Ninette de Valois : adventurous traditionalist / edited by Richard Allen Cave and Libby Worth.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Cave, Richard Allen.

Mason, Monica.

Worth, Libby, 1955-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

De Valois, Ninette, 1898-2001.

De Valois, Ninette.

Ballerinas--Great Britain--Biography.

Ballerinas.

Women choreographers--Great Britain--Biography.

Women choreographers.

Choreographers--Great Britain--Biography.

Choreographers.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xvii, 289 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm + 1 DVD (211 min. : sound, color : 4 3/4 in.)

Other Title:

Ninette de Valois, adventurous traditionalist

Adventurous traditionalist

Place of Publication:

Alton : Dance, 2012.

Summary:

"Ninette de Valois was gifted with myriad talents. It has required a wealth of writers, teachers, performers, colleagues, one-tme students and collaborators to come together ot engage with and celebrate the complexity of this remarkable woman. The titles of the sections into which the volume has been divided (Biography, Teaching, Wordsmith, Company, Turkey, Choreography, Collaborations, Herself) merely intimate the strength of her inner resources and the diversity of her public achievements, her vision for a company and for the potentials of dance as an art-form. Determing those strengths and that diversity is the objective of 'Ninette de Valois: Adventurous Traditionalist'. Writing alone cannot hope fully to capture the vitality of theatrical performance or the rigours of the training and rehearsal schedules that underpin its virtuosity and so the volume is accompanied by many previously unpublished photographs and a DVD, offering four hours of filmed material of archival value. This study offers a substantial resource to assist future exploration of de Valois' life and work. The essays pursue divergent approaches and encompass contrasting viewpoints; but it is without question that de Valois' unparalleled success derived from her unshaken faith that ballet in its training methods and its repertoire must be both fearlessly adventurous and confidently traditionalist"--Publisher's description, back cover.

Contents:

Part 1: Biography. Introduction to David Bintley : filmed interview / Anna Meadmore (DVD track 1) ; From Bad Fairy to Gramophone Girl : Ninette de Valois' early career in English popular theatre / Jane Pritchard ; Ninette de Valois and Diaghilev / Clement Crisp ; Evolution not revolution : Ninette de Valois' philosophy of dance / Beth Genné ; Ninette de Valois, a woman of the theatre : a discussion led by Rupert Christiansen

Part 2: Teaching. Developing a training style : Ninette de Valois and the cultural inheritance of the early twentieth century / Geraldine Morris ; Introduction to Valerie Adams teaching the de Valois syllabus / Meadmore (DVD track 2) ; De Valois as a teacher : a discussion led by Anna Meadmore ; The Abbey Theatre School of Ballet / Victoria O'Brien ; De Valois' invitaiton to Léonide Massine to teach dance compositon / Kate Flatt

Part 3: Wordsmith. Fiercely alone : personality and impersonality in de Valois' poetry and work / Patricia Linton ; Four articles for 'The Old Vic magazine' and 'The Old Vic and Sadler's Wells magazine' / Ninette de Valois ; Writing across the footlights : Ninette de Valois and the Vic-Wells community / Elizabeth Schafer

(cont.) Part 4: Company. The Irish and the Italians : de Valois, the Cecchettis and the "other" ballet mime / Giannandrea Poesio ; Interviews with Ron Smedley and Simon Rice on the teaching of folk dance and national dance at The Royal Ballet School / Libby Worth (see also DVD track 3) ; De Valois and Lubanotation / Ann Hutchinson Guest ; De Valois' role in the development and dissemination of Benesh Movement Notation / Robert Penman and Victoria Watts ; Benesh Movement Notation and Labanotation : an overview / Victoria Watts (see also DVD track 4) ; Benevolence in ballet

the philanthropic legacy of Dame Ninette / Clementine Cowl

Part 5: Turkey. Ninette de Valois' Turkish adventure / Richard Glasstone ; Introduction to Levent Kurumlu's film 'Dancing Across the Bosphorus' / Anna Meadmore (DVD track 5)

(cont.) Part 6: Choreography. Six essays contributed to the 'Dancing Times' in 1926 and in 1933 / Ninette de Valois ; Madam and the Betrayed Girls : the dancers' perspective : an introduction to the DVD recordings / Anna Meadmore (DVD tracks 7 and 8) ; Crafting a collaboration of 'talents' / Susie Crow and Jennifer Jackson

Part 7: Collaborations. Ninette de Valois, the Bloomsbury Group, and the role of visual culture in the formation of the early Royal Ballet / Helena Hammond ; De Valois as colleague and collaborator : a discussion led by Gerald Dowler ; Ashton and De Valois / Alastair Macaulay ; Ninette de Valois and Kenneth MacMillan / Jann Parry ; Re-creating 'The King of the Great Clock Tower', Richard Allen Cave (see also DVD track 9)

Part 8: Herself. Ninette de Valois : introduction to filmed interview with David Drew / Anna Meadmore (DVD track 10)

Appendices. "Invitation to the Ballet : Ninette de Valois and the story of The Royal Ballet" / Cristina Franchi ; Ninette de Valois in the Royal Opera House Collections / Francesca Franchi ; Ninette de Valois in The Royal Ballet School Collections / Edward Small.

Notes:

Includes "Foreword" by Monica Mason.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [269]-274) and index.

ISBN:

9781852731571

1852731575

OCLC:

793689926