David Wall (published 1982)
Dublin Core
Title
David Wall (published 1982)
Description
Wall discusses the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, the emotional life of the characters, and applying the narrative dynamics of the play to the ballet.
Biographical note:
David Wall was born in 1946 and trained at the Royal Ballet School. He toured with the Royal Ballet under the direction of John Field. Wall's first major leading role was in Ashton's Two Pigeons, which he danced with his future wife, Alfreda Thorogood. He later danced the roles of Siegfried and Colas and received acclaim for his role in de Valois' The Rake's Progress. He retired in 1984 and became Associate Director of the Royal Academy of Dancing (1984-87) and then director (1987-91). In 1995 he became ballet master with the English National Ballet.
Biographical note:
David Wall was born in 1946 and trained at the Royal Ballet School. He toured with the Royal Ballet under the direction of John Field. Wall's first major leading role was in Ashton's Two Pigeons, which he danced with his future wife, Alfreda Thorogood. He later danced the roles of Siegfried and Colas and received acclaim for his role in de Valois' The Rake's Progress. He retired in 1984 and became Associate Director of the Royal Academy of Dancing (1984-87) and then director (1987-91). In 1995 he became ballet master with the English National Ballet.
Publisher
Pratt SILS LIS-665, Barbara Newman
Date Created
June 30, 1979, October 10, 1979
Rights
Copyright
Access Rights
Restricted. To access full length audio or for further inquiries please visit our contact page.
Is Part Of
Newman, B. (1982). Striking a balance: Dancers talk about dancing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Identifier
wall1979jun30_wall1979oct10_tape1_sideb_clip.mp3
Provenance
Interviews recorded on cassette by Barbara Newman
Rights Holder
Barbara Newman, David Wall
Oral History Item Type Metadata
Original Format
Audio Cassette Tape
Digital Format
mp3
Digital Master
wall1979jun30_wall1979oct10_tape1_sideb.wav, wall1979oct10_tape2_sidea.wav, wall1979oct10_tape2_sideb.wav
Duration
00:02:40
Bit Rate/Frequency
128 kbps/44.1 kHz
Interviewer
Barbara Newman
Interviewee
David Wall, 1946-
Location
June 30, 1979, Wolf Trap Theatre, Washington, D.C.
October 10, 1979, Royal Ballet School, London, U.K.
Additional content
"Time works on dancers like water on stone, smoothing and shaping them, slowly revealing their most characteristic features. If you frequently see someone dance, you won't notice any change in him at all until you look around one day and find that the dancer he used to be has disappeared. David Wall used to be a promising youngster standing at the end of a long line of Royal Ballet princes. Then, one by one, each of his predecessors vacated the throne. While I was watching Blair, Gable, Nureyev, MacLeary, and Dowell depart, over a period of years, Wall was emerging as the logical heir to their legacy. He quickly fulfilled his early promise as a danseur noble, but only with time have I discovered the dramatic depths, shadows, and myriad colors of his dancing. Today, as if suddenly for me, he has the maturity, authority, and unerring theatrical instincts to create a tempestuous, adolescent Romeo," Barbara Newman (1982).
Files
Collection
Citation
“David Wall (published 1982),” Dance Dialogues: Interviews by Barbara Newman, 1979-Present, accessed June 16, 2021, http://dancedialogues.prattsils.org/items/show/35.