Item 3 - Flyer promoting a programme of ballet

Identity area

Reference code

IE 2135 NDAI N43/1/3

Title

Flyer promoting a programme of ballet

Date(s)

  • 30 April 1939 (Creation)

Level of description

Item

Extent and medium

1 item

Context area

Name of creator

(1907-1993)

Biographical history

Sara Payne was born in England in 1907 into a theatrical family. She was the daughter of the theatre director Ben Iden Payne and actress Mona Limerick. Payne was amongst the first cohort of students at Ninette de Valois’ school, the Academy of Choreographic Art, London. From 1928 until 1931 she was Principal at the Abbey Theatre School of Ballet. In 1936, Payne returned to Dublin, where she established the Sara Payne School of Dance and Mime and a dance company. In parallel, she worked as a choreographer and dancer at the Gate Theatre.

Payne’s vision for the development of ballet in Ireland focused on fusing ballet with traditional Irish dance steps and patterns. This is exemplified by her Irish-themed ballets, including Doomed Cuchulain, The Scarecrow and A Fiddler’s Story. Payne’s inclusion of trained traditional Irish dancers and musicians in performances took her vision a step further.

In c. 1946, Payne return to England, and by 1955 she was working again with de Valois at the White Lodge, Royal Ballet School, London, where she remained until her retirement in 1972. Sara Payne died in 1993.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Flyer promoting a programme of ballet presented by The Payne School of Dance and Mime at the Gate Theatre, Dublin. The repertoire included Coppelia; Fair Rosamund; Phillida Flouts Me; Irish Scena and a new Irish ballet, The Scarecrow.

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Language of material

  • Béarla

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    Alternative identifier(s)

    Original number

    N43/3

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