Dancers and publicity

[rg]

the scan shows a publicity shot for a certain American ballet troupe company in the past.

hint: one of the dancers ended up in another, more prominent company, once she left the one for whom she danced at the time of this photo.

the photo's caption to follow.

[Mme. Hermine]

For some crazy reason the girl on the right looks either like Betsy Erickson (SFB) but i think the date would be wrong, or Patricia Denise (BRDMC).

the trivia gods appear to have deserted me today.

[Helene]

Off topic -- but why did men stop wearing hats?

[Mel Johnson]

Men's hats went out of style during the Kennedy administration. The phenomenon is often laid at his doorstep, even though he wore a silk top hat to his inauguration. JFK was the first president since Hoover to have had a full head of hair.

[dirac]

Yes, Kennedy’s aversion to hats was well known. If handed a cowboy hat or any other exotic headgear on the campaign trail, he wouldn’t put it on and grin sheepishly in the manner of most candidates but would only hold it and smile. This didn’t make his staff happy but he was stubborn on this point. He also didn’t like the look of the hatted Boston pols of his youth and made it a point to be as unlike them as possible.

There were larger fashion trends at work in the Sixties, though, and hats would most likely have fallen out of favor with or without Kennedy’s example, although I'm sure he gave the shift away from hats a boost. The relaxation of dress codes and changes in hairstyles also had an effect.

[Marga]

My husband still wears them!

apologies for continuing the off-topic topic....

[rg]

can't offer any data on the man behind the cage nor his hat, but here's what the publicity caption says about the photo.

as many know, Carolyn George went on to join New York City Ballet, marry Jacques d'Amboise, become the mother of their children, some of whom went on to make dance names for themselves, and also to have a career as a photographer.

for some reason, i most think of her as one of the dancers with whom Balanchine works in LET'S TAKE A TRIP - excerpted on BALANCHINE (the video biography) - where the choreographer shows Pud and Ginger how ballet dancers work and he says in his distinct, nasal voice, something like, 'now Carolyn George will come in...' and George joins the other dancers on whom Balanchine creates impromptu choreography. (the full program is something i've long hoped would be released commercially, because it ends with a segment not shown in the bio film: Balanchine's NUTCRACKER pas de deux w/ leclercq and d'amboise.)

[Giannina]

I read this thread after rg's latest post. I recognized Carolyn George! I was a very lowly student at San Francisco Ballet (I was lousy) while she was a very lofty student there (she was wonderful). At my age I can't remember what I had for dinner last night but I remember Ms. Geroge!!

Giannina