Some of Audrey de Vos's students
Anna-Marie Holmes has appeared as a ballerina or has taught in more than 30 countries on five continents. Born in Canada, she trained at the British Columbia School of Dancing with Lydia Korpova and Heino Heiden; in London, England, with Audrey de Vos and Errol Addison; and in Leningrad, Russia, with Natalia Dudinskaya and Alexander Pushkin of the legendary Kirov Ballet.
David Vaughan is the author of Frederick Ashton and his Ballets (revised edition, 1999) and Merce Cunningham: 50 Years (1997). A former dancer, he trained at the School of American Ballet as well as with Marie Rambert, Audrey de Vos, Antony Tudor, Richard Thomas, and Merce Cunningham. Over the course of his career, he has been a dancer, actor, singer, and choreographer in live performance and on film and television. He was a member of the editorial board of the International Encyclopedia of Dance (1998). Mr. Vaughan has been the archivist for Merce Cunningham Dance Company since 1976. In July 2000, he received the CORD (Congress on Dance Research) Award for Outstanding Leadership in Dance Research, and in September 2001 a New York Dance and Performance Award ("Bessie") for Sustained Achievement.
Harry Haythorne was born in Adelaide. In 1949 Haythorne travelled to Britain to continue his career. He studied with Anna Northcote, Stansilaw Idzikowski and Audrey de Vos and performed in a variety of theatrical enterprises until his return to Australia. He danced in the musicals Can-Can, Plain and Fancy, Divorce Me Darling and The Pyjama Game, performed with the Metropolitan Ballet, the International Ballet, the company led by Leonide Massine and with Walter Gore's London Ballet. He also worked as a choreographer and ballet master and in film and telelvision and was assistant director of Western Theatre Ballet
Ardell Anita joined Katherine Dunham and her company in 1956 and both toured with them to New Zealand and performed in two seasons in Sydney. In 1959 Ardell left Australia for London where she studied ballet with Audrey de Vos. Before returning to Australia in 1963 she worked in Rome in various television and dance productions.
James Clouser: "In my years with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet of Canada I was introduced to the RAD system and further benefited from guest teachers such as Audrey de Vos, Vera Volkova and Kirsten Ralov. My physique and my personality seemed to fit with the Bournonville style and I went twice to Copenhagen where I worked closely with Ralov's husband, Fredbjorn Bjornsen. In Russia I was most influenced by observing the classes of Asaf Messerer, which moved swiftly and prepared every muscle in a tossed off but clearly well thought-out fashion."
Hample, Margaret: Margaret's additional training took place in England and New York with teachers such as Vera Volkova and Audrey de Vos. Until her retirement from performing in 1958
Anya Grinsted LRAD, ARAD.
Anya studied at the Royal Academy of Dance on the Teachers training course and during her third year went to Audrey de Vos’ class once a week. This started a life-long quest to find a greater understanding of the movements of the body in dance, and, in particular, in de Vos’ unique thoughts on the teaching of ballet.
Anya had some stage experience before embarking on her teaching career. She began teaching in Germany where she taught RAD work to German children. On her return to England she joined the staff of Elmhurst Ballet School (a vocational boarding school) in Camberley. She spent many years there, working mostly with the more advanced students and acting as assistant to the Artistic Director.
After her marriage and the birth of her daughter, she worked part- time as a free-lance teacher in the Guildford area for schools such as, The Guildford School of Acting and Italia Conti Theatre School; she also became very active in the committee of the RAD Surrey region. During this period she was fortunate enough to meet Janet Westerberg again – Janet had been de Vos’ assistant when Anya went to her London Studio. This renewed and developed her interest in all aspects of the de Vos work and she became convinced that it was the very best way to teach dance – and ballet in particular. De Vos’ classes had been mostly for the professional dancer, but Anya recognised, through her own classes at that time, how the de Vos’ approach could be used to help everyone; from adults and late starters, through the early stages of serious training to the advanced student. Anya, now semi- retired, devotes much of her teaching time to coaching students either individually or in small groups. She specialises in helping students who are experiencing difficulties with their technique, using the knowledge and understanding that she has acquired over her many years of teaching.
To promote the de Vos method of teaching Janet Westerberg and Anya started a week of daily classes after the summer break called “Back to the Barre”. This week of classes proved very successful and popular with students and is still going after 13 years. Janet has now retired, but Caroline Hutchings, who was also a student with Miss de Vos, now works with Anya.
Caroline Hutchings Born 1950. Caroline began her dance training at the Bush Davies Schools, followed by a 2 year course at the Italia Conti Stage School. Caroline began teaching at the Associated Arts School under Miss Letty Littlewood. Caroline trained in the R.A.D. and the I.S.T.D. classical ballet and modern. In 1974 Caroline met Audery De Vos and studied with her for many years. Her proffessional work has been in Rome, where she taught for Gillian Hobart, and in Brazil where she spent six years teaching with Dalal Achcar.
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