Australia Dancing - Boyd, Charles (1917

Boyd, Charles (1917 - 2002)

Photographer unknown: Portrait of Charles Boyd, Borovansky Ballet, c. 1951

Born in Sydney, Charles Boyd began his dance training with Minnie Hooper and later Mavis Sykes. As a young child he performed in Mosman Musical Society productions and his first professional engagements were in musicals directed by Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard. They included Roberta and Our Miss Gibbs and Boyd toured Australia and New Zealand with these shows.

After seeing a performance by the visiting Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Boyd was inspired to take up ballet as a career. In Australia he took classes from Leon Woizikowsky and Roland Guerard and then left Australia for London in 1936 hoping to join one of the Ballets Russes companies. In London Boyd began taking classes from Marie Rambert and by 1938 was being given parts in Rambert productions. With the Rambert company he created the part of Mr Tebrick opposite Sally Gilmour in Andree Howard's Lady into Fox, a role for which he became well-known both in England and Australia.

Boyd returned to Australia at the outbreak of war and spent the war years in the Army. He took up his dancing career again when the Ballet Rambert made its tour to Australia beginning in 1947. When the Rambert company returned to England in 1949 Boyd remained in Australia and joined the cast of the musical Oklahoma! In 1951 Edouard Borovansky invited him to join the Borovansky Ballet for its new season and with the Borovansky Ballet Boyd partnered leading ballerinas Peggy Sager and Kathleen Gorham. Boyd was well known for his performances as the Blackamoor in the Borovansky production of Petrouchka and as the Snob in La Boutique fantasque.

Boyd was a champion diver in his youth and following his retirement from dancing pursued his interest in wildlife conservation.

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Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
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