Ivor Forbes Guest
Encyclopedia
Ivor Forbes Guest DUniv MA FRAD (born 14 April 1920) worked professionally as a lawyer, but is best known as a historian
for his study of ballet
. He was chairman of the Royal Academy of Dance
for thirty years (1963–93) and has been a Vice President since 1993 and Secretary then Trustee of the Radcliffe Trust. In 1997 he was made a Doctor of the University by the University of Surrey, its highest honorary doctorate.
He is married to the movement notation expert Ann Hutchinson Guest
and acts as a trustee of the Language of Dance Centre, which she founded.
in the archives of the Bibliothèque de Paris
, producing two volumes on the subject entitled The Ballet of the Second Empire (1953, 1955).
He received tributes in Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research in 1995, the year of his 75th birthday; and in Dance Chronicle in 2001.
, in the years 1770 to 1870. He also chronicles the international careers of some of ballet's stars.
.
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
for his study of ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
. He was chairman of the Royal Academy of Dance
Royal Academy of Dance
The Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
for thirty years (1963–93) and has been a Vice President since 1993 and Secretary then Trustee of the Radcliffe Trust. In 1997 he was made a Doctor of the University by the University of Surrey, its highest honorary doctorate.
He is married to the movement notation expert Ann Hutchinson Guest
Ann Hutchinson Guest
Ann Hutchinson Guest is an internationally-recognized expert on dance notation. She wrote a history on the subject, and her works have been translated into multiple languages. She is the co-founder of the Dance Notation Bureau, New York, 1940...
and acts as a trustee of the Language of Dance Centre, which she founded.
Ballet historian
Guest's first book, Napoleon III in England (1952), came from an interest in his birth town's association with the exiled Napoleon III. Then, despite a successful career as a lawyer, Guest spent holidays and other leisure time researching the ballet of the Second EmpireSecond French Empire
The Second French Empire or French Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870, between the Second Republic and the Third Republic, in France.-Rule of Napoleon III:...
in the archives of the Bibliothèque de Paris
Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris
The Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris is a library and museum of the Paris Opera and is located in the 9th arrondissement at 8 rue Scribe, Paris, France. It is no longer managed by the Opera, but instead is part of the Music Department of the National Library of France...
, producing two volumes on the subject entitled The Ballet of the Second Empire (1953, 1955).
He received tributes in Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research in 1995, the year of his 75th birthday; and in Dance Chronicle in 2001.
Publications
Guest's writing focuses primarily on the ballet in Paris, at the OpéraParis Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, in the years 1770 to 1870. He also chronicles the international careers of some of ballet's stars.
Ballet
- The Ballet of the Second Empire, A. and C. Black (1953) ASIN B0007ITA5G
- Fanny Cerrito: Life of a Romantic Ballerina, London: Phoenix House, (1956)
- Victorian ballet-girl,: The tragic story of Clara Webster, A. and C. Black (1957), 136 pages ASIN B0006AVBAM
- Adeline Genée: a lifetime of ballet under six reigns; based on the personal reminiscences of Dame Adeline Genée-Isitt, D.B.E., A. and C. Black, 1958, 207 pages
- The Alhambra ballet, Dance Perspectives, inc., 1959, 72 pages
- The Dancer's Heritage: A Short History of Ballet, Adam & Charles Black; First Edition & First Printing edition (1 Jan 1960), ISBN 0900327049
- La fille mal gardée, Dancing Times, 1960, 71 pages
- Dandies and dancers, Dance Perspectives Foundation, 1969, 49 pages
- Fanny Elssler, A & C Black Publishers Ltd (May 28, 1970), 284 pages ISBN 0-713-61061-1
- Romantic Ballet in England, Pitman Publishing; 2nd Revised edition edition (June 27, 1972), 195 pages ISBN 0-273-36120-1
- Adventures of a Ballet Historian, Dance Horizons; 1st edition (March 28, 1983), 131 pages ISBN 0-903-10269-2
- Jules PerrotJules PerrotJules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
, Princeton Book Company Publishers (December 1984), 383 pages ISBN 0-871-27140-0 - Ballet in Leicester Square: The Alhambra and the Empire 1860-1915, Dance Books (May 1992), 192 pages ISBN 185273034X
- The Ballet of the Enlightenment: The Establishment of the Ballet D'Action in France, 1770-1793, Princeton Book Company Publishers (February 1997), 456 pages ISBN 1852730498
- Ballet Under Napoleon, Dance Horizons (May 2002), 584 pages ISBN 185273082X
- The Paris Opera Ballet, Princeton Book Co Pub (April 30, 2006), 160 pages ISBN 1852731095
- The Romantic Ballet in Paris, Dance Books Ltd (February 1, 2008), 472 pages ISBN 1852731192
- The Divine Virginia: Biography of Virginia Zucchi, Dance Books (July 10, 2008), 204 pages ISBN 0824764927
Other history
- Napoleon III in England, London, British Technical and General Press; 1st Edition. edition (1 Jan 1952), 212 pages ASIN B0006DASOE
- Dr. John Radcliffe and his Trust, Radcliffe Trust, 1991, 595 pages ISBN 0950248215
Honours
In 1997, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award for services to ballet which is the RAD's highest honour; he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2000 he received the Ordre des Arts et des LettresOrdre des Arts et des Lettres
The Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
.
See also
- Le CorsaireLe CorsaireLe Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of...
- La fille mal gardéeLa Fille Mal GardéeLa Fille mal gardée is a comic ballet presented in two acts, inspired by Pierre-Antoine Baudouin's 1789 painting, La réprimande/Une jeune fille querellée par sa mère...
- Fanny ElsslerFanny ElsslerFanny Elssler - 27 November 1884), born Franziska Elßler, was an Austrian ballerina of the 'Romantic Period'.- Life :Daughter of Johann Florian Elssler, a second generation employee of Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt. Both Johann and his brother Josef were employed as copyists to the Prince's...
- Marius PetipaMarius PetipaVictor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
- Cesare PugniCesare PugniCesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed while serving as Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre...
- Palais GarnierPalais GarnierThe Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
- Virginia ZucchiVirginia ZucchiVirginia Zucchi was an Italian dancer. Her career as a ballerina spanned from 1864 to 1898, and she was known as "the Divine Virginia" for her artistry, expressiveness, and virtuosity....
- Her Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...