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An interesting year with lots of foreign companies visiting, to varying critical acclaim. But the Royal Ballet was not perhaps in the best of shape and the Opera House was trying to find money for a badly needed extension...
Problems of the Year
There was general moaning about the lack of guests at the Royal Ballet. "You might sum up the present condition the Royal Ballet as 'More promise than achievement', though I don't think it would be quite fair." Alastair Macaulay. In March, Mary Clark wrote "The situation at the moment is that the Royal Ballet is strong in depth but plateau-like at the top".
Norman Morrice was the Artistic Director (AD) and was determined not to use so many guests but rather to push his own dancers more. It had been a criticism of the previous Director, MacMillan, that he had used too many guests and not developed the company. Morrice was also wrestling with the ROH management... he wanted more performances the following year.
The Opera House was also trying to extend and redevelop itself. They needed to raise £10M for the work. The Prince of Wales spent 3 days making a film about backstage conditions and it was shown at EMI Cinemas around the country. The chase after money is a recurring theme through the year.
Dancer of the Year
No one dancer really seems to have dominated but Marion Tait at Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and Lesley Collier at the Royal, consistently seem to have got good crits. Nureyev was still dancing, but was in decline, and many were starting to wish he would stop. For London audiences the stars of the summer seem to have been the entire company of NYCB. No praise seemed to high.
Calendar
| January |
The Iran National Ballet in Tehran collapses and shuts down on account of rioting, curfews, lack of electricity and then food as the country descended into turmoil. Most of the dancers were from the UK or US. The Shah, the main sponsor, was eventually deposed of course.
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| February |
Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet has a new Coppelia by Peter Wright with designs by Peter Snow. It opened on the 9th in Stratford-upon-Avon. Marion Tait was the opening night Swanilda "more brilliant than ever before" according to Alastair Macaulay. He went on "Isn't it time for her to be invited to dance at Covent Garden?". Thank goodness she never moved and has gone on to become the companies Ballet Mistress. (they are, of course, Birmingham Royal Ballet now)
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| March |
On the 6th London Festival Ballet open in Ronald Hynd's Rosalinda based on Die Fledermaus with music courtesy of John Lanchbery. It was at the Dominion since the Coliseum was closed for repairs and renovations. Rosalinda was not so well received:
"Its been suggested that Festival Ballet needs works like Rosalinda to attract provincial audiences; but the company must know that its not necessary to cater this far down market to win audiences around the country. The regions need no such condescension. No, Rosalinda seems expressly designed for low brow tastes; it gave me mighty little pleasure, but if it attracted some members of the audience who then go on to discover other (better) ballets, then I'll have one cause for gratitude. (and if they go on to discover ballets other than Rosalinda, then they'll have cause for gratitude too)."
Alastair Macaulay in the Dancing Times.
Scottish Ballet, on the 7th, premiered Underground Rumours with scores commissioned from two popular progressive rock bands; Jethro Tull and Yes. (Of course some of us still have the albums!)
13th: Iraqi National Dance appear at Sadler's Wells. I can find no record of how well they did.
MacMillan's La Fin du jour is premiered as part of a 3 piece program of his works on the 15th March. Elite Syncopations and Diversions were the others. Princess Margaret attended in order to present MacMillan with his Evening Standard award for the "most outstanding achievement in ballet during the year". Unfortunately the stage staff were in dispute with the ROH management and there was no stage crew for the evening! They started with the new MacMillan and then danced the other two ballets in the same set... It must be about the only time that Elite Syncopations has been danced in a set at all!
David Bintley has a new Ballet premiered in Birmingham on the 16th March - Meadow of Proverbs - a ballet based loosely on the works of Goya. It's his third professional piece and is much the most praised. Of course now, as BRB Artistic Director, he choreographs regularly at Birmingham, something that few would have guessed at the time.
16th: Leonide Massine dies in West Germany. According to Arnold Haskell ".. Massine is the biggest personality I have ever seen in ballet, and certainly the most intelligent. Diaghilev once stated that Massine was the only dancer who was his intellectual equal..."
Ballet for All is restructured after 14 years of existence. Ballet for All was the Royal Ballets traveling (in a custom bus!) educational enterprise designed to reach out from London and provide entertainment as well as instruction. They even tried to put on the Tchaikovsky ballets with 6 dancers... Fiona Chadwick was one notable dancer involved in the later years. Unfortunately the ROH were no longer taking the enterprise seriously and the ARTS Council put it under new RAD management.
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| April |
Walter Gore dies. Like Ashton he was in at the start of British ballet and danced with Ballet Rambert for it's first 20 years.
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| May |
On May the 1st BB1 screens a one hour documentary about the poor backstage conditions at Covent Garden.
3rd: Rambert's The Tempest, by Glen Tetley, got its London premiere (the company first seemed to perform it at the Schwetzingen Festival in Germany). "The shipwreck is a particular tour de force with its yards of billowing silk buffeting the stage like waves." (Deirdre McMahon). That aside Tempest only stayed in the repertoire two seasons. But there was lots of other new work at Rambert as well. Also in 1979, Christopher Bruce created 2 pieces (Night with Waning Moon and Sidewalk) and Siobhan Davies one piece (Celebration).
On the 20th Richard Baker makes an appeal for the Covent Garden redevelopment on BBC1 which brings in £13,000. Average monthly donations are £100,000 a month at this time (towards a target of £10M)
23rd: The 60th Birthday Tribute to Margot Fonteyn at Covent Garden (though her birthday was actually on the 18th). She danced in a small solo with Ashton accompanying; Salut d'Amour a Margot Fonteyn. It included steps from many of her most famous roles. She also danced the Tango in Facade - Helpman accompanied. Michael Somes led the singing of Happy Birthday to You at the end.
Antoinette Sibley announces her retirement having been plagued by a knee injury for some years. (She does however dance again with the Royal, as you will see)
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| June |
5th: The Nureyev Festival at the Coliseum opened it's 3 week run. Nureyev stared in practically everything. London Festival Ballet do the brunt of the support work. It opens with Romeo and Juliet and critics generally feel he is in better shape than earlier festivals in previous years. Good(ish) but nowhere near as good as he was in his prime.
On the 15th Finish National Ballet appear at the Sadler's Wells. Mary Clark was very unimpressed ".. a sad disappointment...badly over-stretched.... decidedly unimpressed by the choreography..."
18th: The start of the International Ballet Competition at Jackson, Mississippi. It advertises itself with $50,000 in prize money and scholarships.
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| July |
On the 11th the Royal Ballet School performance at Covent Garden has Ravenna Tucker, Alessandra Ferri and Samira Saidi appearing in Concerto Barocco and Michael O'Hare in Checkmate.
The Martha Graham Company open a 2 week season at the Royal Opera House on the 23rd.
Dame Marie Rambert receives the Golden Medal of the Order of Merit of the Polish People's Republic - the country where she was born. She is 92.
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| August |
6th: The National Ballet of Canada open a weeks season. Apparently it was all a bit of a disappointment.
7th: Dance Theatre of Harlem is at Sadler's Wells and seems to have sold out.
Beryl Grey resigns from the London Festival Ballet after running it for 11 years. It was part of a restructuring exercise. John Field took over.
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| September |
Jonathan Burrows joined RB (from the the RB School). After a good career he later left to take up choreography with his own unique and quirky style.
4th- 22nd: New York City Ballet season at the Royal Opera House. They come with a dazing array of pieces - over 20 in all. The critics loved them. And of course Baryshnikov raised more than a few eyebrows.
Meanwhile at the Edinburgh Festival Merce Cunningham, National Ballet of Cuba and the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet were wowing them.
Ashton was 75 on the 17th September. On the 15th BBC2 presented "An evening with Frederick Ashton" and on the 18th BBC1 presented a full length documentary about him.
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October |
3rd: The RB season opens at the Covent Garden. The number of performances are up to 140 an increase of 11 on the previous season.
Anthony Dowell returns to the Royal after a year away with American Ballet Theatre.
Frederick Freed is 80. He started work age 13 1/2 in his fathers cobblers shop.
Princess Margaret visits five cities in the US on behalf of the Covent Garden Development appeal. $500,000 is raised
Ravenna Tucker joined RB. (She went on to become a Principal with both the Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet and was the finest Giselle I ever saw {BM}).
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| November |
24th: The Royal Danish holds its week long Centenary celebration in Honour of August Bournonville, the companies founder. Dance lovers are said to fly to Denmark from all over the world.
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December |
26th London Festival Ballet open their Nutcracker at the Royal Festival Hall. At this time it was Ronald Hynd's version. Seats range in price from £1.50 to £6.50
The picture is from the December's Dancing Times "Round the Classes" section. the caption reads:
"Susan Cleary, Heather Dale, Jane Simpson,and Anne Forbes, pupils of Sally Benyon of Pietermaritzburg, Natal, are the first and only candidates in South Africa to have gained the gold star for ISTD National."
{And no its not 'our' Jane Simpson - shame!}
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Some Prices
Porselli Satin Soft toe Blocks cost £6.37 + 40p postage
A classical tutu in a choice of 13 colours of crepe Nylon(?!) from Ponchinello in St Hellens cost £9.85 plus 50p if you wanted it made to your exact measurements. Postage was 35p
The Dancing Times cost 40p at the beginning of the year going up to 50p in October
Seats at the Royal Ballet School season at Wimbledon Theatre cost from 65p to £2.50
London Festival Ballet produced Appeal Plate No. 1 "Swan Lake". Made in Stoke-on-Trent it costs £9.95 (postage included).
Some Things Never Change
In the November Issue of Dancing Times Mary Clark noted of the ROH orchestra "The orchestra didn't do very well for Ashley Lawrence at the first performance and did excruciatingly for Emanuel Young at the matinee".
Next Month
The year we'll be looking at will be 1954. Do write to us if you have any particular memories of that year.
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