| Main Performers | Madame Anna Pavolva,
Ethel Levy,
Mary Nash,
Laurette Taylor,
Majorie Gordon,
Phillis Titmus,
Mai Bacon,
Nellie Briercliffe,
Edith Day,
Margaret Bannerman,
Evelyn Laye,
Kathlyn Hilliard,
Ivy Tremand,
Gylleme Moxon,
Ninette de Valois,
Morris Harvey,
Hartley Manner,
Fred Leslie,
Walter Williams,
Jack Buchanan,
Harry Welchman,
Roy Royston,
Dave Burnaby - dancers
Mme Thalia - vocal |
| Orchestra or Band | The Savoy Orchestra (augmented by Russian musicians) |
| Set List | 'God Save the King' (The National Anthem) (Mme Thalia)
Measures (Pavlova, Lydia Kyasht, Duchesse de Grammont, Jose Soto)
Supper
Roulette Dance (toe dancers including Hon. Lois Sturt and Lady Juliet Trevor as the centre of the wheel of fortune) |
| Royal Presence | HRH The Princess Royal,
HRH Princess Beatrice,
HRH Princess Maud,
HRH Princess Marie Louise,
Princess Obolensky-Youievaky,
Princess Youtsoupoff,
King Manuel,
Queen Augusta Victoria,
Princess Catacuzene,
Princess Balasha,
Princess Helen Catauzene,
Prince Nikito,
Prince Feodor of Russia
Prince Yusupov |
| Performance Notes | Also referred to as The Russian Blue Ball, the ball was held in aid of the Russian Red Cross Fund In Great Britain.
Decorations were designed by the Russian architect, M Beloborafoff.
Many jewels were donated for the event, sevreral which had been in noble families for generations. The King and Queen, Queen Alexandra and other members of the Royal Family donated prizes for the fundraising cause. The King and Queen donated a volume of illustrated records of their Coronation, Queen Alexandra donated a playing-cards case in the form of a silver Sedan chair. Prince Youssoupoff donated a solitaire diamond ring worth £2,000. The prizes were distributed by a wheel of fortune enacted by toe dancers in a Roulette Dance. Costumes for the 'toe dancers' in the Roulette Dance' were designed by the Hon. Lois Sturt. (The Daily Telegraph, 6 July 1920)
Owing to the illnes of Mr Hwfs Williams, Mrs Hwfa Williams who was organising the ball, postponed it to this date from 3 June 1920.
Fancy Dress was optional, and all ticket holders had the chance to win a dance with a star, The 'Favourite Partner' Dance.
Feliks Iusupov recalled the Ball Decorations as: 'Thin blue hangings hid the large organ and, pinned with garlands of roses, draped the boxes. The stage was framed by an archway of roses, and cascades of blue hydrangeas. The light was filtered through bouquets of roses which decorated the candelabras, crowned with blue ostrich feathers, and the beam of the projector, directed onto the dancers, was like the moon on a summer night.
The ball was interrupted at midnight when Anna Pavlova was met with long ovations. The ballerina hovered like a blue bird in a pagoda with a golden roof which was set up at the centre of the stage.
(Prince Felix Youssoupoff, En exil (Paris 1954) 23, 24)
"The decoration for to-night's Blue Ball at the Albert Hall in aid of the Russian Red Cross, the takings for which already exceed £5,000, were almost completed yesterday, when a rehearsal of the lighting effects were successfully carried out. The box tiers are swathed in blue, with primrose curtains, and festooned with garlands of yellow flowers, vertical ropes of blue hydrangeas being interposed every few feet round the hall. Yellow wreaths also mark the clusters of blue-shaded lights hung from the ceiling and crowned by blue Prince of Wale's feathers. The organ also is masked with blue drapery and yellow blossoms. Large columns forming a floral archway are erected on the platform in front of it, on which Miss Kyasht, Mme. Pavlova, Miss Karalii, and M Volonine will dance. Tall statues flanked with trees complete the setting.
Mme Thalia will sing the National Anthem. The Blue Ball Office at 35, Old Bond-street will close at 6 p.m. to-day and will open at the same hour at the Albert Hall, where tickets will be sold. Mrs Gordeon Moore will be present in Box 7. The Duchess of Portland, Princess Obolensky-Youievaky, and Princess Youtsoupoff will also attend."
(The Times, 7 July 1920)
"3,000 Dancer were present and the evening raised a substantial amount for the Russian Red Cross Fund In Great Britain. Attendees included the Princess Royal, Princess Beatrice, Princess Maud, and Princess Marie Louise. Dinner Parties were given for the ball by Duchess of Somerset, the Duchess of Portland, Countess Torby, Lady Alington, Lady Cunard, Lady Egerton, Lady Kent, Lady Randolph Churchill, The Spanish Embassy, Mrs Roscoe Brunner, the Hon. Mrs Charles Craven. and Mrs Corey, among others. A specially composed eighteenth century minuet and gavotte were danced at midnight by Mme. Pavlova; Miss Lydia Kyasht contributed a Russian dance, and Miss Karalli and Oriental dance."
(The Times, 8 July 1920)
"Prince Youssoupoff has presented a solitaire diamond ring, valued at £2,000, as one of the prizez to be awarded at the 'Blue' Ball, which will be held on July 7 at the Albert Hall, in aid of British and Russian refugees. Mme Pavlova will dance a minuet specially composed for the ball."
(The Times, 25 June 1920)
Guests included Lady Juliet Trevor, Countess Davidoff, Madame Nellie Melba, Lady Bullough, Dowager Lady Michelham, the Earl of Lathom, Mrs Frank Braham, Mrs Charles Craven, and Lady Warrender. |