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Symphonic Variations (ballet)
''Symphonic Variations'' is a one-act ballet by Frederick Ashton set to the eponymous music (M. 46) of César Franck. The premiere, performed by the Sadler's Wells Ballet, took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 24 April 1946 in a triple bill; the other works were Ashton's '' Les Patineurs'' and Robert Helpmann's '' Adam Zero''. The ballet was conducted by Constant Lambert and the set designed by Sophie Fedorovitch. Background During the Second World War, Ashton listened to Franck's '' Symphonic Variations'' a great deal and he decided to develop an elaborate scenario to be set to the music. Constant Lambert, music director for the Sadler's Wells Ballet, at first objected to the use of Franck's music for a ballet; Ashton dropped his original scenario and created an abstract ballet. During the war, the repertory had become increasingly literary, and Ashton's purpose was to counteract this. It was not his intention to display ingenuity of invention but to cons ... [...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] |
Henry Danton
Henry Danton (born Henry David Boileau Down; 30 March 1919 – 9 February 2022) was a British dancer, teacher, and stager of classical ballet. Life and career Born Henry David Boileau Down to a family with French and Scottish ancestry, Henry Danton attended Crowthorne Towers preparatory school as a child, and later Wellington College and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, as a King's Cadet. Aged 19, he was commissioned from the Academy in January 1939 as Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery and was promoted to Captain at the outbreak of World War II before being retired from active service in 1940. However, Danton did not receive his final discharge until late in 1945. Danton was a prolific dancer in London during and immediately after World War II. In the UK, Danton performed as a soloist in the International Ballet partnering Mona Inglesby in ''Les Sylphides'' and ''Swan Lake'' 1943–44, and with the Sadler's Wells Ballet 1944–46, where he appeared with Margot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall; the company tours around the world the rest of the year. The company was scheduled to have a 5-week spring season at the MET preceded by a 2-week season at the Koch Theater beginning in 2020. ABT is the parent company of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and was recognized as "America's National Ballet Company" in 2006 by the United States Congress. History In 1939 Pleasant and Chase committed to the creation of "a large scale company with an eclectic repertory". The pair and a small group from Mordkin Ballet formed Ballet Theatre. Their new company's first perfor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dutch National Ballet
The Dutch National Ballet (Dutch: Het Nationale Ballet) is the official and largest ballet company in the Netherlands. History The Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdam Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company has been directed by Sonia Gaskell (1961–1969), Rudi van Dantzig (1969–1991), Wayne Eagling (1991–2003) and is currently directed by Ted Brandsen. It attracts many international artists. The company has been based at the Dutch National Opera & Ballet (formerly known as ''Het Muziektheater'') in Amsterdam since 1986. It is a regular guest at major festivals across Europe, such as the Edinburgh Festival. The company is committed to new choreography and performs work from current and past resident choreographers: Rudi van Dantzig, Toer van Schayk, Hans van Manen, Maguy Marin and Édouard Lock. On 13 September 2011, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary with a gala performance in the presence of Queen Beatrix. Dancers The Dutc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Dowell
Sir Anthony James Dowell (born 16 February 1943) is a retired British ballet dancer and a former artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is widely recognized as one of the great ''danseurs nobles'' of the twentieth century. Early life and training Born in London, Dowell began his dance training there in 1948, at the age of five. His first ballet teacher was June Hampshire, who nurtured her young pupil and instilled in him the discipline necessary for serious students of ballet. When he was ten years old, he enrolled in the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, then located in Barons Court, and embarked on a course of training for young people interested in pursuing a career in dance. In 1955, the school moved to White Lodge, Richmond Park, and became residential, combining general education and vocational ballet training. In 1956, when a royal charter was granted to the Sadler's Wells Ballet, the school was renamed the Royal Ballet School. Dowell continued his training there, moving ... [...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] |
Graham Usher (dancer)
Graham Usher (1938–1975) was a ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet. Usher appeared as a castaway on the BBC Radio programme ''Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (us ...'' on 16 May 1970. He was forced to retire early in 1970 due to fainting fits. He died suddenly at the age of 36 in February 1975. Jeffery Taylor subsequently described him as: References External links * BFI listing 1938 births Place of birth missing 1975 deaths Place of death missing British male ballet dancers Dancers of The Royal Ballet {{UK-artist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merle Park
Dame Merle Park (born 8 October 1937) is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for her ebullience and charm. Also admired for her dramatic abilities, she was praised as an actress who "textured her vivacity with emotional details."Anonymous"Dame Merle Park" online biography, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. Retrieved 14 September 2015. Early life and training Born in Salisbury, the capital and most populous city of the self-governing British Crown colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), Merle Park was educated in local schools. As a child she began her dance training with Betty Lamb, a local ballet teacher, and soon showed unusual facility. In 1951, when she was 14, her parents moved the family to England and enrolled her in the Elmhurst School for Dance. Located in Camberley, Surrey, not far from cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Persephone (ballet)
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by and marriage to her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld.Martin Nilsson (1967). ''Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion'' Vol I pp 462–463, 479–480 The myth of her abduction, her sojourn in the underworld, and her temporary return to the surface represents her functions as the embodiment of spring and the personification of vegetation, especially grain crops, which disappear into the earth when sown, sprout from the earth in spring, and are harvested when fully grown. In Classical Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed, often carrying a sheaf of grain. She may appear as a mystical divinity with a sceptre and a little box, but she was mostly represented in the process of being carried off by Hades. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over ''The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its ... [...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] |
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] |
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