CONTEMPORARY ARTS
BALLET
Sleeping Beauty was danced by the first company with a fresh- ness one would hardly have believed possible so soon after the rigours of their strenuous tour ; and nat.rrally one was on the qui rive for improvements and alterations of style among individual dancers. Margot Fonteyn's Aurora seemed to me the nearest possible approach to technical perfection, never for an instant marred by any hint of the mechanical. Her Princess in Act 1 is a joyful and gentle young girl who, with childlike simplicity, is unable to believe that any harm may befall her ; the vision scene she interprets with that lovely lyrical quality appropriate to the mood, and the final act with the brilliance and certainty that the grand pas de deux with her Prince demands.
But from time to time, in Fonteyn's presentation, there now appears a certain showmanship which, to my mind, does not suit her personality. It is apparent at the close of an enchainement or after a series of pirouettes, an over-emphasised appeal to the audience asking applause for a difficult feat easily accomplished. It is a habit one associates with virtuoso ballerinas but is alien to, and therefore inharmonious with, Fonteyn's pure and modest style. Among the rest of the cast Violetta Elvin seems to have gained more certainty of execution ; Nadia Nerina is developing charm- ingly, and Alexander Grant, as usual, leaves one with the desire to see more of him.
Two nights later Sleeping Beauty was danced by the second cast, and it is only fair to say that there is very little difference between the two. Moira Shearer, making her first London reappearance was now in the title role and was extremely nervous to begin with. That inhumanly difficult holding of the attitude, with which the ballerina has to cope before having a chance to warm up, gave her some anxiety, but on the whole hers was a beautiful performance, gay and with more human appeal than heretofore. Shearer was obviously relieved and completely at her ease when it came to double-work with her own partner, John Hart, who makes a noble and believable Prince with real conviction in his miming.
In both performances Beryl Grey danced, or rather beautifully walked, the unrewarding part of the Lilac Fairy. I do wish, how- ever, that Oliver Messel would give her a costume more suited to her figure and to the role, and one which we could find more
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