S. Hurok Presents; A Memoir of the Dance WorldHurok, Sol
History
S. Hurok Presents; A Memoir of the Dance World
Hurok, Sol
Ballet -- History
The term, “baby ballerina,” has become a part of ballet’s language, due
to its association with the careers of Baronova and Toumanova in the
early ’thirties. In Grey’s case, however, she was privileged to have a
much wider experience in classical ballets than her _émigré_ Russian
predecessors. She was only seventeen when she danced the greatest of all
classical roles in the repertoire of the true _ballerina_, Giselle.
My feeling about Beryl Grey, the dancer, is that she possesses
strikingly individual qualities, both of style and technique. She has
been greatly helped along the path to stardom by Frederick Ashton who,
as I have pointed out, likes nothing better than to discover and exploit
a dancer’s talents. It was he who gave Grey her first big dramatic
parts.
Beryl Grey is married to a distinguished Swedish osteopath, Dr. Sven
Svenson, and they live in a charming Mayfair flat in London. Here again
one finds that characteristic of fine intelligence coupled with an
intense musicality. Also rare among dancers, Grey is an omnivorous
reader of history, biography, and the arts. She feels, I know, that,
apart from “Madame” and Ashton, who have been so keenly instrumental in
shaping her career, a sense of deep gratitude to Constant Lambert for
his kindness and help to her from her very early days; for his readiness
to discuss with her any aspect of music; and she gratefully remembers
how nothing was too inconsequential for his interest, his advice and
help; how no conductor understood what the dancer required from music
more than he did. She is also mindful of the inspiration she had from
Leonide Massine, of his limitless energy, his indefatigable enthusiasm,
his creative fire; she learned that no detail was too small to be
corrected and worked over and over. As she says: “He was so swift and
light, able to draw with immediate ease a complete and clear picture.”
Also, she points out, “He was quiet and of few words, but had a fine
sense of humor which was often reflected in his penetrating brown eyes.
His rare praise meant a great deal.”
Beryl Grey is the star in the first three-dimensional ballet film ever
to be made, based on the famous Black Swan _pas de deux_ from _Le Lac
des Cygnes_.
From the point of view of a dancer, Beryl Grey had one misfortune over
which she had to triumph: she is above average height. This she has been
able to turn into a thing of beauty, with a beautifully flowing length
of “line.” Personally, she is a gentle person, with a genuine humility
and a simple unaffected kindliness, and a fresh, completely unspoiled
charm. Her success in all the great roles has been such as to make her
one of the most popular figures with the public.
I find great pleasure in her precision and strength as a dancer, in her
poised, statuesque grace, in her clean technique; and in her special
sort of technical accomplishment, wherein nothing ever seems to present
her any problems.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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