Back From Europe And Delighted With N.Z. Ballet

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30561, 2 October 1964, Page 2

Back From Europe And Delighted With N.Z. Ballet

With recent productions of the Royal Ballet (London) and many of the top companies in Europe still in mind, a Christcliurch ballet teacher (Mrs I. Kalnins) watched the New Zealand Ballet’s presentation of “Petrouchka” last week with a professional delight.

“The New Zealand Ballet did it extremely well and came right up to Alexander Grant's magnificent interpretation of the title role,” she said yesterday. “It was exactly the same production as one . I saw in Hamburg a few months ago at the Hamburg State Opera by Nicolas Beriozoff.” Mrs Kalnins said the New Zealand company’s artistic director (Mr Russell Kerr) should be commended on his choice of programme for the company. “He has done a wonderful job with the ballet, both technically and artistically. Now, I would like to see the ranks of the company swell in numbers,” she said.

Overseas Teaching After teaching classes in several European companies, watching classes wherever she went during her 8i months’ tour overseas, Mrs Kalnins is convinced that New Zealand has a much higher standard of ballet education than the companies she saw on the Continent. “We have reached this high standard in New Zealand through the supervision of the Royal Academy of Dancing (London),” she said. “From what I saw there was no national supervision in the European companies and small children were being pushed beyond their capabilities.” Shortage Of Boys New Zealand was. however, suffering from a lack of boys taking up ballet “Though New Zealand ballet is strong in male dancers at present we need far more boys learning to ensure that there -is a continuous pool from which to draw,” she said.

In England, ballet had been introduced as part of the curriculum in many primary schools. Dame Margot Fonteyn, prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet had introduced a syllabus for athletes and other boys. “Boys are not encouraged to dance in New Zealand. If they can take up painting or acting as an art, there is no reason why they should not take up ballet It should be remembered that ballet is as much acting as physical exercise,” she said. Mrs Kalnins, who was a principal dancer in the Latvian State Opera Theatre before the Second World War, revisited Europe earlier this year to visit her parents and to see new in teaching and new works.

Whole in Hamburg she was (invited to take the professional class for a week, while

the resident ballet master was in Paris. “I was thrilled to be asked to teach this class— and a little nervous at the beginning as it was the first time I had had a professional company in my hands,” she said. “Their standard was such that you could demand the very best from the dancers.” Mrs Kalnins also gave classes in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland. During the two months she was in London, Mrs Kalnins took private lessons from Miss Betty Davies in the major work of. the syllabus and methods of the Royal Academy of Dancing and did another refresher course in children’s grades with Miss Kathleen Oliver. “Every day, wherever 1 was, I watched R.A.D. children’s or major classes,” she said. “I also watched the Royal Ballet School’s classes and others in private schools which teach various methods.”

In France she saw the Paris Opera House ballet at class and the modern ballet of Maurice Bejart, among other European ballets. She also attended many ballet productions presented in Hamburg: the Bolshoi Ballet's “Sleeping Princess” in Frankfurt and several performances with the Royal in London. “The Royal Ballet is still my favourite company. It is so lively and has such good taste, style and elegance,” she said.

A former teacher was so impressed by one of Mrs Kalnins' own ballets he took it down in Benesh dance notation and hopes to produce it for the Vienna State Opera ballet school at an annual performance.