BALLET
THE Original Ballet Russe is dancing a short season at the Royal Festival Hall. It is only three months since this newly formed company—the inheritors of the de Basil repertoire—made its hurried, and from all reports, untidy debut at the Wimbledon Theatre. Although I was unable to see them at the time, it seems that the dancers have settled down and greatly improved in the interim ; but they are still much handicapped by the obvious disadvantages of appearing in a hall not devised for the presentation of ballet. Among the permanent cast are such dancers as Nina Stroganova, Inge Sand, Dokoudovsky, Vassilkovsky and Poul Gnatt, and during the season the company is being strengthened by Sonia Arova, Paula Hinton and Toni Lander as guest artists. • Of the three ballets which I have seen, Graduation Ball is the most successful. This work, of the gay, light-hearted genre, deliciously dressed by Benois, naturally does not make such demands upon a company as does Aurora's Wedding. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to see that Graduation Ball has retained its freshness and amusing characterisation ; Stroganova, Sand, Spurgeon and Vassilkovsky were all excellent in their parts. Inge Sand, the charming young dancer from the Royal Danish Theatre, gave, as well, a sensitive performance in Paganini, in which Dokoudovsky danced the title role. Poul Gnatt, who also comes from the Danish Theatre with no mean reputation, has not yet had an opportunity of showing what he can do, while Herida May and Joan Tucker are dancers whose development will be interesting to watch.
LILLIAN BROWSE.
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