THRILL ON STAGE

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4527, 5 April 1934, Page 8

THRILL ON STAGE

DANCER ON FIRE. Mile. Lubov Rostova, the 17-years-old dancer in the Ballets Russes company who rushed on to the stage during a performance at the Municipal Theatre, Bournemouth, with her clothes in flames and was saved by a man hugging her till they were extinguished, gave me a graphic account of her escape (says the Daily Mail). She had just arrived here with the rest of the company from Bournemouth.

Mile Rostova had been in her dressing-room, and apparently the flame of a candle touched her dress. "The first thing I knew," she said, "was when I saw, through my mirror, flames shooting up from my back.

"I ran on to the stage with my costume, which was a highly inflammable one of swansdown, alight. "It was in the middle of the performance, but everyone behaved with extraordinary coolness, and there was no panic.

"The stage manager, M. Serge Grigorieff, ran up to me and extinguished the flames, but he burnt his hands and had to be medically treated. "In my rush I came into contact with another dancer, and her clothing also caught fire; but one of the men dancers, M. Jan Hoyer, sprang to her, and smothered the flames. "It was all over in a moment, and the ballet went on as if nothing had happened. "I escaped unharmed, and afterwards resumed my part. Of course it was a very great shock, the biggest fright in my life, but I am all right now." Mile. Rostova was married in London only last August to her partner, M. David Lichine. The incident was witnessed by an audience of 2,000 people, who at first thought it was part of the scene.