction was by Constant Lambert, and choreography for new works by de Valois and rising star Frederick Ashton. The ballet companys descendants today are the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, today the Sadlers Wells Theatre is primarily a dance venue. In 1937 Guthries production of Hamlet played at Elsinore/Helsingør in Denmark, with Olivier in the title role, gielguds first performance as Hamlet in 1930 became the first Old Vic production to be transferred to the West End for a run. Baylis scored a coup in 1933 by featuring Charles Laughton at the theatre after he had become a worldwide name in the film The Private Life of Henry VIII. To exploit the audiences interest in the film, she cast Laughton as Shakespeares Henry VIII, Baylis was awarded an honorary masters degree from Oxford University for her work in the theatre in 1924, only the second such honour to be given to a woman by the university
12.
The Old Vic
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The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre, in 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal Victoria Palace. It was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 and formally named the Royal Victoria Hall, in 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian Baylis assumed management and began a series of Shakespeare productions in 1914. The building was damaged in 1940 during air raids and it became a Grade II* listed building in 1951 after it reopened. It was also the name of a company that was based at the theatre and formed the core of the National Theatre of Great Britain on its formation in 1963. The National Theatre remained at the Old Vic until new premises were constructed on the South Bank, the Old Vic then became the home of Prospect Theatre Company, at that time a highly successful touring company which staged such acclaimed productions as Derek Jacobis Hamlet. However, with the withdrawal of funding for the company by the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1980 for breaching its touring obligations, the theatre underwent complete refurbishment in 1985. In 2003, Kevin Spacey was appointed as new director of the Old Vic Theatre Company which received considerable media attention. In 2015, Matthew Warchus succeeded Spacey as artistic director, the theatre was a minor theatre and was thus technically forbidden to show serious drama. Nevertheless, when the theatre passed to George Bolwell Davidge in 1824 he succeeded in bringing legendary actor Edmund Kean south of the river to play six Shakespeare plays in six nights. More popular staples in the repertoire were sensational and violent melodramas demonstrating the evils of drink, churned out by the house dramatist, confirmed teetotaller Douglas Jerrold. On 1 July 1833, the theatre was renamed the Royal Victoria Theatre, under the protection and patronage of Victoria, Duchess of Kent, mother to Princess Victoria, the 14-year-old heir presumptive. The duchess and the princess visited only once, on 28 November of that year, the single visit scarcely justified the Old Vic its later billing as Queen Victorias Own Theayter. By 1835, the theatre was advertising itself simply as the Victoria Theatre, in 1841, David Osbaldiston took over as lessee, succeeded on his death in 1850 by his lover and the theatres leading lady, Eliza Vincent, until her death in 1856. Under their management, the theatre remained devoted to melodrama, in 1867, Joseph Arnold Cave took over as lessee. In 1871 he transferred the lease to Romaine Delatorre, who raised funds for the theatre to be rebuilt in the style of the Alhambra Music Hall, jethro Thomas Robinson was engaged as the architect. In September 1871 the old theatre closed, and the new building opened as the Royal Victoria Palace in December of the same year, by 1873, however, Cave had left and Delatorres venture failed. The penny lectures given in the led to the foundation of Morley College, an adult education college
13.
Sadler's Wells Theatre
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Sadlers Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located on Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683 and it consists of two performance spaces, a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive rehearsal rooms and technical facilities also housed within the site. Sadlers Wells is renowned as one of the leading dance venues. As well as a stage for visiting companies, the theatre is also a house, with a number of associated artists. Sadlers Wells is also responsible for the management of the Peacock Theatre in the West End, richard Sadler opened a Musick House in 1683, the second public theatre newly opened in London after the Restoration, the first being the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The name Sadlers Wells originates from his name and the rediscovery of monastic springs on his property and this brought the health-giving properties of the mineral waters to national attention and an aristocratic clientele was soon attracted from round the country. In the latter half of the 18th century the theatre presented a variety of productions. With the construction of a tank, flooded from the nearby New River. The theatre also presented successful adaptations of novels of the time, such as A Christmas Carol, The Old Curiosity Shop. Just as Sadlers Wells seemed at its lowest ebb, an unexpected champion arrived in the shape of the actor-manager Samuel Phelps. His advent coincided with the passing of the Theatres Act 1843 which broke the duopoly in drama of the Theatres Royal and his productions, notably of Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra and Pericles, were much admired. The well-known actress Isabella Glyn made her first notable appearance as Lady Macbeth on this stage, in latter part of the 19th century the pendulum swung back to melodrama by the 1860s. This period of the history is affectionately depicted in Pineros play Trelawny of the Wells. The theatre was condemned as a structure in 1878. After re-opening as a theatre in 1879, it became a hall and featured performers including Marie Lloyd. Roy Redgrave, founder of the dynasty also appeared there. In 1896, the theatre was converted into a cinema, patrons were amazed by the moving pictures of the Theatregraph with film of Persimmon winning the Epsom Derby and a saucy vignette entitled The Soldier and His Sweetheart Spooning on a Seat. After a succession of managements in the 20th century, the theatre became increasingly run-down, by 1925 the proprietor of the Old Vic theatre, Lilian Baylis felt that her opera and drama productions needed to expand
14.
Ballets Russes
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The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company based in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society, after its initial Paris season, the company had no formal ties there. It also introduced European and American audiences to tales, music, the influence of the Ballets Russes lasts to the present day. The French plural form of the name, “Ballets Russes, ” specifically refers to the company founded by Sergei Diaghilev and active during his lifetime. ”To add to the confusion, some publicity material spelt the name in the singular. The names “Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo” and “The Original Ballet Russe” refer to companies that formed after Diaghilevs death in 1929, Sergei Diaghilev, the companys impresario, was chiefly responsible for its success. He was uniquely prepared for the role, born into a wealthy Russian family of vodka distillers, he was accustomed to moving in the upper-class circles that provided the companys patrons and benefactors. In 1890 he enrolled at the Faculty of Law, St. Petersburg, from childhood, Diaghilev had been passionately interested in music. His ambition to become a composer was dashed when Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov told him he had no talent, in 1898, several members of The Pickwickians founded the journal Mir iskusstva under the editorship of Diaghilev. As early as 1902, Mir iskusstva included reviews of concerts, operas, the latter were chiefly written by Alexandre Benois, who exerted considerable influence on Diaghilevs thinking. Mir iskusstva also sponsored exhibitions of Russian art in St. Petersburg and its enormous success created a Parisian fascination with all things Russian. Diaghilev organized a 1907 season of Russian music at the Paris Opéra, in 1908, Diaghilev returned to the Paris Opéra with six performances of Mussorgskys opera Boris Godunov, starring basso Fyodor Chaliapin. The performances were a sensation, though the costs of producing grand opera were crippling, in 1909, Diaghilev presented his first Paris Saison Russe devoted exclusively to ballet. Most of this company were resident performers at the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg. The first seasons featured a variety of works chiefly choreographed by Michel Fokine, including Le Pavillon dArmide, the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, Les Sylphides. The season also included Le Festin, a set by several choreographers to music by several Russian composers. The Ballets Russes was noted for the standard of its dancers, most of whom had been classically trained at the great Imperial schools in Moscow. Their high technical standards contributed a great deal to the success in Paris. The Ballets Russes was even more remarkable for raising the status of the dancer, largely ignored by choreographers
15.
Sergei Diaghilev
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Sergei Diaghilev was born to a wealthy and cultured family in Selishchi, Russia, his father, Pavel Pavlovich, was a cavalry colonel, but the familys money came mainly from vodka distilleries. After the death of Sergeis mother, his father married Elena Valerianovna Panaeva, the family lived in Perm but had an apartment in Saint Petersburg and a country estate in Bikbarda. In 1890, Sergeis parents went bankrupt, having for a time lived beyond their means. After graduating in 1892 he abandoned his dreams of composition, during his years at University, Diaghilevs cousin Dmitry Filosofov introduced him to a circle of art-loving friends who called themselves The Nevsky Pickwickians. They included Alexandre Benois, Walter Nouvel, Konstantin Somov, although not instantly received into the group, Diaghilev was aided by Benois in developing his knowledge of Russian and Western art. In two years, he had voraciously absorbed this new obsession and came to be respected as one of the most learned of the group, with financial backing from Savva Mamontov and Princess Maria Tenisheva, the group founded the journal Mir iskusstva. In 1899, Diaghilev became special assistant to Prince Sergei Mikhaylovich Volkonsky, in 1900–1901 Volkonsky entrusted Diaghilev with the staging of Léo Delibes ballet Sylvia, a favorite of Benois. The two collaborators concocted an elaborate plan that startled the established personnel of the Imperial Theatres. At the same time, some of Diaghilevs researchers hinted at his homosexuality as the cause for this conflict. However, his homosexuality had been known long before he was invited into the Imperial Theatres. In the following year he took a major exhibition of Russian art to the Petit Palais in Paris and it was the beginning of a long involvement with France. In 1907 he presented five concerts of Russian music in Paris and this led to an invitation to return the following year with ballet as well as opera, and thus to the launching of his famous Ballets Russes. The company included the best young Russian dancers, among them Anna Pavlova, Adolph Bolm, Vaslav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina and Vera Karalli, and their first night on 19 May 1909 was a sensation. During these years Diaghilevs stagings included several compositions by the late Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, such as the operas The Maid of Pskov, May Night and his choreographer Michel Fokine often adapted the music for ballet. Diaghilev also worked with dancer and ballet master Léonide Massine, the artistic director for the Ballets Russes was Léon Bakst. Together they developed a complicated form of ballet with show-elements intended to appeal to the general public. The exotic appeal of the Ballets Russes had an effect on Fauvist painters, coco Chanel is said to have stated that Diaghilev invented Russia for foreigners. Perhaps Diaghilevs most notable composer-collaborator, however, was Igor Stravinsky, Diaghilev heard Stravinskys early orchestral works Fireworks and Scherzo fantastique, and was impressed enough to ask Stravinsky to arrange some pieces by Chopin for the Ballets Russes
16.
Alicia Markova
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Dame Alicia Markova DBE was an English ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilevs Ballets Russes and touring internationally and she was the first British dancer to become the principal dancer of a ballet company and, with Dame Margot Fonteyn, is one of only two English dancers to be recognised as a prima ballerina assoluta. Markova was a dancer of the Rambert Dance Company, The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Markova was born as Lilian Alicia Marks on 1 December 1910 and her father, Alfred, was Jewish by birth, her mother, Eileen, converted to Judaism. The family lived in a two bedroom flat in Finsbury Park, Markova began to dance on medical advice to strengthen her weak limbs. She made her debut at age ten, performing the role of Salome in the pantomime Dick Whittington and His Cat, for which she was billed as Little Alicia. She began studying ballet with Princess Serafina Astafieva, a Russian ballerina living in London, Astafieva was a retired dancer of the Ballets Russes, a renowned ballet company founded by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev. A blue plaque now marks the site of her former studio, at the age of 13, Markova was observed in class by Diaghilev, who was visiting London in search of new talent for his ballet company. He invited her to join the Ballets Russes in Monte Carlo, due to her age, she performed a number of roles which were specially choreographed for her, also performing in a varied repertoire of new and established ballets. Following the death of Diaghilev in 1929, Markova returned to England, where she became the founder Principal Ballerina of The Ballet Club, a company founded by Dame Marie Rambert. During this period, she was noted for performing works by Frederick Ashton, who was unknown at the time. The Ballet Club was to be the first professional company in the United Kingdom. Now known as the Rambert Dance Company, it remains the oldest established dance company in the UK, in 1931, Ninette de Valois founded the Vic-Wells Ballet in premises at Sadlers Wells theatre in London. A former colleague from Diaghilevs company, she invited Markova to join the company as one of its founder dancers, de Valois hired Frederick Ashton, who became the resident choreographer and later Artistic Director of the company. In 1933, de Valois appointed Markova as the first Prima Ballerina of the company and it was after seeing the Camargo Society performance of Giselle with Olga Spessivtseva and Dolin in 1932 that Markova first realized the possibilities of the then-neglected ballet. In time it became her most treasured role and the one whose expressive possibilities she continued to develop throughout her career and her premiere in the role was on New Years Day 1934 at the Vic. In 1935, Markova and Dolin left the Vic-Wells ballet to form their own touring company known as the Markova-Dolin Company, the company toured extensively for two seasons and in 1936 Prince Wolkonsky joined the company as ballet master. Later in 1938 Markova joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the company was the first to tour ballet throughout the United States, taking the art form to audiences who had never seen ballet before
17.
Anton Dolin
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Sir Anton Dolin was an English ballet dancer and choreographer. Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay but was known as Patrick Kay. He trained at Serafina Astafievas school at The Pheasantry in Londons Kings Road and he joined Sergei Diaghilevs Ballets Russes in 1921, was a principal there from 1924, and was a principal with the Vic-Wells Ballet in the 1930s. There he danced with Alicia Markova, with whom he went on to found the Markova-Dolin Ballet and he joined Ballet Theatre when it was formed in 1940 and remained there as a dancer and choreographer until 1946. Dolin wrote several books, including the autobiography Ballet Go Round and Alicia Markova, Her Life and he is featured in the documentary film A Portrait of Giselle. He was the subject of This Is Your Life in April 1978 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Londons Royal Academy of Dance, alfs Button Forbidden Territory Invitation to the Waltz Dolin, Anton. Hall, Alfred George, ed. Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, a legend of British ballet, the Anton Dolin Cuttings Books are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Department. Anton Dolins appearance on This Is Your Life
18.
Tamara Karsavina
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Tamara Platonovna Karsavina was a Russian prima ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later of the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev. After settling in Britain at Hampstead in London, she began teaching ballet professionally and she assisted in the establishment of The Royal Ballet and was a founder member of the Royal Academy of Dance, which is now the worlds largest dance-teaching organisation. Tamara Karsavina was born in Saint Petersburg, the daughter of Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin and his wife, a principal dancer and mime with the Imperial Ballet, Platon also taught as an instructor at the Imperial Ballet School. He counted among his students Michel Fokine, a dancing partner. Karsavinas older brother Lev Platonovich Karsavin became a philosopher and medieval historian. Her niece, Marianna Karsavina, married Ukrainian author and artistic patron Pyotr Suvchinsky, through her mother, Karsavina was distantly related to the religious poet and co-founder of the Slavophile movement, Aleksey Khomyakov. Karsavinas father had once been the pupil of Marius Petipa, teacher and choreographer. Karsavina suspected that Petipa was behind the political intrigue that resulted in her father being forced into early retirement, though Platon continued to teach at the Imperial Ballet School, and also retained some private pupils, he was disillusioned by the experience. Karsavina later wrote, I think the blow to their pride meant more than financial considerations to them, after all, we always lived from hand to mouth, never looking ahead, spending more when there was something to spend, fitting in somehow when there wasnt. Father had reason to expect his being kept for the second service and he was sore at heart parting with the stage. Due to his own experiences, Platon initially refused to allow Karsavina to study ballet. Mothers dream was to make a dancer of me, Karsavina later wrote. It is a career for a woman, she would say, and I think the child must have a leaning for the stage, she is fond of dressing up. Without seeking Platons permission, Karsavinas mother arranged for her to taking lessons with a family friend. When Platon learned months later that his daughter had begun dancing lessons, he took the news in his stride, far from receiving preferential treatment, however, Karsavina referred to her father as her most exacting teacher. And to the tune of his fiddle I exerted myself to the utmost, in 1894, after a rigorous examination, Karsavina was accepted at the Imperial Ballet School. At her mothers urging, Karsavina chose to graduate ahead of schedule in early 1902 and they desperately needed the small income Karsavina would receive as a dancer with the corps de ballet. After graduating from the Imperial Ballet School, Karsavina enjoyed a rise through the ranks
19.
Constant Lambert
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Leonard Constant Lambert was a British composer, conductor, and author. The son of Russian-born Australian painter George Lambert and younger brother of Maurice Lambert, Constant Lambert was educated at Christs Hospital and his teachers at the latter institution were Ralph Vaughan Williams, R. O. Morris and Sir George Dyson, Malcolm Sargent and Herbert Fryer. While still a boy he demonstrated formidable musical gifts and he wrote his first orchestral works at the age of 13, and at 20 received a commission to write a ballet for Sergei Diaghilevs Ballets Russes. For a few years he enjoyed a celebrity, including participating in a recording of William Waltons Façade with Edith Sitwell. Lamberts best-known composition is The Rio Grande for piano and alto soloists, chorus and it achieved instant success, and Lambert made two recordings of the piece as conductor. He had a great interest in African-American music, and once said that he would have ideally liked The Rio Grande to feature a black choir. During the 1930s, his career as a conductor took off with his appointment with the Vic-Wells ballet, Lambert himself considered he had failed as a composer, and completed only two major works in the remaining sixteen years of his life. Instead he concentrated on conducting, and sometimes appeared at Covent Garden, but the respect of his peers could do nothing to help Lambert escape from his demons. The Second World War took its toll on his vitality and creativity, Lamberts childhood experiences had given him a lifelong detestation and fear of the medical profession. He responded positively to the music of Duke Ellington, close friends of his included Michael Ayrton, Sacheverell Sitwell and Anthony Powell. He was the prototype of the character Hugh Moreland in Powells A Dance to the Music of Time, Lamberts father, while born in Russia and of American heritage, viewed himself as first and foremost an Australian. Constant was always conscious of his Australian connections, although he never visited that country, for the first performance of his Piano Concerto, rather than select a British-born pianist, Lambert chose the Sydney-born, Brisbane-trained Arthur Benjamin to play the solo part. Despite his disapproval of homosexuality he formed a working relationship with Benjamins fellow Australian Robert Helpmann. Afterwards he entrusted yet another Australian musician, Gordon Watson, with the task of playing the piano part at the première of his last ballet. However, it was only from the late 1940s that the development of the BBC Third Programme, before that he had long been relegated to the role of jobbing conductor, extracting vital performances from second-rate ensembles. Lamberts first marriage was to Florence Kaye, their son was Kit Lambert, after divorcing Kaye, in 1947 Lambert married the artist Isabel Delmer, after his death, she married Alan Rawsthorne. Lamberts first wife Florence Kaye married Peter Hole, their daughter Anne later took the stage name Annie Lambert, Lambert earlier had an on-and-off affair with the ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn. According to friends of Fonteyn, Lambert was the love of her life
20.
David Webster (opera manager)
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Sir David Webster was the chief executive of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 1945 to 1970. He played a key part in the establishment of the Royal Ballet, from a retail background, Webster became chairman of the Liverpool Philharmonic during the Second World War. From there he was asked to set up opera and ballet companies at Covent Garden and he persuaded the existing Sadlers Wells Ballet to move to the opera house but found no established opera company suitable to do the same, and he set up a new opera company from scratch. By the time of Websters retirement, the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet were world-famous, David Webster was born in Dundee. When he was ten the family moved to Liverpool, where Webster was educated at the Holt High School and the University of Liverpool, where he graduated in economics in 1924. He joined a local department store, Lewiss, where he rose swiftly to become manager of the groups smaller Liverpool store, the Bon Marché. In 1931 while on business for Lewiss he met his partner, James Cleveland Belle. In his spare time Webster engaged in amateur theatricals, becoming a figure in an influential Liverpool group. He became a prominent member of the management committee of the Liverpool Philharmonic Society, at the outbreak of the Second World War there had been pressure to suspend the orchestras concerts. Webster strongly resisted it, insisting that music was an essential morale-booster and he set up low-priced concerts for factory workers and members of the armed forces. Webster was fortunate in recruiting Malcolm Sargent as chief conductor, since whatever orchestral players thought of Sargent, guest conductors included Sir Henry Wood and Charles Münch. During Websters time as chairman, the orchestra increased its concerts from 32 a year to 148, before the war there had been no permanent company at Covent Garden. Sir Thomas Beecham, as proprietor of the house, had staged annual seasons, with international stars on stage. During the war, the Royal Opera House had been converted into a dance hall, the music publishers Boosey & Hawkes acquired the lease of the building in 1944 and proposed to re-establish opera and ballet there. The new Chairman of Covent Garden, the economist John Maynard Keynes, agreed with Leslie Boosey and Ralph Hawkes that a permanent ensemble was needed, Webster was invited to become chief executive, under the title General Administrator, which he used throughout his tenure. Webster persuaded the Sadlers Wells Ballet to take up residence at Covent Garden, on the operatic side, however, Webster had to create a new company from scratch. He appointed as musical director an efficient but less known conductor, Karl Rankl, a pupil of Schoenberg and Webern, british singers were recruited for as many leading roles as possible, and the policy of the house was that operas should be sung in English. The Royal Opera House was re-opened under Websters direction on 20 February 1946 with a production of The Sleeping Beauty designed by Oliver Messel, operatically, Websters task was both harder and less predictable
21.
The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)
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The Sleeping Beauty is a ballet in a prologue and three acts, first performed in 1890. The music was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the score was completed in 1889, and is the second of his three ballets. The original scenario was conceived by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, and is based on Charles Perraults La Belle au bois dormant, the choreographer of the original production was Marius Petipa. The premiere performance took place at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg on January 15,1890, the work has become one of the classical repertoires most famous ballets. Tchaikovsky was approached by the Director of the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg and it was later decided that Charles Perraults La Belle au bois dormant would be the story for which Tchaikovsky would compose the music for the ballet. Tchaikovsky did not hesitate to accept the commission, although he was aware that his only previous ballet, Swan Lake, the ballet scenario that Tchaikovsky worked on was based on the Brothers Grimms version of Perraults work entitled Dornröschen. In that version, the Princesss parents survived the 100-year sleep to celebrate the Princesss wedding to the Prince, other French fairy tale characters to be featured are Beauty and the Beast, Pretty Goldilocks and The White Cat. Regardless, Tchaikovsky was happy to inform the Director of the Imperial Theatre that he had great pleasure studying the work and had come away with adequate inspiration to do it justice. The choreographer was Marius Petipa, ballet master of the Imperial Ballet, Tchaikovsky worked quickly on the new work at Frolovskoye, he began initial sketches in the winter of 1888 and began orchestration on the work on 30 May 1889. Act III of the work, however, takes a break from the two motifs and instead places focus on the individual characters of the various court dances. St. Petersburg premiere Date,15 January 1890 Place, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre and this version has been performed by a number of central European ballet companies over the past two decades. By 1903, The Sleeping Beauty was the second most popular ballet in the repertory of the Imperial Ballet, in 1999, the Mariinsky Ballet reconstructed the original 1899 production, including reproductions of the original sets and costumes. Although the 1951 Kirov production by Konstantin Sergeyev is available on DVD/Video, the Sleeping Beauty is Tchaikovskys longest ballet, lasting nearly four hours at full length - counting the intermissions. Without intermissions, it lasts three hours. At the premiere Tsar Alexander III summoned Tchaikovsky to the imperial box, the Tsar made the simple remark Very nice, which seemed to have irritated Tchaikovsky, who had likely expected a more favorable response. Six fairies are invited to the ceremony to bestow gifts on the child, each fairy represents a virtue or positive trait, such as beauty, courage, sweetness, musical talent, and mischief. The most powerful fairy, the Lilac Fairy, arrives with her entourage, but before she can bestow her gift, with a clap of thunder, the evil fairy Carabosse arrives with her minions. Carabosse furiously asks the King and Queen why she had not received an invitation to the christening, the blame falls to Catallabutte, the Master of Ceremonies who was in charge of the guest list
22.
Birmingham Hippodrome
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The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. The Hippodrome is the venue for West End touring theatrical shows, such as Wicked, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, the pantomime from the company QDOS is held there annually. Lee Mead, Marti Pellow, Julian Clary, Matt Slack starred in the 2015/16 production of Aladdin, the theatres Chief Executive is Fiona Allen. With a regular attendance of over 600,000, the Hippodrome is the busiest single theatre in the United Kingdom. The first venue built on the Hippodrome site was a building of assembly rooms in 1895. In 1899 the venue was redesigned by local architect F. W. Lloyd, a stage and circus ring was added together with a Moorish tower and the enterprise named the Tower of Varieties. After failing, this was rebuilt as a normal variety theatre, reopened as the Tivoli in 1900. The current neo-classical auditorium seats 1,900 and was designed by Burdwood, following the construction of the nearby Smallbrook Queensway, the entrance building and tower were demolished in 1963, and a new modern entrance constructed. At the same time, the theatre was renamed Birmingham Theatre for a time and this plain facade was refaced in the 1980s with a mock-Victorian plasterwork, whilst the stagehouse was demolished and rebuilt to accommodate larger shows. The decade also saw the theatre host the Central Television revival of the ITV talent show New Faces, pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham, Andy Foster,2005, ISBN 0-300-10731-5 Official website Birmingham Hippodrome in the Theatres Trust database
23.
Birmingham
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Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England lying on the River Rea, a small river that runs through Birmingham. It is the largest and most populous British city outside London, the city is in the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2,440,986 at the 2011 census. Birminghams metropolitan area is the second most populous in the UK with a population of 3.8 million and this also makes Birmingham the 8th most populous metropolitan area in Europe. By 1791 it was being hailed as the first manufacturing town in the world, perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive demolition. Today Birminghams economy is dominated by the service sector and its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121. 1bn, and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, Birminghams sporting heritage can be felt worldwide, with the concept of the Football League and lawn tennis both originating from the city. Its most successful football club Aston Villa has won seven league titles, people from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the citys nickname of Brum. This originates from the citys name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the citys earlier names. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect, Birminghams early history is that of a remote and marginal area. The main centres of population, power and wealth in the pre-industrial English Midlands lay in the fertile and accessible river valleys of the Trent, the Severn and the Avon. The area of modern Birmingham lay in between, on the upland Birmingham Plateau and within the wooded and sparsely populated Forest of Arden. Birmingham as a settlement dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years, by 1700 Birminghams population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of goods to Birminghams economy was recognised as early as 1538. Equally significant was the emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment
24.
White Lodge, Richmond Park
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White Lodge is a Grade I listed Georgian house situated in Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Formerly a royal residence, it now houses the Royal Ballet Lower School, the house was built as a hunting lodge for George II, by the architect Roger Morris, and construction begun shortly after his accession to the throne in 1727. Completed in 1730 and originally called Stone Lodge, the house was renamed New Lodge shortly afterwards to distinguish itself from nearby Old Lodge, which was demolished in 1841. Old Lodge itself had built by George II for Britains first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole. Walpole said that he could do business there than he could in town. Queen Caroline, consort of George II, stayed at the new lodge frequently and, on her death in 1737, White Lodge passed to her friend Sir Robert Walpole, after his death, it came to Queen Carolines daughter, Princess Amelia, in 1751. The Princess, who became the ranger of Richmond Park, closed the entire park to the public, except to distinguished friends. In 1758, a case made by a local brewer against a park gatekeeper eventually overturned the Princesss order. Princess Amelia is remembered for adding the two wings to the main lodge, which remain to this day. They were designed by Stephen Wright, the Prime Minister, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, became Ranger of Richmond Park after the Princesss resignation in 1760. The British Magazine for January 1761 lists Lord Bute as the Ranger with his Deputy Ranger being Sir Sidney Meadows. Entitled The Lodge in Richmond Park, the residence of Philip Meadows Esq. who was the Richmond Park Deputy Ranger and the brother of Sir Sidney Meadows, their father being Sir Philip Meadows. Sir Sidney and his brother Philip were related to the Prime Minister, Philips wife was Lady Frances Meadows, née Pierrepont and it was during the Bute-Meadows period that the name White Lodge first appeared, in the journal of Lady Mary Coke. In her entry for Sunday 24 July 1768 she says that went to Richmond Park hoping to catch a glimpse of their Majestys, the King made himself ranger, and Lord Sidmouth was made deputy ranger. On 10 September 1805, six weeks before the Battle of Trafalgar, Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, visited Lord Sidmouth at White Lodge and is said to have explained his battle plan to him there. After Viscount Sidmouth died in 1844, Queen Victoria gave the house to her aunt – the last surviving daughter of George III – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, understandably, the Prince of Wales found the few years at White Lodge boring. This was only the first of two deaths in her family that year, on 14 December, Prince Albert died of typhoid fever. The Queen was devastated, and never out of mourning during the remaining 40 years of her life
25.
Floral Street
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Floral Street is a street located in the Covent Garden area of London. It runs east from Garrick Street to Bow Street and contains a number of fashion stores, originally called Hart Street, it changed to the current name in 1895 to reflect the market trade. However the street itself was used by tradesmen associated with the fruit market. Originally the street was a cul-de-sac and at its peak during the 18th century there were no fewer than eleven pubs on the road and many illegal brothels. Floral Street was also the Old Compton Street of its time with a gay community. Due to its narrowness, the street has never been a sought after residential address in comparison to its surroundings, the main point of architectural note is the helix-shaped walkway which connects the Royal Ballet School with the main opera house building. It was designed by Wilkinson Eyre to represent the fluid grace of the prima ballerina, the Royal Opera House is situated in Floral Street. A plaque at No.48 marks the site of the studio of the artist Elizabeth Polunin who designed sets, Covent Garden History of Floral Street
26.
Marius Petipa
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Marius Ivanovich Petipa, born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer in ballet history, Petipa created over fifty ballets, some of which have survived in versions either faithful to, inspired by, or reconstructed from the original. Petipa revived a number of works created by other choreographers. Many of these revivals would go on to become the definitive editions on which all subsequent productions would be based, the most famous of these revivals were Le Corsaire, Giselle, La Esmeralda, Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée, The Little Humpbacked Horse and Swan Lake. All of the works and individual pieces which have survived in active performance are considered to be cornerstones of the ballet repertory. Marius Petipa was born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa in Marseilles, France on 11 March 1818 and his mother, Victorine Grasseau, was a tragic actress and teacher of drama, while his father, Jean Antoine Petipa, was among the most renowned Ballet Masters and pedagogues in Europe. At the time of Mariuss birth, Jean Petipa was engaged as Premier danseur to the Salle Bauveau, Marius Petipa spent his early childhood traveling throughout Europe with his family, as his parents professional engagements took them from city to city. The young Marius received his education at the Grand College in Brussels, while also attending the Brussels Conservatory where he studied music. Just as he had done with his children, Jean Petipa began giving the young Marius lessons in ballet at the age of seven. At first the young boy resisted, caring little for dance. Nevertheless, he came to love this art form that was so much the life and identity of his family. At the age of nine Marius performed for the first time in a production as a Savoyard in his fathers staging of Pierre Gardels 1800 ballet La Dansomani in 1827. The violent street fighting that followed caused all theatres to be shut down for a time, the Petipa family was left in dire straits for some years. The Petipa family relocated to Bordeaux, France, in 1834 where Marius father had secured the position of Premier maître de ballet to the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, while in Bordeaux, Marius completed his ballet training under the great Auguste Vestris. By 1838 he was appointed Premier danseur to the Ballet de Nantes in Nantes, during his time in Nantes the young Petipa began to try his hand at choreography by creating a number of one-act ballets and divertissements. The 21-year-old Marius Petipa accompanied his father on a tour of the United States with a group of French dancers in July of 1839. Among the many engagements was a performance of Jean Corallis La tarentule at the National Theatre on Broadway, the tour proved to be a disaster, as many in the uncultured American audiences of that time had never before seen ballet. To add to the fiasco, the American impresario who arranged the engagements stole a portion of the troupes receipts
27.
Lev Ivanov
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Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Imperial Ballet, he achieved prominence after performing as an understudy in a performance of La Fille Mal Gardée. He is most famous as the choreographer of Dance of the Little Swans from Swan Lake, Act II of Cinderella, and The Nutcracker, which he choreographed alongside Marius Petipa. Ivanov entered the Moscow School of Dance, but in 1844 moved to Saint Petersburg where he studied at the Imperial Ballet, among his teachers during this time were Jean-Antoine Petipa, Alexandr Pimenov, Pierre Frédéric Malavergne and Emile Gredlu. Historically, Ivanov is credited with choreographing the entirety of premiere of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys ballet The Nutcracker in 1892 due to the ill health of the ballet master, Marius Petipa. Regardless of the amount of work he actually did, Pepitas was the name listed for choreography on posters for the first production in St. Petersburg. Ivanov worked with Petipa on a new restaging of Tchaikovskys Swan Lake ballet in 1895, Ivanov choreographed the entirety of the lakeside acts, Act II and Act IV. Ivanov also choreographed the Danse Vénitienne and the Pas Hongrois of the third bier scene, in his last years Ivanov was in financial straits. On the strength of his 50 years service he petitioned the Imperial Theatres for financial assistance, Imperial Ballet School,5 April 1887. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,15 May 1887, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,16 October 1887. Revival by Claudia Kulichevskaya and Pavel Gerdt, Imperial Ballet School,16 April 1902. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,29 April 1903, Imperial Ballet School,22 March 1889. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,23 April 1889, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,23 November 1890. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,18 December 1892, staged jointly with Enrico Cecchetti and Marius Petipa. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,17 December 1893, bolshoi Theatre, Moscow,12 March 1898 Swan Lake. Music by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky, revised by Riccardo Drigo, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,27 January 1895. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,2 February 1896, Imperial Ballet School,3 May 1905. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,21 November 1897, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre,8 March 1908
28.
Mariinsky Ballet
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The Mariinsky Ballet is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, internationally, the Mariinsky Ballet continues to be known by its former Soviet name the Kirov Ballet. The Mariinsky Ballet is the parent company of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, the Mariinsky Ballet was founded in the 1740s, following the formation of the first Russian dance school in 1738. The Imperial Theatre School as it was known, was established on 4 May 1738. It would become the predecessor of todays Vaganova Ballet Academy, the schools founder director was the French ballet master and teacher Jean-Baptiste Landé and the purpose of creating the school was to train young dancers to form the first Russian ballet company. The first group of students included twelve boys and twelve girls, following the Russian Revolution, the Soviet government decided that the ballet school and company were unwanted symbols of the tsarist regime and went on to close them both. Following the assassination of the Bolshevik revolutionary Sergey Kirov in 1934, the then Soviet Ballet was renamed the Kirov Ballet, a name which is still sometimes incorrectly used. Despite later name changes and pressures of the Russian revolution, the present day Mariinsky Ballet is still linked to the school, the Mariinsky Ballet is today recognised as one of the worlds greatest ballet companies, employing over 200 dancers, including a reserve troupe and character artists. The Director of the Mariinsky Ballet is Yuri Fateyev, gergiev also serves as Director of the opera company. The two companies operate as separate units, the basis of the Mariinsky Ballet consists of the following artists, For a number of years, Marius Petipa was the ballet master of the Imperial Russian Ballet. NY Times article by Lawrence van Gelder, March 25,2008 Kennedy Center, Information about Mariinsky Ballet accessed 4 October 2008
29.
Swan Lake
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Swan Lake, Op.20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failure, it is now one of the most popular of all ballets, the scenario, initially in two acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerers curse. The choreographer of the production was Julius Reisinger. The ballet was premiered by the Bolshoi Ballet on 4 March 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, for this revival, Tchaikovskys score was revised by the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres chief conductor and composer Riccardo Drigo. Many critics have disputed the original source of the Swan Lake story, the libretto is based on a story by the German author Johann Karl August Musäus, Der geraubte Schleier, though this story provides only the general outline of the plot of Swan Lake. The Russian folktale The White Duck also bears resemblance to the story of the ballet. According to Lopukhov, both the plot of Swan Lake, the image of the Swan and the idea of a faithful love are essentially Russian. However, Geltser was in all probability merely the first person to copy the scenario for publication and this ballet featured the famous Leitmotif known as the Swans Theme. The choreographer assigned to the production was the Czech Julius Reisinger and it is not known what sort of collaborative processes were involved between Tchaikovsky and Reisinger. It seems that Tchaikovsky worked with only the most basic outline from Reisinger of the requirements for each dance, Tchaikovsky likely had some form of instruction in composing Swan Lake, as he had to know what sort of dances would be required. But unlike the instructions that Tchaikovsky received for the scores of The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, when Reisinger began choreographing after the score was completed, he demanded some changes from Tchaikovsky. Whether by demanding the addition or removal of a dance, Reisinger made it clear that he was to be a large part in the creation of this piece. Although the two artists were required to collaborate, each seemed to prefer working as independently of the other as possible, Tchaikovsky studied the music of specialists such as the Italian Cesare Pugni and the Austrian Ludwig Minkus, before setting to work on Swan Lake. Tchaikovsky had a negative opinion of the specialist ballet music until he studied it in detail. Tchaikovsky most admired the music of such composers as Léo Delibes, Adolphe Adam. He would later write to his protégé, the composer Sergei Taneyev, I listened to the Delibes ballet Sylvia. what charm, what elegance, what wealth of melody, rhythm, and harmony. I was ashamed, for if I had known of this music then, Tchaikovsky drew on previous compositions for his Swan Lake score. He made use of material from The Voyevoda, an opera that he had abandoned in 1868, the Grand adage from the second scene of Swan Lake was fashioned from an aria from that opera, as was the Valse des fiancées from the third scene
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The Nutcracker
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The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmanns story The Nutcracker and it was given its premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on Sunday, December 18,1892, on a double-bill with Tchaikovskys opera Iolanta. Although the original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was, major American ballet companies generate around 40% of their annual ticket revenues from performances of The Nutcracker. Tchaikovskys score has become one of his most famous compositions, in particular the pieces featured in the suite. Among other things, the score is noted for its use of the celesta, for the ballet, Tchaikovsky would again join forces with Marius Petipa, with whom he had collaborated on The Sleeping Beauty. The material Petipa chose was an adaptation of E. T. A, Hoffmanns story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by Alexandre Dumas père called The Tale of the Nutcracker. The plot of Hoffmanns story was simplified for the two-act ballet. Hoffmanns tale contains a flashback story within its main plot titled The Tale of the Hard Nut. This had to be excised for the ballet, Petipa gave Tchaikovsky extremely detailed instructions for the composition of each number, down to the tempo and number of bars. The completion of the work was interrupted for a time when Tchaikovsky visited the United States for twenty-five days to conduct concerts for the opening of Carnegie Hall. Tchaikovsky composed parts of The Nutcracker in Rouen, France, the first performance of the ballet was held as a double premiere together with Tchaikovskys last opera, Iolanta, on 18 December 1892, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Although the libretto was by Marius Petipa, who choreographed the first production has been debated. Petipa began work on the choreography in August 1892, however, illness removed him from its completion and his assistant of seven years, although Ivanov is often credited as the choreographer, some contemporary accounts credit Petipa. The childrens roles, unlike many later productions, were performed by real children rather than adults, students of Imperial Ballet School of St. Petersburg, the first performance of The Nutcracker was not deemed a success. The reaction to the dancers themselves was ambivalent, while some critics praised DellEra on her pointework as the Sugar Plum Fairy, one critic called her corpulent and podgy. Olga Preobrajenskaya as the Columbine doll was panned by one critic as completely insipid, Alexandre Benois described the choreography of the battle scene as confusing, One can not understand anything. Disorderly pushing about from corner to corner and running backwards and forwards – quite amateurish, the libretto was criticized for being lopsided and for not being faithful to the Hoffmann tale. Some found the transition between the world of the first scene and the fantasy world of the second act too abrupt
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Enrico Cecchetti
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Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia, Cecchetti was praised for his agility and strength in his performances, as well as his technical abilities in dance. By 1888, he was accepted as the greatest ballet virtuoso in the world. After an esteemed career in Russia, originating such roles as both the Bluebird and Carabosse in Petipas masterpiece, The Sleeping Beauty, he turned to teaching. Some of his students included notable dancers of the Imperial Ballet, such as, Anna Pavlova, Léonide Massine. He also restaged many ballets, including Petipas definitive version of Coppélia in 1894, while teaching a class, Cecchetti collapsed and he died the following day,13 November 1928. Changes to the choreography of the male variations featured in the works of the Imperial Ballets repertory, in 1890, Cecchetti performed in the ground-breaking production of The Sleeping Beauty, where his performance as the Bluebird caused a sensation in the audience at the Mariinsky Theatre. The choreography of the Bluebird has challenged male dancers even to the present day, Cecchetti left the Imperial ballet in 1902 to accept the directorship of the Imperial Ballet School in Warsaw, Poland, then part of the Russian Empire. His farewell gala at the Mariinsky Theatre featured all of the ballerinas of the day. In order to have everyone pay him homage, the Paquita Grand pas classique was performed and this led to the tradition of including a long suite of variations for several ballerinas. In 1919 Cecchetti performed at the performance of the ballet, La Boutique fantasque, in London. In 1887 Cecchetti performed in St. Petersburg where Ivan Vsevolozhsky and he was so impressed with Cecchetti that he immediately hired Cecchetti as a principal dancer for the theatre. This was extremely rare at the time because normally dancers would be asked to join a company on a lower level, with the introduction of the pointe shoe in the early 19th century, ballet was dominated by female performers using pointe technique. In many ways male technique had been reduced to the role of an actor whose responsibilities as a dancer were relegated to a servant who partnered the ballerina. In 1890, Cecchetti performed in the production of The Sleeping Beauty. The choreography of the Bluebird has challenged male dancers even to the present day, Cecchetti left the Imperial ballet in 1902 to accept the directorship of the Imperial Ballet School in Warsaw, Poland. His farewell gala at the Mariinsky Theatre featured all of the ballerinas of the day
32.
Giselle
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Giselle is a romantic ballet in two acts. It was first performed by the Ballet du Théâtre de lAcadémie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris, France on Monday,28 June 1841, the ballet was an unqualified triumph. Giselle became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, the prolific opera and ballet composer Adolphe Adam composed the music. Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot created the choreography, the role of Giselle was intended for Carlotta Grisi as her debut piece for the Paris public. She became the first to dance the role and was the ballerina to dance it at the Opéra for many years. The ballet is about a peasant girl named Giselle, who dies of a heart after discovering her lover is betrothed to another. The Wilis, a group of women who dance men to death. They target her lover for death, but Giselles great love frees him from their grasp, the Wilis are particularly haunting characters. They are the spirits of virgin girls that died before they married and these creatures were very popular in Romantic era ballets. Although still appearing ethereal, watching the Wilis sweep the stage creates a mood that builds as the ballet continues. They are ruthless and hateful of men because they have all died of a broken heart, Giselle finds forgiveness in her heart for Albrecht, but she knows the Wilis will not do the same. Their goal is clear and they are relentless on their quest, the Wilis are one of the most iconic characters in Giselle. They leave an imprint in the mind as they dominate the second act. The following plot summary is that of the first performances in Paris with Grisi in the title role, the plot changed slightly in details as the years passed. The ballet opens on a sunny morning in the Rhineland during the Middle Ages. The grape harvest is in progress, Duke Albrecht of Silesia, a young nobleman, has fallen in love with a shy and beautiful peasant girl, Giselle, despite being betrothed to Bathilde, the daughter of the Duke of Courtland. Albrecht disguises himself as a humble villager called Loys in order to woo the innocent Giselle, with the help of his squire, Albrecht hides his fine attire and sword before coaxing Giselle out of her house to romance her as the harvest festivities begin. Hilarion, a gamekeeper, is also in love with Giselle and is highly suspicious of the newcomer Loys who has won Giselles affections
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Sergeyev Collection
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Petersburg Imperial Theatres, as well as notation and music documenting the ballets of Lev Ivanov, who served as second Maître de ballet. Also included in the collection are choreographic notation documenting dances from operas by both Petipa and Ivanov, respectively. Today, the Sergeyev Collection is housed in the Harvard Theatre Collection at Houghton Library, at the end of the nineteenth century, the dancer Vladimir Stepanov developed his own method of documenting choreography, which he later detailed in his book LAlphabet des Mouvements du Corps Humain. The committee, which made decisions on the appointment of dancers, repertory, etc. consisted of Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Ekaterina Vazem, Pavel Gerdt, and Christian Johansson. The committee required that Stepanov first present demonstrations, known as certifications, Stepanov then presented a second demonstration of his method by mounting a reconstruction of Jules Perrots one-act ballet Le Rêve du peintre, originally staged in 1848 to the music of Cesare Pugni. The notations for this work were created by Stepanov after consulting Christian Johansson, the reconstruction of Le Rêve du peintre was performed by students of the Imperial Ballet School on 23 April 1893. Based on the success of these notations, Stepanovs project was approved, among the first pieces to be documented was Petipas 1894 ballet Le Réveil de Flore and the scene Le jardin animé from the ballet Le Corsaire. Stepanovs method of notation was also included for a time as part of the curriculum of students of the Imperial Ballet School, after Stepanovs death in 1896, the dancer Alexander Gorsky took over the notation project and perfected Stepanovs system. By 1903 Sergeyev was appointed régisseur of the Imperial Ballet, the collection also includes notation created by students. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Nicholas Sergeyev left Russia with a number of the notated choreographies. Orchestral parts for some of the ballets was also added, such as Paquita by Eduard Deldevez, The Little Humpbacked Horse by Cesare Pugni, and Adolphe Adams scores for Giselle and Le Corsaire. In 1924, Sergeyev utilized the notation to mount Petipas definitive version of Giselle for the Paris Opera Ballet, with the ballerina Olga Spessivtseva in the title role, the choreographic notation of Giselle documents when Petipa himself took Anna Pavlova through rehearsals. Today the collection is known officially as the Nikolai Sergeev Dance Notations and Music Scores for Ballets, for some time the notations were useless, as no one in the world had any knowledge of how to read Stepanovs method. It was not until Stepanovs original primer was found in the archives of the Mariinsky Theatre that the notations were able to be deciphered, few ballet companies have utilized the collection in modern times. Below is a list of productions of ballets that used the notation to either guide or completely reconstruct a scene or full-length ballet. In 2001 Vikharev mounted a reconstruction of Petipas 1900 revival of La Bayadère, both productions relied heavily on retaining elements of the choreography as revised in the Soviet-era. In 2000, the choreographer Pierre Lacotte created a new version of the Petipa/Pugni ballet The Pharaohs Daughter for the Bolshoi Ballet, Lacotte called upon the Stepanov notation expert Doug Fullington to reconstruct the so-called River Variations from the ballets under-water scene and a few other pieces. Fullington was only able to reconstruct five out of the original six variations from the notation, in 2006, Fullington reconstructed twenty-five of Petipas dances from the ballet Le Corsaire for the new production of the Bayerisches Staatsballett
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Harvard University
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Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College, Harvards $34.5 billion financial endowment is the largest of any academic institution. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university, the nominal cost of attendance is high, but the Universitys large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. Harvards alumni include eight U. S. presidents, several heads of state,62 living billionaires,359 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 130 Nobel laureates,18 Fields Medalists, Harvard was formed in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it obtained British North Americas first known printing press, in 1639 it was named Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard an alumnus of the University of Cambridge who had left the school £779 and his scholars library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted in 1650 and it offered a classic curriculum on the English university model—many leaders in the colony had attended the University of Cambridge—but conformed to the tenets of Puritanism. It was never affiliated with any denomination, but many of its earliest graduates went on to become clergymen in Congregational. The leading Boston divine Increase Mather served as president from 1685 to 1701, in 1708, John Leverett became the first president who was not also a clergyman, which marked a turning of the college toward intellectual independence from Puritanism. When the Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan died in 1803 and the president of Harvard Joseph Willard died a year later, in 1804, in 1846, the natural history lectures of Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New York and on the campus at Harvard College. Agassizs approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans participation in the Divine Nature, agassizs perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person can grasp the divine plan in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on an archetype for his evidence. Charles W. Eliot, president 1869–1909, eliminated the position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, during the 20th century, Harvards international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the universitys scope. Rapid enrollment growth continued as new schools were begun and the undergraduate College expanded. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. In the early 20th century, the student body was predominately old-stock, high-status Protestants, especially Episcopalians, Congregationalists, by the 1970s it was much more diversified
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Alessandra Ferri
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Alessandra Ferri is an Italian prima ballerina. She was eventually granted the rank of Prima ballerina assoluta, alessandra Ferri was born in Milan, Italy. She began studying ballet at the La Scala Theatre Ballet School and she represented the Royal Ballet School in the 1980 Prix de Lausanne, winning a scholarship which enabled her to continue studying at the school. In 1983, she was promoted to the rank of Principal Dancer, in 1985, Ferri left the Royal Ballet at the request of Mikhail Baryshnikov to become a Principal Dancer with American Ballet Theatre, under Baryshnikovs own direction. She stated that she needed a more rigorous training program that the company could provide, in 2007 she brought Roberto Bolle to dance opposite her in her farewell performance of Romeo and Juliet. In 1992, Ferri became a Guest Star of American Ballet Theatre and began a close collaboration with La Scala Theatre Ballet. She returned to dance after retirement in 2013, starring in The Piano Upstairs at Spoleto, performances since have included Lea in Cheri for Signature Theatre, The Raven for Gotham Chamber Opera and in Woolf Works with Royal Ballet. 1981 – Chanson – Choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, with the Royal Ballet,1982 – Invitation au Voyage – Choreography by Michael Corder, with the Royal Ballet. 1983 – Consort Lessons – Choreography by David Bintley, with the Royal Ballet,1983 – Valley of Shadows – Choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, with the Royal Ballet. 1984 – Different Drummer – Choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, with the Royal Ballet,1985 – Swan Lake – Choreography by Rosella Hightower, with La Scala Ballet. 1986 – Requiem – Choreography by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, with the American Ballet Theatre,1989 – Le Diable Amoureux – Choreography by Roland Petit, with the Ballet National de Marseille. 1990 – Birdy – Choreography by Jean-Pierre Aviotte, with the Ballet National de Marseille,1991 – White Man Sleeps – Choreography by Daniel Ezralow, with Maggiodanza. 1992 – Un Petit Train de Plaisir – Choreography by Amedeo Amodio,1993 – Le Baiser de la Fée – Choreography by Micha Van Hoecke, with La Scala Ballet. 1994 – Le Sang dun Poète, La Voix Humaine – Choreography by Roland Petit, for Teatro Studio,1995 – William Tell – Choreography by Heinz Spoerli, with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba. 1996 – Armide – Choreography by Heinz Spoerli, with La Scala Ballet,1997 – Vespri Siciliani – Choreography by Heinz Spoerli, with the Rome Opera Ballet. 1997 – In Volo – Choreography by Jean-Christophe Maillot, with the American Ballet Theatre,1998 – Quartetto – Choreography by William Forsythe, with La Scala Ballet. 1998 – Faust Tango – Choreography by Oscar Araiz, for the Ravenna Festival,1999 – Mambo Suite – Choreography by Annamaria Steckelman, for the Colon Theatre, Buenos Aires. 2004 – Europa Riconosciuta – Choreography by Heinz Spoerli, with La Scala Ballet and she is best appreciated in story ballets by Kenneth MacMillan, Roland Petit, John Cranko and John Neumeier
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Nina Ananiashvili
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Nina Ananiashvili is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the Daily Telegraph as one of the twelve greatest ballerinas of all time, Ananiashvili has been a prominent fixture of the Soviet, Russian and Georgian ballet scene for decades. In 2014, a film of her 1991 performance in Giselle with the Bolshoi ballet was released, Nina Gedevanovna Ananiashvili was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. Her father, Gedevan, and two brothers, George and Levan, were all geologists, her mother, Lia Gogolashvili. She was a child and at the age of 4. At 10, she became champion in her age group in Georgia, a dance teacher saw how she moved on the ice – in particular her balance and how she used her arms – and had her perform The Dying Swan on skates. Then the teacher took Nina to a theatre and showed her the costume she could wear if she performed it on stage, just like Maya Plisetskaya. In 1969, Ananiashvili entered the Georgia State Choreographic Institute, tamara Vykhodtseva was her first teacher there. The great Vakhtang Chabukiani also took little Nina under his wing and her progress was so impressive that it drew the attention of teachers from the Moscow Choreographic Institute, who convinced her parents to allow Nina to continue her studies there. In 1976 she entered the Moscow Choreographic Institute where her teacher was Natalia Zolotova. In 1980, she made her debut in a school production of Copula. She graduated and entered the Bolshoi Theater in 1981. At the Bolshoi Theatre, Nina was taught by two of the greatest teachers in the Soviet Union, Raisa Struchkova and Marina Semenova. In 1982, although still a member, she danced her first principal role with the company, as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. Eventually she rose to become a prima ballerina and she, along with Andris Liepa, was the first Soviet dancer to appear as a guest performer with the New York City Ballet in 1988. In subsequent years, Nina Ananiashvili became a ballet superstar. In 1986, after a long interval caused by a strain in international relations, ananiashvili’s London performance of Raymonda was greeted with delight by both the public and the critics. That year was a point in her career. She was permitted to accept guest performances outside the Soviet Union since 1986 due to the policies of Mikhail Gorbachev and she became a principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre in 1993, and in 1999 she joined the Houston Ballet with that same rank
