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Enigma Variations (ballet)
''Enigma Variations (My Friends Pictured Within)'' is a one-act ballet by Frederick Ashton, to the music of the ''Variations on an Original Theme'' (''Enigma Variations''), Op. 36, by Edward Elgar. The work was first given by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 25 October 1968. It has been revived in every subsequent decade. Background Elgar's variations portray, in his words, "My friends pictured within", celebrating, and in some cases caricaturing, members of his circle. He commented to one of them, Troyte Griffith, years after the premiere that if the variations had been written by a Russian rather than an Englishman they would long ago have been turned into a ballet. It was not until six years after the composer's death that an attempt was made to do so, by the choreographer Frank Staff for Ballet Rambert in 1940.Percival, John. "Ashton and the quality of friendship", ''The Times'', 26 October 1968, p. 9 Staff's ballet focused on the mood of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposition of his conventional middle-class family, Ashton was accepted as a pupil by Léonide Massine and then by Marie Rambert. In 1926 Rambert encouraged him to try his hand at choreography, and though he continued to dance professionally, with success, it was as a choreographer that he became famous. Ashton was chief choreographer to Ninette de Valois, from 1935 until her retirement in 1963, in the company known successively as the Vic-Wells Ballet, the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Royal Ballet. He succeeded de Valois as director of the company, serving until his own retirement in 1970. Ashton is widely credited with the creation of a specifically English genre of ballet. Among his best-known works are ''Façade'' (1931), '' Symphonic Var ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Holden
Stanley Holden (27 January 1928 – 11 May 2007), born Stanley Herbert Waller, was a British American ballet dancer and choreographer. Born in London, he joined the Royal Ballet in 1944 and won notice for performing numerous character roles, especially "Widow Simone" in the 1960 production of ''La fille mal gardée'' by Frederick Ashton. After retiring in 1969, he moved to California to teach and perform.Pasles, Chris (13 May 2007). Stanley Holden, 79; dancer who taught for years in Southland. ''Los Angeles Times'' He died from heart disease and colon cancer in Thousand Oaks, California in 2007, aged 79.Kisselgoff, Anna (15 May 2007). Stanley Holden, 79, a Dancer and Prominent Ballet Teacher, Is Dead'' The New York Times'' His former wife Stella Farrance was also a dancer in the Royal Ballet. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard Levin
Henry Bernard Levin (19 August 1928 – 7 August 2004) was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by ''The Times'' as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship to the independent school Christ's Hospital and went on to the London School of Economics, graduating in 1952. After a short spell in a lowly job at the BBC selecting press cuttings for use in programmes, he secured a post as a junior member of the editorial staff of a weekly periodical, ''Truth'', in 1953. Levin reviewed television for the ''Manchester Guardian'' and wrote a weekly political column in ''The Spectator'' noted for its irreverence and influence on modern parliamentary sketches. During the 1960s he wrote five columns a week for the ''Daily Mail'' on any subject that he chose. After a disagreement with the proprietor of the paper over attempted censorship of his column in 1970, Levin moved to ''The Times'' where, with one brea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. History Origins The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as '' The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesley Collier
Lesley Faye Collier (born 13 March 1947) is an English ballerina and teacher of dance. In 1972 she became a principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. In 1995 she left the company and began to teach at the Royal Ballet School. She is a rèpetiteur at the Royal Ballet. Early life Born at Orpington in Kent to Roy Collier and Mavis (née Head), Collier began dancing at the age of two and won a scholarship to attend the Royal Ballet School. In 1965 she completed her years at the school and for her graduation performance danced the leading role in Frederick Ashton's ''The Two Pigeons''. Dancing career Upon leaving the Royal Ballet School in 1965, Collier joined the Royal Ballet. In 1968 she was given her first solo roles. She went on to perform in all of the important classical ballets, and in 1972 became a principal dancer. On 13 November 1978 Collier danced with Wayne Sleep in a Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium. In 1981 ''The Ballet Goer's Guide'' called her "a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deanne Bergsma
Deanne Bergsma (born 16 April 1941) is a South African ballerina, who made her career in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. She was born in 1941 and showed early promise as a dancer, She first came to London in 1957 to take up a place in the Royal Ballet School, having been talent-spotted by Claude Newman, former principal dancer and ballet-master of the Vic-Wells Ballet and now a visiting examiner of the Royal Academy of Dance. In two years she had graduated from the school and joined the Royal Ballet company in 1957. She climbed rapidly through the ranks to become a principal ballerina and appeared in a wide array of roles, both classical and contemporary, until her retirement in 1975. This eighteen-year career coincided with an exciting period for the Royal Ballet. Apart from the stream of new works from Ashton and Macmillan the company's resident director-choreographers, it was the heyday of the partnership of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. The company was touring worldw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leslie Edwards
Leslie George Edwards (6 August 1916 – 8 February 2001) was a British ballet dancer and ballet master. He was one of the final links with Ninette de Valois's original pre-war Vic-Wells Ballet. Apart from two years of military service during the Second World War, his entire 60-year career was effectively spent with what became the Royal Ballet organisation, until his final retirement from the stage in 1993. Early years Edwards was born on 6 August 1916 and trained with Marie Rambert after leaving school at the age of 15. He then joined the Vic-Wells Ballet School. He also trained with Margaret Craske, Stanislav Idzikowski and Vera Volkova. He debuted at Rambert's Ballet Club in 1932. Performing career Edwards was a cast member in the original production of Antony Tudor's ''Jardin aux Lilas'' in 1936. He first danced with the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1933, however, he only officially joined the company in 1937. With the Vic-Wells Ballet, he was a member of the first cast of Frederi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wayne Sleep
Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's ''The Real Full Monty''. Early life Sleep was born in Plymouth, Devon. His mother enrolled him at an early age with Geraldine Lamb Dance School, where he studied tap and jazz, wanting to be the next Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire rather than a ballet dancer. He and his family moved to Hartlepool ca. 1951 and spent 10 years there. He lived at Friar Terrace on the Headland and attended Baltic Street Junior School. He began ballet lessons in Hartlepool in 1955 with Muriel Carr, before gaining a Leverhulme Scholarship to the Royal Ballet School in 1961 and joining the Royal Ballet in 1966 and becoming a senior principal dancer performing globally. Career At 157cm (5'2"), he is the shortest male dancer admitted into the Royal Ballet School. Because of his diminutive stature, many directors were reluctant to cas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antoinette Sibley
Dame Antoinette Sibley (born 27 February 1939) is a British prima ballerina. She joined the Royal Ballet from the Royal Ballet School in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960. She was celebrated for her partnership with Anthony Dowell. After her retirement from dancing in 1989 she became President of the Royal Academy of Dance in 1991, and guest coach at the Royal Ballet (1991) and Governor, Royal Ballet Board (2000). Early years Sibley was born in the London suburb of Bromley, the daughter of Edward G Sibley and his wife Winfred, ''née'' Smith."Sibley, Dame Antoinette, (Dame Antoinette Corbett)" ''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, online edition Oxford University Press, November 2012, accessed 5 July 2013 She was educated at the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmond Doyle (dancer)
Desmond Doyle (16 January 1932 – July 1991) was a South African ballet dancer who performed in England in the 1950s and 1960s before becoming ballet master of The Royal Ballet. Early life and training Desmond Doyle was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Dulcie Howes (1908-1993), a ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher, established the University of Cape Town Ballet School in 1934. Among her most promising students during the 1940s were Johaar Mosaval and Doyle. After some years' study with her, and performing under her direction in the University of Cape Town Ballet, both of them went to London to continue their training at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. Professional career In 1951, Doyle was accepted into the Sadler's Wells Ballet, under the direction of Ninette de Valois, and was promoted to soloist in 1953. During his years with the company, renamed the Royal Ballet in 1956, he created roles in a number of new ballets by Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, and John Cran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georgina Parkinson
Georgina Parkinson (20 August 1938 – 18 December 2009) was an English ballet dancer and ballet mistress. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1957 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1962. Best known for dancing 20th-century works, she was a frequent collaborator of choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, and had also created roles for Frederick Ashton. In 1978, she accepted the invitation to become a ballet mistress at the American Ballet Theatre for a year, before assuming the position permanently in 1980. She also performed character roles with the American Ballet Theatre. Early life Parkinson was born on 20 August 1938 in Brighton, England. She went to a convent school in Rottingdean, where she took weekly ballet classes. The nuns at the school noticed the shape of her feet and encouraged her parents to send her to pursue ballet training outside of the school. She trained with a local teacher before entering the Sadler's Wells Ballet School (now The Royal Ballet School) on sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_-_1914_-_Ritratto_da_Leon_Bakst.jpg "Click for more on -> Frederick Ashton")
