Australia Dancing - Busse, Edna

Busse, Edna

Hall, Hugh P.: Portrait of Edna Busse, c. 1944

Edna Busse received her early dance training in Melbourne with Eunice Weston and was for a time junior assistant to Weston. Later she studied with Xenia Borovansky and subsequently danced with the Borovansky Ballet where her principal partners were Martin Rubinstein and Serge Bousloff. By 1946 she was prima ballerina with the company and the first fully Australian trained dancer to reach the rank of principal.

Busse went to London in 1952 where she danced at the Palladium in a variety of shows. She studied with Mathilde Kschessinska in London and Paris until family illness brought her back to Australia in 1955. In Australia she was given a contract by Harry Wren and continued to dance for another few years before injury forced her to retire. Following her retirement from performing Busse taught in Melbourne for several years and then opened a ballet school in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, in 1968. With the support of a local consortium she established Inland Ballet and produced both the classics and new works for this company.

Busse continues to live in Wagga Wagga but has retired from teaching.

Research Materials

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Find more about Busse, Edna in:

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