David Poole (17 September 1925 – 27 August 1991) was a South African

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

, choreographer, teacher, and company director. During his thirty-year association with dance companies in Cape Town, he had "a profound effect on ballet in South Africa. He is internationally recognised as a significant figure in the world of dance.

Early life and training

Born in Cape Town, the capital city of the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

, near the southern tip of South Africa, David Poole did not begin his dance training until the age of eighteen, quite late for a dancer with professional aspirations. He trained under Cecily Robinson and

Dulcie Howes Dulcie Howes (31 December 1908 – 19 March 1993) was a South African ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and company director. During her performing career, she was considered the prima ballerina assoluta of South African ballet. In 1934, ...

at the University of Cape Town Ballet School in the early 1940s and soon began performing in the Cape Town Ballet Club, of which Howes was the director and one of the principal choreographers. He appeared to notable effect in her ballets ''Pliaska'' (1944), set to music of Liadov, and ''Fête Galante'' (1945), to music by Prokofiev. He also danced in early works by the young

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Tr ...

, including ''The Soldier's Tale'' (1944), set to the Stravinsky score, and ''Tritsch-Tratsch'' (1945), a jolly work set to the high-spirited polka of the same name by Johann Strauss II. In performances of these works Poole's particular talent was recognised by Howes, who added a special solo for him to her ballet entitled ''Suite'' (1936), set to music by Bach, and who recommended him for a bursary for study abroad. Consequently, Poole moved to London in 1947, when he was 22, and continued his studies at the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. There, under the strong supervision of

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 Russes, ...

and the administration of

Arnold Haskell Arnold Lionel David Haskell (19 July 1903, London – 14 November 1980, Bath) was a British dance critic who founded the Camargo Society in 1930. With Ninette de Valois, he was influential in the development of the Royal Ballet School, later be ...

, he flourished, becoming proficient in classical ballet technique in remarkably short order.

Career in Europe

Soon after beginning his studies in London, Poole was invited to join the Sadler's Wells Theater Ballet, where he was promoted to principal dancer in 1948. He enjoyed quick recognition by both fans and the press, winning praise particularly for his performances as Pierrot in Fokine's merry romp ''Le Carnaval'' and in de Valois's gloomy and ghostly depiction of ''The Haunted Ballroom.'' He transferred to the Sadler's Wells Ballet at Covent Garden in 1955, but he left the company (renamed

the Royal 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 1956 to dance with Ballet Rambert, where he appeared in such classic works as ''Giselle, Coppélia,'' and ''Swan Lake.'' During the first six months of 1957, he took leave from the stage to teach ballet technique at Kurt Jooss's Folkwang Schule in Essen, Germany, after which he returned to Britain and resumed his performing career, appearing with notable success at the Edinburgh Festival in 1958. During his twelve years dancing in Great Britain, he performed in numerous new works choreographed by de Valois, Cranko,

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 opposit ...

, Andrée Howard,

Walter Gore Walter Gore (8 October 1910 – 16 April 1979) was a British ballet dancer, company director and choreographer. Early life Walter Gore was born in Waterside, East Ayrshire Scotland in 1910 into a theatrical family. From 1924, he studied a ...

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

, and Alfred Rodrigues, among others.

Roles created

Poole created soloist or principal roles in the following works: * 1949. ''Sea Change'', choreography by John Cranko; music by Jean Sibelius. Role: The Skipper. * 1949. ''Beauty and the Beast'', choreography by John Cranko; music by Maurice Ravel. Role: The Beast. * 1951. ''

Pineapple Poll ''Pineapple Poll'' is a Gilbert and Sullivan-inspired comic ballet, created by choreographer John Cranko with arranger Sir Charles Mackerras. ''Pineapple Poll'' is based on "The Bumboat Woman's Story", one of W. S. Gilbert's Bab Ballads, wr ...

'', choreography by John Cranko; music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, arranged by Sir Charles Mackerras. Role: Jasper the Pot Boy. * 1953. ''Blood Wedding'', choreography by Alfred Rodrigues; music by Denis ApIvor. Role: Leonardo. * 1954. ''

The Lady and the Fool ''The Lady and the Fool'' is a ballet, created by choreographer John Cranko with lesser-known operatic music by Giuseppe Verdi arranged by Sir Charles Mackerras. The story concerns the love of a poor clown for a society beauty, who finally rej ...

'', choreography by John Cranko; music by Giuseppi Verdi, arranged by Sir Charles Mackerras. Role: Prince of Aragonza. * 1955. ''Danses Concertantes'', choreography by Kenneth MacMillan; music by Igor Stravinsky. * 1955. ''House of Birds'', choreography by Kenneth MacMillan; music by Federico Mompou. * 1958. ''The Night and the Silence'', choreography by Walter Gore; music by J.S. Bach, arranged by Sir Charles Mackerras. * 1958. ''The Great Peacock'', choreography by Sir Peter Wright; music by Humphrey Searle.

Career in South Africa

Poole had returned to South Africa several times over the years to stage works for the University of Cape Town Ballet. On his first visit, in 1952, he mounted Ashton's ''Les Rendezvous'', Cranko's ''Sea Change'', and a version of the final act of ''The Nutcracker'', set in the Kingdom of the Sweets. In 1957, he staged Ashton's ''Les Patineurs'' and Cranko's ''Beauty and the Beast,'' in which he partnered Patricia Miller, another South African who had trained and danced in London. He also produced his own version of ''The Firebird,'' set to the Stravinsky score. For the Union Festival in May 1960 he staged two one-act works by South African choreographers: ''Blood Wedding'' by Rodrigues and ''Pineapple Poll'' by Cranko. In 1961, he mounted a full, three-act version of ''Sylvia'', to the score by Delibes, a spectacular work that was later, in 1963, produced in Johannesburg. In 1963, the South African government granted subsidies to support ballet companies in the four provinces that existed at the time: the Cape Province, Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal. Poole was employed as ballet master of the University of Cape Town Ballet and was responsible for staging a full-evening production of ''The Sleeping Beauty'', with choreography after Marius Petipa. When UCT Ballet became a full-time, professional company in 1965, it was renamed the Cape Performing Arts Board Ballet (CAPAB Ballet). Poole continued as ballet master of CAPAB Ballet (since renamed the

Cape Town City Ballet The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is a dance company based in Cape Town, South Africa. History The Cape Town City Ballet originated from the UCT Ballet Company, which was established by Dulcie Howes ...

) and, upon the retirement of Dulcie Howes in 1969, became the artistic director in 1970. Among the original works he created for the company are ''The Snow Queen'' (1961), to music by Tchaikovsky, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1970), to music by Handel, and ''Variations for Men'' (1983), to music by Khachaturian. Notable among the ballets that Poole mounted for CAPAB Ballet are three works on South African themes: ''Le Cirque'' (1972), ''The Rain Queen'' (1973), and ''Kami'' (1976). Both ''Le Cirque'', set to music by Bach, and ''Kami'', based on a play by C. Louis Leipoldt, ''Die Laaste Aand'' (''The Last Evening''), and set to music by Bizet and Michael Tuffin, deal with the government policy of ''apartheid'' (literally, "apart-hood"), the major social issue in twentieth-century South Africa. ''Le Cirque'' was a dramatic attack on government repression; ''Kami'' (Sanskrit, "of fulfilled desires") was a grim tale of interracial marriage and the mysterious death of a government official. ''The Rain Queen'', a work conceived by choreographer

Frank Staff Frank Staff (15 June 1918 – 10 May 1971) was a South African ballet dancer, choreographer, producer, and company director. He was a major figure in the history of European theatrical dance in South Africa. Early life Frank Cedric Staff was b ...

, was set to a commissioned score by Graham Newcater and had décor and costumes by Raimond Schoop. Telling the legend of Modjadji, the hereditary queen of the

Lobedu people The Lobedu or Balobedu ''(''also known as the BaLozwi or Bathobolo'')'' are a southern African ethnic group. Their area is called Bolobedu. They are initially known as Bakwebo (wild pigs). The name "balobedu" means "the mineral miners" lobela ...

who was thought to have the power to bring rain to a drought-stricken land, it was planned as the first full-length ballet with a scenario derived from an indigenous South African legend. Poole dedicated the ballet to the memory of Staff, a revered and renowned South African artist. Besides these original works, Poole enriched the company repertory with new productions of classic ballets, including ''Giselle, Le Corsaire, Coppélia'', and ''Swan Lake''. Not only an accomplished choreographer and a visionary company director, he was a superb teacher of classical technique, mime, and stagecraft, raising the levels of performance and training in the company to a significant degree. In 1974, upon the retirement of Dulcie Howes, he was appointed principal of the UCT Ballet School. He also served as professor of ballet until 1986 and as director of the company until his retirement in 1990.

Legacy

The charity Dance for All, originally called Ballet for All, was the brainchild of David Poole. It was set up to bring dance to underprivileged children living in the non-white townships on the borders of Cape Town. The David Poole Trust Fund still supports extensive educational development and dance programs in disadvantaged areas of the city.Bryan Lawrence, "David Poole," online at About Professional Dancers & Companies: Ballet Talk for Dancers. http://dancers/invisionzone.conm/inex.php?showtopic+23065. Retrieved 24 June 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poole, David 1925 births 1991 deaths South African male ballet dancers South African ballet dancers University of Cape Town alumni Ballet choreographers South African LGBT dancers 20th-century South African LGBT people