Poul Rudolph Gnatt (24 March 1923 – 15 October 1995) was a Danish dancer and balletmaster active in New Zealand.

Childhood

Gnatt was born in Baden, Austria. His father was Kai Gnatt, flower merchant, and his mother Kaja Olsen, both from Denmark, to which they returned from Austria with Poul and his sister Kirsten six years after his birth, whereupon the children entered the ballet school of the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world and originates from 1748, when the R ...

. Brother and sister entered the parent company upon their graduation in 1939.

Career

Early career

Gnatt achieved acclaim for his ''

Coppélia ''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-� ...

'', ''Sleeping Beauty'', '' Le Spectre de la Rose'' and ''

La Sylphide ''La Sylphide'' ( en, The Sylph; da, Sylfiden) is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. ...

''. During the Second World War, still in the ballet company, Gnatt worked with the Resistance as liaison for British special operations parachutists. After the war he joined

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

's Ballets des Champs-Elysées in Paris, then the Metropolitan Ballet in London, where he met his longtime collaborator Harry Haythorne. His first marriage having ended in divorce, Gnatt married Rigmor Strøyberg in Copenhagen on 18 September 1951. That year he joined the

Borovansky Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...

, which regularly toured New Zealand (and which he would later lead under its new name, The Australian Ballet.) The following year he, Rigmor and their young sons moved to Auckland to teach ballet classes.

New Zealand

Gnatt and New Zealand ballet teachers Beryl Nettleton and Bettina Edwards performed at the Playhouse Theatrein Karangahape Road; later renamed the Mercury Theatre and in His Majesty's Theatre, Queen Street, which led to lecture-demonstrations with a quartet of dancers, starting with tours to rural centres in the North Island sponsored by the Community Arts Service of

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. In 1953 Gnatt established the New Zealand Ballet and directed it until 1962. He was famously photographed in the sand dunes at Te Henga / Bethells Beach in 1954, alongside dancer Julie Barker. Dancers to come out of the company included Jon Trimmer, Russell Kerr,

Rowena Jackson Rowena Othlie Jackson (also known as Chatfield; born 24 March 1926) is a New Zealand former prima ballerina. Early life Jackson was born in Invercargill on 24 March 1926 to William Ernest Jackson and Lilian Jane, née Solomon. As a young chil ...

and

Sara Neil Sara Louise Neil (born 2 September 1960) is a Canadian retired road bicycle racer, who won the bronze medal in the women's individual road race at the 1987 Pan American Games. A resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, she represented Canada ...

. His sister,

Kirsten Ralov Kirsten Ralov (26 March 1922 – 30 May 1999) was a Danish ballerina. She was born to Kai and Kaja Gnatt, née Olsen, a family of dancers living in Baden, Austria. Kirsten's mother encouraged her, and her brother Poul, to train as dancers. She e ...

, and her husband, Fredborn Bjornsson, visited in 1962 to dance in Bournonville's ''Napoli'', its first production outside Denmark. The company's board, however, appointed a new director that year. Gnatt joined

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direc ...

as balletmaster. He returned as interim director of the New Zealand Ballet from 1969 to 1971 and subsequently co-founded the Dance Theatre of the Philippines. Gnatt died in Ōtaki, New Zealand, on 15 October 1995. He was the father of

Fin Gnatt A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...

, sports and news anchor on Norwegian TV 2.

Honours and awards

In the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours, Gnatt was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for community service. In 1994, he was conferred with an honorary

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

degree by

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

. In 1998, the

Royal New Zealand Ballet The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish ...

's principal studio was named in Gnatt's honour when it moved into the refurbished

St James Theatre St. James Theatre is a Broadway theatre in New York City. St. James Theatre may also refer to: Australia * St. James Theatre, Sydney, multi-storey building in Elizabeth Street, not to be confused with diminutive St James' Hall, Sydney New Zeala ...

in Wellington.

Footnotes

References

* Ashton, B. ''The New Zealand Ballet''. Wellington, 1978 * Shennan, Jennifer. "Gnatt, Poul Rudolph 1923–1995". ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', volume five (1941–1960), 2000, updated 22 June 2007 * Dancing Times 86, no 1023 (December 1995): 243 * Evening Post. 19 October 1995: 5
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gnatt, Poul 1923 births 1995 deaths Danish expatriates in Austria Danish expatriates in Australia Danish emigrants to New Zealand Ballet masters Danish male ballet dancers New Zealand male ballet dancers 20th-century New Zealand dancers Companions of the Queen's Service Order