Australia Dancing - Pounder, Betty (1921

Pounder, Betty (1921 - 1990)

Photographer unknown: Portrait of Betty Pounder, 1940s?

Betty Pounder worked in dance variously as a dancer, choreographer, ballet mistress and director. She studied ballet in England with the renonwned teacher Edouard Espinosa but the outbreak of World War II meant that she had to abandon any idea of a career in ballet. Instead she began performing on the battlefields of France with ENSA (Entertainment National Service Association).

During the heyday of the American musical in Australia, from the 1940s to the 1970s, Pounder worked for the J. C. Williamson organisation on a whole variety of shows including Kiss Me Kate, Call Me Madam, Camelot, Annie Get Your Gun, Oklahoma! and My Fair Lady. With the decline of the musical Pounder turned to television and worked for the casting department of Crawford Productions and for the Victorian Ministry of the Arts.

In 1964 Pounder choreographed her Jazz Spectrum for the Australian Ballet. With music by Les Patching, this production had designs by John Truscott and featured in the leading roles Marilyn Jones, Garth Welch, Leonie Leahy, Karl Welander, Heather Macrae and Douglas Gilchrist.

Research Materials

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Other resources

Find more about Pounder, Betty in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia