The Debutante
Theatre Costume
1933 (made)
1933 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The costume was made by B.J. Simmons for Phyllis Bedells in the ballet The Debutante, staged by Bedells at the London Coliseum for a season of variety and ballet in 1933.
The cast was drawn from members of the Association of Operatic Dancing (later RAD). Essentially it was a revival of the first scene of The Dancing Master created for the Empire Theatre, initially with choreography by Fred Farren and revised in 1913 when Bedells first danced as Mimi Lafleur with choreography by Edouard Espinosa. Curiously, the programme for the London Coliseum attributes the original choreography to Katti Lanner. The costumes in 1933 were based on Wilhelm's original designs. This is the costume worn by Mimi Lafleur when she enters the 'rehearsal room at the Opera House, 1835' and is invited to join the opera ballet, where she quickly steps into the ballerina role.
The cast was drawn from members of the Association of Operatic Dancing (later RAD). Essentially it was a revival of the first scene of The Dancing Master created for the Empire Theatre, initially with choreography by Fred Farren and revised in 1913 when Bedells first danced as Mimi Lafleur with choreography by Edouard Espinosa. Curiously, the programme for the London Coliseum attributes the original choreography to Katti Lanner. The costumes in 1933 were based on Wilhelm's original designs. This is the costume worn by Mimi Lafleur when she enters the 'rehearsal room at the Opera House, 1835' and is invited to join the opera ballet, where she quickly steps into the ballerina role.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
|
| Title | The Debutante (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Printed silk ikat, lace, satin, silk crepeline and cellophane trimmed with silk velvet |
| Brief description | Costume worn by Phyllis Bedells as Mimi Lafleur in The Debutante, London Coliseum, 1933 |
| Physical description | Costume made by Simmons, worn by Phyllis Bedells as Mimi Lafleur in The Debutante, London Coliseum, 1933. Dress: main body of printed silk ikat. Cotton lace trim on collar and cuffs. Starched silk crepeline for the body of collar, the cuffs and the pleated front of dress insert in a ‘V’ shape. Small pink silk satin bows along the front of the pleated silk-crepeline ‘V’ insert, and metal fastenings at the back of dress. Hat: cellophane to imitate straw. The hat is trimmed along the edge with black silk velvet and has large bows and ties of floral printed silk around the crown. |
| Gallery label | Phyllis Bedells restaged The Debutante for RAD at the London Coliseum in 1933. It is set in a ballet studio in 1835. Bedells appeared as the young dancer, Mimi, who wears this dress when she is introduced to the ballet master, Monsieur Pirouette, played by Harold Turner. Mimi joins the opera's ballet company and wins the ballerina role.(26/10/2020) |
| Credit line | Given by the Royal Academy of Dance |
| Association | |
| Literary reference | The Debutante |
| Summary | The costume was made by B.J. Simmons for Phyllis Bedells in the ballet The Debutante, staged by Bedells at the London Coliseum for a season of variety and ballet in 1933. The cast was drawn from members of the Association of Operatic Dancing (later RAD). Essentially it was a revival of the first scene of The Dancing Master created for the Empire Theatre, initially with choreography by Fred Farren and revised in 1913 when Bedells first danced as Mimi Lafleur with choreography by Edouard Espinosa. Curiously, the programme for the London Coliseum attributes the original choreography to Katti Lanner. The costumes in 1933 were based on Wilhelm's original designs. This is the costume worn by Mimi Lafleur when she enters the 'rehearsal room at the Opera House, 1835' and is invited to join the opera ballet, where she quickly steps into the ballerina role. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1455&A-1982 |
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| Record created | October 19, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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