2 3 Throwback Thursday and Lynne Golding | Ballet Webb

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Throwback Thursday and Lynne Golding



Throwback Thursday and Lynne Golding

Lynne Golding was born in Australia to John and Melinda Golding. At age 12 she saw an exhibit of photographs featuring Nijinsky and Pavlova , and she knew she had to dance. She began ballet lessons at the local town hall.

She was offered a scholarship by Leon Kellaway, where she worked as his assistant in exchange for lessons. But she credits Raissa Kousnetzova, of the Ballet Russes as her true mentor. While she was still a student she performed with the Polish-American Ballet and the Ballet National.
But she soon discovered  her opportunities were limited.  She was a bit less than five feet tall (151 centimeters). When she tried to join the Ballet Russes, she was told she was too small. Then, because it was during the Depression, opportunities to dance became even fewer. Undaunted, she began performing in vaudeville at the Tivoili Theater where she soon became their principal ballerina. She worked hard to hone her skills because she still wanted to join a ballet company.

In 1950 she auditioned for a new company, the National Ballet Theatre and in 1951 she became the first ballerina to dance the dual role of Odette/Odile in Australia’s first full production of Swan Lake. According to the local newspaper, she was only the fourth ballerina to dance both roles.

Lynne Golding went on to have a career in Europe and in South America, where she co-directed the Venezuela National Ballet. In the late 1950s she moved to New York where she met her husband, Alan Hope Kirk, another dancer. They performed together with several companies, including the Chicago Opera Ballet.

In 1965 they returned to her native Australia. She joined the studios of Eve King and Audrey Nicholls, but later opened her own studio in Melbourne.

Lynn Golding retired in 2000, and died in 2008.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:
Dance History Factoid #131:  
“Lynne Golding was an Australian ballerina who was barely five feet tall.”

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