Not currently on display at the V&A

London Festival Ballet

Poster
1977 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Anthony Crickmay, the photographer of this poster, began his career as an assistant to the Austrian portrait photographer, Lotte Meitner-Graf, who had a studio in London's Bond Street in the late 1940s. Crickmay set up his own studio in 1958 where he built up a high-profile range of sitters, including members of the royal family, and developed an international reputation as a photographer of theatre, opera, and especially dance.

In 1983 Crickmay moved his studio to a derelict coach-repair-workshop-turned-ironmongers in Fulham. As he said: 'I am infinitely capable of only seeing what I want to see. This place had practically no roof, pigeons nesting everywhere, water had flooded in. Yet I saw it as the most marvellous space for a studio'.

The ballet dancer Darcy Bussell noted:

'Of all the photographers I've worked with, Cricks has the chicest, most hi-tech studio. It has massive glass walls, and I'm able to keep checking how my body looks. We can try out things and see exactly what a particular position will look like. The thing about the way Cricks works is that he captures a movement which is the essence of ballet. I don't know how he does it. All he says is: 'Don't worry. Just do it and I'll catch it.'

Cricks's studio is one of very few in which I'm prepared to jump. It has a wonderful springy floor. It's brilliant. Some photographers have concrete or stone floors, and if they ask me to jump, I have to say no because it's much too dangerous. The other great attraction of Cricks's studio is that it's always warm. Dancers hate being cold. That's when their muscles start to seize up.'


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleLondon Festival Ballet (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Printing ink on paper
Brief description
Poster advertising London Festival Ballet at the London Coliseum, 26 April - 27 May 1977. Photographic image by Anthony Crickmay
Physical description
Poster advertising London Festival Ballet at the London Coliseum, 26 April - 27 May 1977. The photographic image by Anthony Crickmay shows two dancers, Patricia Ruanne and Patrice Bart, in the Nutcracker pas de deux. The poster has a pale pink background with the dancers in a dark pink, the typography is in red and purple.
Dimensions
  • Poster height: 50.8cm
  • Poster width: 34.4cm
Object history
Associated Production: London Festival Ballet. Dancers: Patricia Ruanne, Patrice Bart. Director: Beryl Grey. London Festival Ballet. London Coliseum . 26.4.1977. Performance category: dance.
Summary
Anthony Crickmay, the photographer of this poster, began his career as an assistant to the Austrian portrait photographer, Lotte Meitner-Graf, who had a studio in London's Bond Street in the late 1940s. Crickmay set up his own studio in 1958 where he built up a high-profile range of sitters, including members of the royal family, and developed an international reputation as a photographer of theatre, opera, and especially dance.

In 1983 Crickmay moved his studio to a derelict coach-repair-workshop-turned-ironmongers in Fulham. As he said: 'I am infinitely capable of only seeing what I want to see. This place had practically no roof, pigeons nesting everywhere, water had flooded in. Yet I saw it as the most marvellous space for a studio'.

The ballet dancer Darcy Bussell noted:

'Of all the photographers I've worked with, Cricks has the chicest, most hi-tech studio. It has massive glass walls, and I'm able to keep checking how my body looks. We can try out things and see exactly what a particular position will look like. The thing about the way Cricks works is that he captures a movement which is the essence of ballet. I don't know how he does it. All he says is: 'Don't worry. Just do it and I'll catch it.'

Cricks's studio is one of very few in which I'm prepared to jump. It has a wonderful springy floor. It's brilliant. Some photographers have concrete or stone floors, and if they ask me to jump, I have to say no because it's much too dangerous. The other great attraction of Cricks's studio is that it's always warm. Dancers hate being cold. That's when their muscles start to seize up.'
Collection
Accession number
S.1223-1994

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Record createdJuly 23, 2010
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