''The Haunted Ballroom'' is a one-act

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, in three scenes and an interlude, with music and libretto by Geoffrey Toye and choreography by

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russ ...

. It was first produced in London in 1934, and was revived several times, but much of the choreography is now lost. The ballet is a Gothic melodrama about a fatal

family curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular ...

Production

The ballet was first staged by the

Vic-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 in ...

at Sadler's Wells Theatre on 3 April 1934. Geoffrey Toye, who wrote the libretto and the music, based the plot on a story by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

.Sorley Walker, pp. 17–18 The costumes and sets were by Motley. The principals in the first production were

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internation ...

as the leader of the ghosts,

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 ( ...

as the Master of Tregennis, William Chappell as the Stranger Player, and the teenaged

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

as the young Tregennis heir. The work remained in the company's repertoire until 1957, but much of the choreography has since been lost.Bintley, David (2001). Notes to ASV CD set CD WLS 255

Plot

Set in a haunted ballroom, the ballet tells how the heads of the family of Treginnis are under a curse that leads to their deaths, dancing with ghostly partners."A New Ballet at Sadler's Wells", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 4 April 1934, p. 11 Three guests at a ball in another part of the Tregennis house persuade the heir of Treginnis to show them the haunted ballroom. Fascinated, they want to dance, but are stopped by the master of the house. They leave and he is left alone, realising that the ghosts will come for him. Shapes appear, led by a thinly cloaked figure. Three of the ghosts resemble the young women who had strayed into the room. Treginnis seeks to dance with them, but Death intervenes. and the ballet closes with Tregennis's young son realising that he too will meet the same death.

Notes

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haunted Ballroom, The Ballets by Ninette de Valois 1934 ballet premieres