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clip 2Clip description
Hélène Kirsova performs in this excerpt from the one-act ballet, Le Beau Danube. Ewan Murray-Will films the action from an elevated position left of the stage.
Curator’s notes
Although segmented with many edit points in the sequence, this clip shows the petit Hélène Kirsova in the role of the Street Dancer in Leonide Massine’s ballet. While the camera films from the side of the theatre, this moving image record of Kirsova remains important because it allows us to see a great dancer in action.
Le Beau Danube made its world premiere in Australia in October 1936, and because Kirsova only toured with the company during their 1936–37 tour, this footage must have been filmed during that time. Murray-Will became close friends with Kirsova and even filmed her wedding in 1938.
