Kathleen Ann "Kathy" Gorham (7 September 1928 - 30 April 1983) was an Australian

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

Early life

Born in

Narrandera, New South Wales Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...

, the second of four children of Marcus Gorham, an Irish-born railway employee, and his English-born wife, Hilda Muriel Florence (née Somers), Kathy Gorham lived much of her life in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

.Robin Grove, "Gorham, Kathleen Ann (Kathy) (1928–1983)"
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University
accessed 4 April 2015.

Career

She began dancing at the age of fifteen with the

Borovansky Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) 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 ...

, continuing to dance with the Ballet until it disbanded in 1960 upon the death of

Edouard Borovansky Edouard Borovansky (24 February 1902 – 18 December 1959) was a Czechoslovakia, Czech-born Australian ballet dancer, choreographer and director. After touring with Anna Pavlova's company, he and his wife, Xenia Borovansky, Xenia, settled in Aus ...

. She then danced overseas with companies in Paris and London. In 1962, Gorham became

prima ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...

of the newly formed

Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet (TAB) 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 an ...

. During 1952 and 1953 she danced in London with the

Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major Ballet company, ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ba ...

, and in Europe with Le Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas. In 1954 she returned to Australia with Borovansky, and that same year she was selected by

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 to Herbert and Grace Cranko in Rustenburg in ...

to dance "Poll" in his restaging of ''

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, w ...

'' for the Borovansky Ballet. She continued to dance for Borovansky and as guest artist for various European companies until she became a principal with Dame Peggy van Praagh's Australian Ballet in 1962, where she danced a wide range of roles for four years. She danced new roles in association with

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann (né 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 (no ...

and played an important role in the artistic development of the new ballet company. She retired from dancing after the Australian Ballet's first overseas tour in 1966, and then taught ballet in Melbourne at her own School until 1975, The National Theatre Ballet (1975–81) and

Southport, Queensland Southport is a coastal town and the most populous suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It contains the Gold Coast central business district. In the , Southport had a population of 36,786 people. Geography Southport is ...

until her untimely death. She served as co-artistic director of the

National Theatre, Melbourne The National Theatre is a 783-seat Australian theatre and theatrical arts school located in the Melbourne bayside suburb of St Kilda, on the corner of Barkly and Carlisle Streets. The building was constructed in 1921 as The Victory Theatre (3000 ...

. She was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1968 for her services to ballet.

Personal life

On 18 November 1958 Gorham married Robert Michel Pomie, a French choreographer and dancer, at

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

, Sydney; they had one son, Anthony Marrows. The couple divorced in 1964 and Gorham remarried, to Barney Frank Marrows, an engineer, on 6 September 1967. Gorham’s son Anthony, a social worker with children, died in 2007 of a heart attack.

Death

After a stroke in 1979, she settled in 1981 at

, and continued to teach. She died there, aged 54, following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. She was survived by her son, Anthony Marrows and her second husband, Barney MarrowsObituary
freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com; accessed 3 April 2015.

References

National Treasure by Frank van Sraten (1994)

Links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorham, Kathleen Australian ballerinas Prima ballerinas Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1928 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Australian women