Guide to the Papers of Rex Reid and Natasha Kirsta, c. 1800-2000

Summary

Collection number:

MS Acc12.018

Creator:

Rex Reid and Natasha Kirsta

Extent:

4.55 metres and (11 ms boxes + 2 large folio boxes + 1 map folio)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Rex Reid and Natasha Kirsta, National Library of Australia, MS Acc12.018, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Comprises material relating to the dance career and personal lives of Rex Reid and Natasha Kirsta. Includes extensive collection of photographs, correspondence and folders relating to various dance companies and productions.

Biographical / Historical:

Dancer, choreographer, artistic director and teacher. Rex Thomas Reid was born in Adelaide in 1921. At the age of 15 Reid won a scholarship that took him to London to study at the Vic-Wells Ballet. In Europe, Reid pursued a professional dance career with several companies including Mona Inglesby's International Ballet Company, London Ballet and Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. He also performed in West End revues. In 1970 Reid returned to Australia to join the West Australian Ballet as artistic director, 1970-1974. He was also associated with the Australian Ballet and Dance Theatre Victoria and, as choreographer, Reid produced works for the Ballet Guild and Ballet Victoria. With the closure of the Dance Theatre Victoria, Reid worked as a teacher in many countries in south and south-east Asia. In 1983 Reid was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). Reid died in Melbourne in 2000.Natasha Kirsta was born Princess Natasha Watchinadze in Russia in 1894. Her second husband was the Ballets Russes theatre designer George Kirsta. She left the USSR with George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova in the 1920s and lived in Vienna, later travelling to Berlin to direct Victor Gsovsky's ballet school. She co-founded Ballet Kirsta with Govsky in the early 1950s which performed throughout Europe. The company included Lesley Caron, Brigitte Bardot and Roland Petit. Rex Reid, who would maintain a close friendship with Kirsta, was principal choreographer and dancer. Kirsta moved to Australia in 1957, settling in Melbourne and working as a ballet school administrator. She was a member of the Australian Ballet Theatre Group, which held its inaugural meeting in October 1959 to discuss an approach to the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust regarding the formation of a permanent Australian ballet company. Kirsta forged friendships with European and Australian artists and performers including Jean Cocteau, the Stravinksys, Arthur Rubinstein, Marlene Dietrich, John Gielgud, Kathleen Gorham, Anne Church, Nadia Nerina, Rudolf Nureyev and Marcel Marceau. She died in 1982.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn6489028).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Rex Reid and Natasha Kirsta, National Library of Australia, MS Acc12.018, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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