David Paltenghi (1919 – 4 February 1961) was a British ballet dancer, choreographer, director and film director.

Early life

David Paltenghi was born in 1919 in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

(now

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

), the son of a Swiss-Italian father and English mother.

Career

Dancer

He was a dancer with Ballet Rambert, until joining

Sadler's Wells Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded i ...

in 1941. Paltenghi created leading roles in

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet ( ...

's ''

Miracle in the Gorbals ''Miracle in the Gorbals'' (1944) is a one-act ballet choreographed by Robert Helpmann to a story by Michael Benthall, with music by Arthur Bliss. The setting is the 1940s slums in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. It became a staple of the Royal Ball ...

'' in 1944 and '' Adam Zero'' in 1946, both for Sadler's Wells Ballet.

Choreographer

In 1950, he rejoined Ballet Rambert as a guest artist, and as a choreographer, created five ballets from 1950-51. The last was ''Canterbury Prologue'', based on Chaucer's ''

Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus ...

'' with music by

Peter Racine Fricker Peter Racine Fricker (5 September 19201 February 1990) was an English composer, among the first to establish his career entirely after the Second World War. He lived in the US for the last thirty years of his life. Fricker wrote over 160 works in ...

and designs by the artist

Edward Burra Edward John Burra CBE (29 March 1905 – 22 October 1976) was an English painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, best known for his depictions of the urban underworld, black culture and the Harlem scene of the 1930s. Biography Early life Burra ...

, who he had met when they both worked on ''Miracle in the Gorbals''.

Film director

Paltenghi later became a film director, and his 1955 ''

The Love Match ''The Love Match'' is a 1955 British black and white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Arthur Askey, Glenn Melvyn, Thora Hird and Shirley Eaton. A football-mad railway engine driver and his fireman are desperate to get back ...

'' starring

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

was praised, "gets the utmost out of every laugh without belaboring the point".

Later life

He died on 4 February 1961 in Windsor, Berkshire. His son Jake Celeste Paltenghi is a painter and sculptor.

Films

Director

* '' Orders Are Orders'' (1954) * ''

'' (1955) * '' Keep It Clean'' (1956) - The Husband in 'Ring Around the Rosy'

Actor

* ''

Sleeping Car to Trieste ''Sleeping Car to Trieste'' is a 1948 British comedy thriller film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Jean Kent, Albert Lieven, Derrick De Marney and Rona Anderson. It was shot at Denham Studios outside London. The film's sets were d ...

'' (1948) - Vincente (uncredited) * '' The Queen of Spades'' (1949) - Officer in the gaming room * '' The Black Knight'' (1954) - High Priest * '' Invitation to the Dance'' (1956) - The Husband in 'Ring Around the Rosy' * ''

Port Afrique ''Port Afrique'' is a 1956 British drama film based on the 1948 novel of the same name by Bernard Victor Dryer (1918–1995). The colour film was directed by Rudolph Maté and the adapted screenplay was written by John Cresswell. The film ...

'' (1956) - Le Badinage Patron (uncredited) * '' The Battle of the River Plate'' (1956) - Customs Officer (uncredited) (final film orle)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paltenghi, David British male ballet dancers 1919 births 1961 deaths Dancers of The Royal Ballet British film directors People from Christchurch, Dorset