FINDING USE FOR THE BALLET

Radio Record, 20 May 1938, Page 11

FINDING USE FOR THE BALLET

Pretty Scenes at the N.Z. Centennial Would Satisfy National Craving For Applying The Arts

By

EMILE

i ")) ALLET is an unusual and somewhat strange Ke creation to New Zealanders, in spite of the re‘D: cent visit of the Ballet Russe. New Zealand people still regard it with suspicion. [very time they see a hig, well- built, strapping fellow moving lightly on the stage they have a deep, unconscious feeling that he would be doing a better service to humanity at the business end of a longhandled shovel. It is, I suppose. our heritage from the pioneers. They were forced to spend their energies on productive work. They had to clear laud of trees and stumps, and to build houses. And it wasn’t much use dancing in the depths of the bush. .

Hult, lately, in’ Londou there has been a revival of the ballet. The graceful figures of the dancers fill pages of fashionable illustrated papers. There are hot controversies over this dancer and that. And a pew name has grown up for the cult. They call it balle romania. Bet if New Zealand people still per sist in asking. "What is the use of the ballet?’ there is a good auswer for them. It was discovered by Mr. Edward Parlette, Wellington, who with his wife. Dorothy Parlette. bajust returned from a visit of fourteen gnonths to Australia, For baltet played a big part in the Sydney {50th anniversary celebrations. He sees no reason why it should not play just as big a part in the New Zealand Centennial celebrations of 1940. HEY used it there for the striking displiy called "Pageant of th: Nations,’ in which allogether 900 people took part. The pageant wes Australia’s acknowledgment to those tutions of the world whieh sent i Inessagves of congratulation and good will. Jt was not difficult to tind actors t represent the nations of the world. Syducy las its tuwus wilhin a tuwn.

It has its Czechs, Italians, Norwegians, Russians and Chinese. For their part in the pageant the Chinese had their own orchestra, the Russians their own choir. . Most of the nationals who took part had their own costumes, stored away and shipped across from Europe to Australia years ago, and brought out again, gay and colourful, for the pageant. Some of the nationals could hardly speak English, but they took their parts perfectly. The Chinese brought their costumes to the pageant in wonderful old carved chests,

HE pageant, held in the Town Hall, ran for a week to packed houses, and stopped only because there was no time left for it to run longer. All through the pageant use was made of loud-speakers and microphones for rehearsing and for stage work. Even the producer in the centre of the huge building carried a small microphone. HE pageant itself was given in two parts. The first dealt with the British Hmpire and the second with the Nations of the World. The New Zealand scena was produced by the members of the Polynesian Clubs of Sydney, under the direction of Mr. I. J. Moran, and was finely done. The Maoris did a mere dance that took the fancy of the huge audience. In the Nations of the World part, the Italian ballet was designed by Dorothy Parlette, who danced as well HILE they were in Sydney, Mr. and Mrs. Parlette both studied ballot hard. They spent some time under Guerard, premier male dancer of the Tallet Russe. Then they found a woman ballet dauecer, Shelanoff, who was five years with Pavlova on a world tour, and in the ballet of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York under Rosina Galli, (Cont. on p.. 63),

Use of the Ballet (Continued from page 11.)

During his visit Mr. Parlette found that. generally speaking, New Zealand teachers exeel above Australian ip giv ing instruction in the ballet, though the Australians are more expert in teaching tap dancing and eccentric dancing, Troe the training is arduous. the getual performance during a bal Jet is eusy., Mr. Parlette told me ‘Pie dancer lives iu avother world, outside things are completely forgotten The duncer bas no consciousuess of

anything but the musie and the colour and the line of movement. Even the presence of the audience is forgotten, or remembered only in the unconuseious mind, Technigue is much, but not every thing le deplores the tendeney he noticed in Sydney to drag the ballet down to the level of prizes) SyUabus training has the advantage of spreading a correet technieal knowledge be says, and that is a step in the right direction. But beenuse von can bane a eortificate on the wall that does not nike vou an artist There must be a mind behind the technique. Generally speaking,

dancers are not considered artists until they reach the age of thirty, The teacher can train a dancer so that she becomes a perfect executant at the age of twenty. After that age, the executive ability may not pereeptibly develop, but the mind should develop. The art of the ballet, says Mr. Par: le(te, is a cultural training that many omil in the first heetie vears of (heir youth, but they awake to the fact with regret at 18 or 19) They are sorry then that they have only gone lo picture shows and tennis.