Australia Dancing - Borovansky Ballet (1939

Borovansky Ballet (1939 - 1961)

Stringer, Walter: Dancers of the Borovansky Ballet in David Lichine's 'Nutcracker', c. 1956

The Borovansky Ballet, also known at various times in its history as the Borovansky Australian Ballet Company, the Borovansky Ballet of 40 and the Borovansky Jubilee Ballet, provided Australians with their major source of ballet for over two decades. The company began as a non-professional outfit in 1939 giving performances in the Melbourne studio of its founder Edouard Borovansky as well as short seasons and one-off performances in other venues in Melbourne. It was officially registered as the Borovansky Australian Ballet Company Ltd in 1940. From 1943 onwards seasons by the company were presented by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and by 1944 it had become a fully professional company. The Borovansky Ballet was never, however, able to offer its dancers full year contracts and the company had many lay-off periods during its lifetime.

During the 1940s the repertoire of the Borovansky Ballet consisted mostly of ballets Borovansky had known from his days as a performer with Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes companies, augmented by works that Borovansky choreographed himself, such as Vltava, L'Amour ridicule, Fantasy on Grieg's Concerto in A minor, Capriccio italien, Terra Australis, The Black Swan and The Outlaw. In addition, a few company members created or staged their own works. Laurel Martyn, for example, mounted her Sigrid and En Saga on the company, and Dorothy Stevenson staged Sea Legend and Chiaroscuro.

During its second decade and into the 1960s the Borovansky Ballet presented a number of full-length ballets from the international classical repertoire, such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Princess and Nutcracker, the latter in a production choreographed by David Lichine with designs by Elaine Haxton. The Borovansky Nutcracker was a staple Christmas treat for ballet audiences in the second half of the 1950s. In this second decade the repertoire also included newly choreographed works by company dancers such as Paul Grinwis (The Eternal Lovers, The Three Devils, Journey to the Moon) and Robert Pomié (The Surfers), as well as many shorter works from choreographers of international repute including the Australian premiere of John Cranko's Pineapple Poll.

In the early years the company was led by Australian artists, including Laurel Martyn, Dorothy Stevenson and Edna Busse, along with overseas stars who had remained in Australia at the end of the Ballets Russes tours, such as Serge Bousloff and Tamara Tchinarova. In the late 1940s emerging Australian stars joined the company. They included Peggy Sager, Kathleen Gorham, Vassilie Trunoff and Martin Rubinstein, who would go on to be audience favourites into the 1950s. In the late 1950s new, young talent emerged when Borovansky employed Garth Welch and Marilyn Jones as important artists with the company. Dancers with an international reputation who joined the company in the 1950s included Paul Grinwis, Robert Pomié, Iovanka Biegovic, Jessica Folkerts and Jocelyn Vollmar.

Borovansky died in December 1959 although the company, still called the Borovansky Ballet, continued under the direction of Peggy van Praagh until early in 1961. In 1961 the company disbanded and was supplanted by the Australian Ballet in 1962.

Bibliography:

Judy Bartram, 'Edouard Borovansky: Repertoire and Dancers 1939-43.' Brolga, 1 (December 1994), pp. 30- 40; Judy Bartram, 'Borovansky's Dancers', Brolga, 6 (June, 1996); Judy Bartram, 'Productions by the Borovansky Ballet.' Brolga, 7 (December 1997), pp. 35-39; Frank Salter, Borovansky: The Man who Made Australian Ballet (Sydney: Wildcat Press, 1980); and Michelle Potter, 'Personal Gestures: Early Choreography of Edouard Borovansky', Heritage and heresy: Green Mill papers, 1997 (Braddon, A.C.T.: Australia Dance Council, c1998), pp. 59-66.

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