Felix Cherniavsky - Maud Allan Australia Tour 1914

Added 18th Mar 2022 by Beth Dobson (Archives and Programming Assistant, DCD) / Last update 18th Mar 2022

Maud Allan 641 51 2008-1-35.jpg
Maud Allan 641 51 2008-1-35.jpg
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Felix Cherniavsky - Maud Allan Australia Tour 1914

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Maud Allan Research Collection
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ENTERTAINMENTS MISS MAUD ALLAN . AND THE CHARNIAVSKYS . At Miss Allan's first appearances was the signal for flattering applause and the group of four dances , although somewhat similar in the major essentials , were wonderfully varied in their details . The first was " By the Sea " ( Schubert - Liszt ) , a singularly charming little dance sug gestive of the awakening of some in habitant of the regions where " unnum bered and enormous polypi minnow with giant fins the slumbering green . " the first bar of the exquisite music the dancer , who crouchés low upon the cen . tre of the stage , lifts her head which sways from side to side , and then her arms ascend slowly until they are way . ing , as though at the impetus of some unseen current ; above her head . As the dancer ascends to a standing posture the music brightens as though the sea , too , were awaking , and for a few moments the dancer flits and drifts about the stage preserving the picture , and then , all too soon , the dance is ended . It is followed by the " Valse in A Minor ( Chopin ) which breathed the spirit of the immortal composer , and then the immensely successful Spring Song of Mendelssohn , which was , perhaps . the Southland Times Invercargill 21 April 1914 . Miss Maud Allan . , a dancer who has won fame in more countries than the majority of living dancers , and whose reputation has been a matter of con siderable interest to the Englif - speak ing peoples since the cable man waxed enthusiastic over the incidents connected with her recent tour of India , opened her Invercargill season in the Municipal Theatre last evening before an audience which fell far short of expectations , It is difficult to explain why the audience of so famous a performer should be limited to five or six hundred people , and the only reason that suggests itself as being tenable is that the curtailment of the Dunedin season last week caused doubts as to whether the Invercargill en gagements would be fulfilled to arise . If this .was the reason the theatre should be packed when the final performance is given this evening Talk of dancing and • of such a dancer as Maud Allan causes the mind of the average patron of the arts to revert to other famous dancers who have come and gone before and standards of comparison are inevit . ably called for As the art of dancing is new with the newness of a fresh minted coin to the people of New Zea jand those who e comparisons cannot so far back to find standards , and hence it comes about that the name of Malle . Adeline Genee comes to mingle freely In the discussions of members of the audience in the intervals between num bers . " Is there any comparison ? " they ask on every hand . No , there is no comparison , but this is not because one artist is greater than the other . It is because their respective arts are separ ated by a gulf which could only be bridged by someone who was prepared to go back over the period intervening between the Hellenic age and the Italian Renaissance , Genee brought the beau tiful ballet which seems to have owed its birth to the great chaos of aspiration born of the renaissance and her art was fresh , complicated , beautiful , and sur veyed in retrospect it has a lingering charm because it is now so easily under . stood and would be tremendously popu lar were it revived . Miss Allan also has brought a new art'to the local stage , and it , too , may in the course of time become a popular and as pleasant a memory as are the memories of Genee and her dances , but no one will ever think of both at the same time .. For this reason the audi ence last night seemed to carry away an air of disappointment , probably due to the fact that carrying visions of the exotic charm of Genee's spectacular bal lets they were taken a back with the archaiotic simplicity and the absence of glamour in Miss Allan's work . But the fact remains that they beheld a famous dancer and one who has been seen and is talked of by untold thousands of en thusiasts . No rule of thumb is laid down to govern her movements as with loose and filmy draperies she frolics or glides from side to side ' on a stage set with hangings of green velvet . She dances barefoot and her arms are bare to the shoulder so that every movement of them blends into the charm of the work as a whole . most vociferously applauded number on the programme . The final number of the group was Schubert's . " Musical Mo ment , " and although the applause was loud and long no encore was forth com ing . The second group which was per formed as a closing scene to the first half of the evening's programme was the Peer Gynt suite ( Grieg ) , and in it the contrasts in Miss Allan's art were made abundantly apparent , for the dances were ( a ) Morning , ( b ) Ase's Death , ( c ) Anitra's Dance , and ( d ) The Dance of the Gnomes , and in each her art was , irrestibly engaging . " Morning " was a salutation to the rising sun , " Ase's Death " was a decline from animation to stillness , while " The Dance of the Gnomes " was a rippling little fantasy , which brought back memories of child hood's stories of the little people of the woods . Miss Allan's final appearance was in Strauss's " Blue Danube " valse , a waltz which , alas , has come down in the world and has for many years been churned out in almost unbearable monotony by organ grinders , But in a moment its familiarity in another place was for gotten as the dancer moved in unison with the swelling , animated and beauti fully artistic accompaniment of the Cherniavsky trio . So successful was the conception and the dance that the audience would not be appeased with mere bowed acknowledgment of their vociferous tributes , and Miss Allan again came forward to dance a waltz by Brahms , which ended the performance very tastefully . Great as is the praise due to the dancer it would be impossible to deal justly with the impression created by the per formance as a whole without treating individually the contributions of Leo , Jan and Mischel Cherniavsky and the ac companist , Mr Frank St. Leger . The Cherniavsyk brothers toured New Zea land two years ago , and they have all three advanced in their profession . In addition to supplying all the music in terpreted by Miss Allan they contribute individually to the programme , and many of the members of last night's audience were impressed beyond their expecta tions with the wonderful temperament and artistry of the members of the trio . Their opening trio by Bache was a fine example of their work in concert , while their accompaniments to the dances were excellent in every particu lar . Mischel , the ' cellist , was the first to perform singly and his interpreta : tions of " Vito " ( Popper ) and " Scherzo " ( Van Goens ) pronounced him to be a performer of bold executive capacity . He was enthusiastically recalled , and played a gavotte by Popper , which was equally as charming as his other numbers . Jan Cherniavsky , the pianist , made a very strong impression with Rigoletto ( Verdi Liszt ) , into which difficult number he in fused all the enthusiasm of his undoubt . edly wonderful temperament and an ad mirable skill in technique . In response to calls of " encore " from all parts of the house he played Paderewsky's " Min uet " which is well known , and was im mensely popular . Leo Cherniavsky ( vio linist ) , who is an artist of tremendous temperamental and executive capacity , played ( a ) Ave Maria ( Schubert ) and ( b ) " Spanish Dance " ( Sarasate ) . He , too , was recalled and gratified his ' audience with an exquisite rendering of " Imag ination " ( Zacharewitsch ) . The company will appear again this evening and it is worthy of note that included in Miss Allan's programme will be four of Chopin's Preludes expressing in sequence Sorrow , Despair , Hope , and Joy , Mendelssohn's " Spring Song " and Chopin's " Nocturne . " | 13/4114 MISS MAUD ALLAN . . The world famous classical dancer in conjunction with the renowned brothers Cherniavsky ( pianist , violinist , and ' cel list ) , will present a rectial here on Mon day and Tuesday next at the Municipal Theatre . All our readers have heard of the great Maud Allan ; there is hardly an other name in the world of classical dancing that is so well known , Where ever she appears crowded houses are the vogue ; she is one of the strongest attractions we have had in our theatre in the history of Australasia . Leo . Jan , and Mischel Cherniavsky have won a world wide reputation since they were in Australia last . An opportunity of seeing such a strong combination in this town may not occur for many years to come . All merit must eventully rise victorious when it has developed to a fulness worthy of its proprietorship . All great artists have a mission to perform on this sphere . Until they realise this , and that they are only the instruments of Orpheus to convey to those around them the beauties and delights of nature in a spiritual and material form they can never rise above mediocrity . The ethnical teaching of Maud Allan and the Chern iavsky's brought them at an early age to this beautiful realisation , and has im bued their work with that ethereal phase which has evidently played so strongly upon the emotions of people as to help in creating the present great waye of music and dancing . As a logical se quence of this musical ' breeze , which is gathering force with its impetuous speed , an exceptional demand has been created in Europe and America for these inspired artists . The number of times and the number of managers who have approach ed them during the past twelve months , with the object of securing concert and dance recitals in Europe and America , is something extraordinary , and would be calculated to intoxicate artists of a less modest disposition . The box plan opens at the Dresden on Wednesday next . steros 10 jan