Vollmar, Jocelyn (1925 - )

Romaine: Jocelyn Vollmar as Myrthe in 'Giselle', San Francisco Ballet, 1947

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Born in San Francisco, Jocelyn Vollmar began her dance training aged 12 at San Francisco Ballet School under Willam and Harold Christensen and Gisella Caccialanza. As a student she danced in the first American Coppelia and the first American full-length Swan Lake in 1940. She joined San Francisco Ballet in 1943 and her roles in the following years included the Snow Queen in Nutcracker in 1944 and Myrthe in Giselle in 1947 with guests Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin. In the late 1940s she danced as a principal with New York City Ballet and Ballet Theatre and studied further in Paris with Lubov Egorova and Olga Preobrajenska. She also danced with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas in the early 1950s.

Vollmar was invited by Edouard Borovansky to come to Australia as ballerina with his Borovansky Ballet for his season beginning in 1954. With the Borovansky Ballet she danced leading roles in all the company's productions including the classics such as Giselle, Les Sylphides, Nutcracker in a new production by David Lichine, and Swan Lake Act II, and in the Borovansky Ballet's stagings of the Ballets Russes repertoire including Petrouchka, Les Presages: Fifth Symphony, La Boutique fantasque, Scheherazade and Le beau Danube. Her partners with the Borovansky Ballet included Vassilie Trunoff and Royes Fernandez.

Vollmar returned to San Francisco when the Borovansky Ballet went into recess in 1956 and, although invited to return to Australia for the next Borovansky season, she decided to stay in her home city. She danced with San Francisco Ballet until 1972. Vollmar took up teaching with San Francisco Ballet School and since 1985 has taught upper division classes and coached students for annual school performances.

See also: Ballets Russes Australian tours ; Beau Danube, Le ; Borovansky Ballet ; Borovansky, Edouard ; Boutique fantasque, La ; Coppelia ; Dolin, Anton ; Fernandez, Royes ; Giselle ; Lichine, David ; Markova, Alicia ; Nutcracker ; Petrouchka ; Presages, Les ; Scheherazade ; Swan Lake ; Sylphides, Les ; Trunoff, Vassilie

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