Australia Dancing - Grinwis, Paul (1920

Grinwis, Paul (1920 - 2006)

Stringer, Walter: Paul Grinwis and Kathleen Gorham in 'Nutcracker', Borovansky Ballet, 1955 or 1956

Born in Gent, Belgium, Paul Grinwis was a student of Sacha Sarkoff and began his career as a dancer in Gent and Lille. He went to Paris for further studies with Olga Preobrajenska, Lubov Egorova, Nicolas Zvereff and Nora Kiss and then joined de Basil’s Original Ballet Russe. He danced for de Basil from 1947 to 1949 as a soloist and then principal dancer and appeared in most of the Ballets Russes repertoire. After leaving the de Basil company Grinwis joined the Marquis de Cuevas company until he was lured to Australia by Edouard Borovansky who had come to Europe in search of dancers to join the Borovansky Ballet for its 1951-1952 season.

In Australia Grinwis danced all the major roles in the repertoire of the Borovansky Ballet. He also staged a version of L'Apres-midi d'une faune and created the role of Ned Kelly in Borovansky’s original work The Outlaw. During this season Grinwis also choreographed his first ballet, The Eternal Lovers. Set to Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, and with designs by William Constable, the ballet was a vehicle for Kathleen Gorham, with whom Grinwis had quickly established a particular rapport. The Borovansky Ballet disbanded at the end of 1952 and Grinwis returned to Europe.

Borovansky reassembled his company in 1954 and Grinwis was invited to return to Australia as one of the Borovansky Ballet's principals. In 1955 he created his second work, The Three Devils, again with Kathleen Gorham in the lead. Grinwis continued to dance with the Borovansky Ballet during the late 1950s partnering Peggy Sager and Marilyn Jones as well as Gorham and others. In 1960 he produced his first evening-length ballet for the Borovansky Ballet, Journey to the Moon, in which he danced the male lead, with Marilyn Jones and Christiane Hubert alternating as the female lead. Grinwis also toured Australia and New Zealand with his own group, the Paul Grinwis Ballet Company.

After the Australian chapter of his career Grinwis worked in Holland, France and Belgium as a dancer and choreographer and with PACT Ballet in Johannesburg. In 1972 he founded the Gent Ballet Academy where he trained dancers until his retirement.

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