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Leslie Edwards did indeed dance with the Royal Ballet for over sixty years and is most certainly the only dancer to stay with that company for such an extended length of time.

In the early thirties of last century he was sent by Marie Rambert, his current teacher, to audition for Ninette de Valois, who accepted him as student and 'filler in when needed'. He found himself dancing with a group of dancers which at that time did not even have a name. Later known as the Vic-Wells Ballet, later still as the Sadlers Wells Ballet, and later still known to all and sundry (that grand old comedy team) as the Royal Ballet, it was with this company that he made his name as a creator of innumerable character roles - Cattalabutte in The Sleeping Beauty, the farmer Thomas in La Fille mal Gardée, Hilarion in Giselle - to name but a few. In addition at times he was called upon, in various emergencies, to step ino the shoes of classical dancers, and appeared in the role of The Lover in Jardin aux Lilas, and as Don Quixote in de Valois' ballet of that name.

He was a genius with make-up, and could transfer a rather ordinary-looking face into that of either a villain, a handsome courtier, or a down-and-out beggar. He had a fantastic memory, and was responsible for the re-staging of several ballets with many world-wide companies, and not only was he responsible for the choreography, but also for creating suitable settings if the original ones were not available. Later in his life he organised the Choreographic Group, which was responsible for producing at least a half dozen of more than competent creators.

 

The book cover - Leslie Edwards in front of the Royal Opea House
The book is available from Dance Books: www.dancebooks.co.uk

Why then, is this book so incredibly un-satisfactory - not to say down-right dull? This, in spite of the very wise advice given him by de Valois when he told her of his intentions "One can always make room for a personal view since no one sees images of the past in the same light". Did she perhaps guess that his somewhat bland persona would be carried over into his writing, which alas it certainly does, for dancers, ballets, performances, and individuals are all mentioned, listed, noted, without comment, description, praise, blame - just merely noted. This book should be subtitled "A Lost Opportunity" - one would love to hear of choreographers at work, dancers rehearsing, problems at dress rehearsals, glories of performance, just why the ending of Ondine is so puzzling and unsatisfactory, and why ballet company boards whch consist of either 'names' or benefactors have absolutely no idea of what they are about.

Scandal - who was doing who - is happily neither present nor desired - current and recent heads of state are already over-generous in these areas, but a "personal view" could have lifted this book almost to the heights of Tamara Karsavina's worldwide beloved "Theatre Street".

However this book does contain a heavenly photograph of Fonteyn (not the most photogenic of dancers) glorious in Act I of The Sleeping Beauty, dressed in that wonderful costume based on that of the Infanta Margarita in Las Meninas by Velasquez, designed by Oliver Messel, whose sets and costumes for the 1946 production of this ballet have never been bettered.