Ballet in Britain: 1910-1939
“The creation of Ballet in Britain is one of the grandest achievements in the artistic annals of our century. It is owed absolutely to the idealism which fired Rambert and Ninette de Valois”
“Ballet in the form that we recognise it, had its being with the founding of the L’ Academie Nationale de la Danse by Louis XIV in 1661.” (Arnold Haskell)* Although many people have differing opinions about the place and date of the true origin of ballet, I share this quote only to demonstrate that ballet has, at least, had a history as long as several centuries and maybe more. Yet, despite the fact countries like Italy, France and Russia who had enjoyed this artform almost from the beginning, it took much longer to reach the British shores and meet the eyes of the British public.
I always found this realisation quite hard to get my head around. I had grown up in a Britain where ballet had a core place in our culture, so to think that not that long ago it had been almost unheard of was always kind of baffling. You see, although ballet had been performed in the royal courts in England, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the general public became acquainted with the art of ballet, most notably in 1910, with a visit from Anna Pavlova. Her virtuosic dancing and unforgettable Swan captured the imagination of the British audiences, not only burgeoning their interest in ballet, but also inspiring many young girls to start studying the artform seriously.
The 1910’s:
Over the next decade, Britain was graced with many performances by Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet, including The Firebird (1910), Petrouchka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913), all of which were tremendously contemporary in comparison to the more ‘stereotyped’ performances of the 19th century ballets that Britain had occasionally received before. I often wonder whether this helped to stimulate the contemporary influence that so many of the early British ballet companies had when they were starting out and creating their own choreographic works. Dame Ninette de Valois did write later on that as the citizens of Britain had little experience of conventional ballets, they were seemingly “ill-prepared to sit through a single, substantial work in an evening, [being] put off by a plot that seemed thin, costumes that appeared ostentatious and even vulgar, music that was deemed second rate, and choreography that appeared to stress technical ‘tricks’.”**. This contrast in attitude from British audiences at the time, somewhat gave way to some more unusual creations both musically and choreographically, usually much more pared down and modern.
In 1916, ‘The Russian Dance Academy’ was set up in Chelsea, London by Serafina Astafieva. She was a Russian ballet dancer who had performed with Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes between 1909 to 1911. Her pupils, over the years, included Margot Fonteyn, Anton Dolin and Alicia Markova.
The 1920’s:
The 20’s saw the establishment of the famous ‘Cecchetti Method’ within dance tuition. Enrico Cecchetti had originally set up his ballet school in 1918 alongside his wife, and over the decade before his death in 1928, he had accumulated an alumni that contained some of the most influential dancers of the time, including Marie Rambert. But, in 1922, he collaborated with Cyril W. Beaumont (dancer writer & historian) to transform his teachings into printed syllabus (The Cecchetti Method of Classical Ballet) that is still a core reference for dance teachers today. Alongside this, The Cecchetti Society was founded in order to preserve the great choreographer’s teachings and ensure that they were passed on exactly as Cecchetti intended.
In 1923, two English dancers- Ninette de Valois and Alicia Markova joined the Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. As Alicia Markova was still only very young, Ninette became her mentor. Though, in 1924, doctors discovered that Ninette had some left over damage from an undiagnosed case of Polio in her childhood. It was then that she took a step back from regular intense dancing, and soon left the Ballet Russes in 1926. Ninette de Valois always said that everything she learnt about running a ballet company, came from observing Diaghilev, and so, on her return to London, she opened an Academy of Choreographic Art in London, aiming to form a repertory ballet company. 1926 also saw Frederick Ashton created his first ballet, titled The Tragedy of Fashion, in which Marie Rambert also starred. It was called an ‘engaging little ballet’ by The Observer and did well to launch both the career of not only Frederick Ashton but also Marie Rambert, who in the same year formed her own ballet company, Ballet Club in London, now known as Rambert. With the tragic passing of Diaghilev in 1929, Alicia Markova returned to London, where she became the founder Principal Ballerina of Rambert’s Ballet Club, where she performed in many works by Frederick Ashton.
The 1930’s:
The 1930’s beheld the short life of The Camargo Society (named after the pioneering 18th century ballerina Marie Camargo) that was founded by Arnold Haskell (ballet critic & author), Philip Richardson (Dancing Times editor) and Edwin Evans (music critic) in order to give opportunities to British dancers, choreographers, musicians and designers. They aimed to promote the production of new ballets that were in line with those of Diaghilev “as a fusion of dance, music and décor.” This society ran from 1930 to 1933 and helped the fledging Royal Ballet that was founded in 1931, then known as the Vic-Wells Ballet, as well as Marie Rambert’s Ballet Club, also. The Camargo Society helped produce many of Britain’s early choreographic works, including Job (Ninette de Valois/Vic-Wells Ballet, 1931) and Façade (Frederick Ashton, 1931).
Although the Vic-Wells Ballet (Royal Ballet) only started out with eight dancers (including Alicia Markova who transferred from Rambert in 1931), the 1930’s saw it expand, with the creation of a great many new works. Ninette de Valois was keen to establish British repertory, and employed Frederick Ashton as Principle Choreographer and Constant Lambert as Musical Director in 1935. She too choreographed works for her ballet company, most notably The Haunted Ballroom (1934) and The Rake’s Progress (1935), Checkmate (1937). It was The Haunted Ballroom that gave Margot Fonteyn her first solo debut. In the same year, Frederick Ashton created the role of the bride in his choreography of Stravinsky’s Le Baiser de la Fée (The Fairy’s Kiss) explicitly for her. After Alicia Markova left the Vic-Wells ballet in 1935, Margot Fonteyn quickly rose to the top category of dancers and was consistently cast in many sizeable roles in Ashton’s choreographies. This included Apparitions (1936), Nocturne (1936) and Wedding Bouquet (1937) all opposite Robert Helpmann, who went onto become a choreographer in his own right.
Of course, as the 30’s came to a close, World War Two broke out which initially caused both Ballet Club and the Vic-Wells Ballet to disband, since theatres were closed. Though, once the initial shock of war had passed, the companies were able to reform, and became a huge source of much-loved entertainment throughout the war years. Though, that will have to be a story for another time…
Our National Ballet Companies (1920’s-30’s)
Rambert/ Ballet Rambert (1926)
The Royal Ballet/ Sadler’s Wells/ Vic-Wells Ballet (1931)
London Ballet (1938-1940- closed)
Our National Ballet Productions (1930’s):
Ninette de Valois:
Job (1931) The Camargo Society
The Haunted Ballroom (1934) Sadler’s Wells
The Rake’s Progress (1935-36) Sadler’s Wells
The God’s Go A-Begging (1936) Sadler’s Wells
Checkmate (1937) Sadler’s Wells
Frederick Ashton:
A Tragedy of Fashion (1926) Rambert
Façade (1931) The Camargo Society
Rio Grande (1931) The Camargo Society
Le Baiser de la Fée (1935) Sadler’s Wells
Les Rendezvous (1936)
Apparitions (1936) Sadler’s Wells
Nocturne (1936) Sadler’s Wells
Les Patineurs (1937) Sadler’s Wells
Wedding Bouquet (1937) Sadler’s Wells
Horoscope (1938) Sadler’s Wells
Andree Howard:
Lady into Fox (1939) Ballet Rambert
Sources:
*This Thing Called Ballet by George Borodin (1945)
**British Ballet during the Second World War by Karen Eliot (2016)
***Rambert a Celebration: A Survey of the Company's First Seventy Years by Jane Pritchard (1996
The English Ballet by W.J. Turner (1944)
The Rake’s Progress/ Checkmate by Marion Robertson (1949)
