Found this amazing book at my fave used bookstore:
Anna Pavlova In Art&Life by V. Dandré published 1932 by Cassell and Company Limited
Gorgeous.
Just look at this:
That’s our friend en pointe in front of what is probably her road box for touring. Can you imagine touring with wicker baskets? That aren’t on wheels? Hope they tipped their roadies well. Love her warm-ups too. No sweats and zip-up hoodie for this lady, uh-uh, she warms up draped in a shawl, wearing dangly earrings.
And check out this one:
Things about this picture: it is sexy and modern. That is a strong, well muscled leg, yo. This is no chunky Degas, I bet any dancer today would be pleased to sport these quick sticks.
But check out the shoe! What’s going on with that square vamp?! Straight across the front of the foot like bam! And the actual platform contacting the floor looks like it must be the tiniest of flat ovals.
Also check out this:
Are you kidding me with this picture??!
Thing about this book: it’s really beautiful, but kinda boring. Because it was written by Pavlova’s husband after her death, and, well, his love and admiration for her seem to have blocked his ability to be objective, so the book has no real opinion. Like, the chapter on How Pavlova Worked is not about her exercises or research, it’s mostly about how she was innately brilliant all the time.
The one time the author really cuts loose is when he rips on English dancers for being too reserved and lacking individuality and naturalness, and then rips on American dancers for lacking patience and wanting, “striking results in the shortest possible time”
Also interesting: he says that in England at the time dancing was considered a suitable career for girls, but boys wishing to pursue ballet were regarded as attempting to avoid serious work.
Which is, like, the one thing I’ve actually never heard male dancers accused of nowadays.
Anyway, here’s one last shot, as the final proof No One Needs that the Adult Beginner is not really very adult after all: check out the inscription:
Ernest Belcher. Hee hee. Earnest. Earnest Belcher. Hee hee hee!
The first two photos are beautiful, but the swan one creeps me out…maybe too many run-ins with geese in my childhood? (Those big birds are generally quite mean!). As for her tiny pointes, she was an innovator in building up the shank and platform of her pointe shoes, much more like a modern pointe shoe than an overdarned slipper, but she was also very image-conscious and had much of her photos “retouched” to make it look like she was balancing on a tiny tiny platform (so Photoshopping is not exactly a newfangled invention…haha!).
And yeah, I laughed at “Belcher” too!
Aha! Olde timey photo-shoppe!
Wonder what those shoes really look like? Must be a signed pair out there somewhere. In a museum. In the Ballet Museum Of My Dreams.
Agreed about the swans. Those things will totally bite you. And yet there’s Jack, her favorite swan, all snuggled up a lá Björkdress.
Hee hee, earnest belcher!
These pictures are beautiful! Just so you know I left you a link to your blog on my blog: http://blog.contemporarydancing.co.uk/2012/01/top-dance-blog-teen-dancer-thank-you.html
Have a great day, xo
Thank you Melissa!
And congratulations on your big win!
Super jealous of this find!
Anna Pavlova is one of my favorite dancers! She was the first one I ever learned about when I was ten years old and had just started ballet.
Oh wow. Super jealous too!!!
That first photo needs to be framed and hung on a wall! Lovely!
Personally I find the fact that the inscription is signed “Your Employees” with the quotes and everything to be a bit suspect. Why the quotation marks? Are they not actually Mr. Belcher’s employees? Is there a secret story? Hmmmm… Enquiring minds want to know!
Yes!!!!!
What is going on with Mr. Belcher’s “employees”????????!!!!!!!!
Nice. And I love old books with inscriptions like that. Such history!
OMG! This book really is quite the find. “The Father of Ballet in Southern California” and apparently of Snow White too…
…aaaaand this would be the link I meant to post w/ that:
http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2eblchr.htm
Oh. Em. Gee. This blows my mind. Totally freaking out right now.
Right?!?
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