INTERLUDE FOR BALLET

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 154, 25 March 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

INTERLUDE FOR BALLET

“Ballet in New Zealand,” by Eric de Mauny (Wellington: The Handcraft I‘ress).

With the visit to New Zealand of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet only just concluded, it is natural that much interest Ims attached to this lovely form of the dance, once the Cinderella of the arts, and now deservedly gaining its true recognition. People who little dreamed of its potentialities as an art, its direct yet subtle appeal, and its .significance, not only as a thing of classical beauty but as interpretive expression iu tlie modern idiom, have had their eyes opened, and it is safe to say that the ballet has gained many new followers among the theatre-going public of this country. “Ballet in New Zealand” contains a brief study of the antecedents of the art, a chapter on previous visits of balart, a chapter on previous visits of Adeline Geuee, Pavlova, and the Monte Carlo Ballet of Colonel de Basil—and revives much of interest about these earlier tours. There are short biographies on the great dancers iu the present company—ißaronovu Riabonatinska, Lichine; magic names these—and an interview with Anton Dolin that reveals the human side of a great dancer. Iu conclusion there is a short essay ou “The Future of Ballet.” There is a preface by Anton Dolin, and some fine photographic studies by Richard and Earle Andrew. The book is published by Noel Hoggard at the Handcraft Press, and is an interesting volume from a young publisher.