news letter
THE LEGAT FOUNDATION
Newsletter 2019
Editor:
Tamara Dragadze dragadzeuk@aol.com
As the year
comes to an end I want to put a few lines down to act as a Newsletter and on
behalf of the Legat Foundation to wish you all a wonderful New Year 2020.
We are starting
it off with a bang because on Sunday,
January 5th, , 2020, at midday, we will have our AGM at the legendary Colet House in
London.
Address: Colet House, 151, Talgarth
Road, Hammersmith, London W14 9DA.
It is where Nicholas Legat taught
and ended his days. We hope that any member who can make it will come 12-4pm.
Other news
Over the year,
exams were organised on behalf of the Legat Foundation as usual.
A few other
items to record here: Patricia Deane-Grey left our Board after years of generous
support and effort and we thank her for all she did, especially in the early
years. We also welcomed Jill Stock Fry to the Board as one of the youngest
pupils who had been at the Legat School in Kent and with whom I hope to record
some of the children’s dance repertoire taught by Madame Nikolaeva.
Sadly, we must report the death of
Eunice Gibson who had contributed to keeping the memory of Nikolai Legat alive.
We all work together now so that his name and work will never be forgotten.
I make a plea,
however, that over the next year, you who read this will report your Legat
ballet activities so I can make a more fulsome newsletter with them.
First Russian Ballet School Competition
However, the most important
achievement for the whole ballet world really is that for the first time this
year, in 2019, the inaugural Russian Ballet Competition was held in London.
The participants were from the
following schools:
Moya Vahey school Wales, Ella
Morgan school, Wales, Cheryl Corrigan School Ireland, Stevens School,
Slavina,12 pupils were in the final representing The Legat Foundation
Many schools from the Russian
Ballet Society & Association of Russian Ballet & Theatre Arts [ARBTA] danced in the finals.
The age range
and level were also very impressive, from the ages of 8 to 16 and over.
The organisation
itself was quite amazing and we must all be grateful for the tireless work
involved. An important factor in the success of the event was the venue they
found and how it was put to excellent use. The Greenwood Theatre is a few
minutes from London Bridge Tube Station and has an impressive stage and a good
few dressing rooms. It must have given some of the children their first taste
of what it is like to be on stage. The program was beautifully printed and very
clear to follow. And, of course, the piano accompanist was literally perfect!
We in the audience needed stamina
to watch through the exams that were held in all fairness---the younger ones in
small groups doing their steps to the right and then to the left. And the older
soloists—was it twenty times that some of them chose the Paquita
variation?—also needed full attention. But the beauty of the Russian Ballet
method is that it allows individual dancers to retain their own character even
while in training so our minds were fully occupied.
The Jury was composed of-
Paul Lewis,Trained at the Legat
School, now a Royal Ballet School
Teacher,
Louise Bennett Trained at The Royal
Ballet School, now a teacher.
Jocelyn Alzart, Trained at the
Legat School, now a teacher.
Maina Guilgud Dancer & teacher.
The prizes went to all the
Societies teaching Russian Ballet, the Legat Foundation, The Russian Ballet
Society & Association of Russian Ballet & Theatre Arts [ARBTA]
I believe the next occasion will be
in two years time. There have been such gatherings of the Cecchetti School, for
example, but never one of the many Russian Ballet schools who take on the task
of teaching children who are full time ordinary school pupils. Some have gone
on to enter professional ballet schools and others have learned to enjoy some
skill and interest in dance that neither the years or their adult occupations
can ever dull. But it is the style and content of Russian ballet that is unique
and has never been acknowledged as such through a gathering like this.
The competition was a momentous
occasion that 2019 will be remembered for. And it is good to know that Russian
ballet for which Nicholas Legat was the key in this country can live on in
future generations here.
Grateful thanks must go to Fiona
Dear & Tamara Moubayed for organising the event.
From all the Trustees of the Legat
Foundation
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