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Patricia Ryan - Collins
Patricia Ryan Choreographer and Director of National Ballet Dublin
Born1923
London England
Died2011
Dublin Ireland
EducationLondon
Occupation(s)Classical Dancer, Director -Choreographer National Ballet Dublin






Patricia Ryan Director of National Ballet Company Dublin. Premiered first Russian classical ballet performance in Ireland. Responsible for Trade Union Irish Equity representation for Dancers Ireland.


Perhaps most importantly, this study pays belated homage to the founders of Irish Ballet and proves beyond all doubt that the foundations of the art form in Ireland were established through the inspirational works of Ninette de Valois, J.F Larchet, W.B.Yeats, Sara Payne, Eamonn O’Gallcobhair, Anne Yeats, Muriel Kelly, Lennox Robinson, Cepta Cullen, Elizabeth Maconchy, F.R.Higgins, Patricia Ryan, A.J. Potter and Patrick Kavangh.[1] - A History of Irish Ballet from 1927 to 1963 by Victoria O'Brien




Born Patricia Kinneen in London 1923 daughter to Christiana Kinneen and to father of English Peerage.[2] Stepfather Patrick Kinneen. Had two brothers and one sister. Married three times. Patricia Ryan had two children Christine and Stephen Ryan in marriage with first husband John Ryan. Patricia Ryan was partnered with Irish Abstract landscape painter Patrick Collins (painter) they had a daughter Penelope Collins and later married.[3]


Early life and training

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Aged four went to live in San Francisco for two years and attended first dance classes.[4] 1928 Returned to London and enrolled in ballet classes with the Olive Ripman school of Dance, founder of Arts Educational Schools. Performed and demonstrated for Cyril W. Beaumont founder of the Cecchetti Society.

1937 Went to live in Cape Town South Africa for two years. Enrolled in Dulcie Howes Dance school. [5] The young Patricia Kinneen danced a presentation for Prime Minister Jam Smuts. Whilst in Cape Town attended performances of visiting ballet companies such as The Ballet Russes with productions of Scheherazade, Giselle, Spectre de la rose, Stravinsky’s Petruska with sets designed by Bakst. Principal dancers were Tatiana Riabouchinska, David Lichine, Tamara Toumanova and Andre Eglevsky. [4]These productions were impressionable at age twelve years and a turning point in her choice of dance methods. On return to London left the Royal Academy of Dance of Olive Ripman.

Nicolaeva Legat

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Enrolled as a pupil in ballet classes with Madame Nadine Nicolaeva Legat Prima Ballerina of the state theaters of Moscow and wife of former Russian dancer Nicolai Legat. Trained four years with Legat in Colet house London. Moira Shearer was a fellow dancer student.[4] During this period attended Russian Ballet performances in London, this would be influential for future decisions as artistic director in dance, music, makeup and costume design.

World War Two - Ballet Russes.

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Barbara Vernon Gregory urged that Patricia be sent to the south of France to join the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in August 1939. Shortly after this Poland was invaded and World War Two declared. With concerns for the impact of war her mother declined that Patricia travel to Monte Carlo. In a Hasty decision for safety the family left England to live in Ireland. This had devastating consequences on Patricia Kinneen's career as a dancer.[4]

Ireland

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Attended ballet classes in Dublin at Irish Ballet club with Cepta Cullen under the Royal Academy of Dance system at the Abbey theatre. Performed in The Irish Ballet Club and with Sarah Payne's company for a year. The RAD techniques were not to the rigor of Russian methods with repertoires that were limited. Disenchanted with Ballet teachings and homesick for London Patricia stopped dancing.[4]

Patricia Ryan - Married life

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Married to John Ryan and mother of two children studied music and piano at the Royal Academy of Music Dublin. The social and literary set at the time in Dublin of artists and writers such as Patrick Kavanagh, J.P. Donleavy, Brian O'Nolan-(Myles na Gopaleen), Brendan Behan. Anthony Cronin, Patrick Swift were a new source of intellectual discourse.

National Ballet School

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1956 Madame Nadine Legat came to Dublin. Seeing a photo of her in the paper Patricia went to visit her Russian teacher at the Shelbourne Hotel. Unknown to her Nadine Legat was in search of a new teacher to continue Russian dance methods for the National Ballet School. As Legat had trained Patricia she thought her to be the ideal candidate to be appointed to the National Ballet school.[4] Accepting the position as a teacher and director Patricia Ryan developed her own approach with a mix of Legat style and Cecchetti method. Students attended daily six days a week to achieve athletic standard. 1956-1960 The young ballet school became a noted emergence. Ballets as Swan Lake, The nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty were staged. The main core ballet school dancers were Joan Wilson, Gay Brophy, Geraldine Morris, Ester O’Brolchain, Judith McGilligan, Ciara O’Sullivan, Mary Kimberly. Ryan directed and choreographed the Snow Queen and extended her young dancers to be choreographed to less known music as that of Brazilian Composer Heitor Villa-Lobos Uirapuru. Ryan Choreographed for the Dublin Spring and Winter Opera seasons at the Gaiety Theatre and for the Wexford Opera Festival. Directed movement for Theatre Productions in the Pike Theatre for James McKenna The Scattering to A.J. Potters score and Fergus Linehans playing Glory Be at the Olympia Theatre (Dublin) [6]

Irish Poet and writer Monk Gibbon, member of the Irish Academy of Lettres and a Fellow of the Royal Society of literature compared the National Ballet School productions to that of London standards. Gibbon wrote a letter to the Irish Times on the 11th of November 1958 appealing to the Arts Council to take note of the rising talent in the Ballet School’s young dancers, in his opinion the school needed to be nurtured in Dublin to reduce the risk that students would seek training and dance abroad.[4]


Professional School

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Patricia Ryan aspired for her Ballet Dancers to perform with Russian and British classical professionals. In 1960 a production of Giselle was staged at Olympia Theatre with guest dancers Annette Page and Ronald Hynd from the Royal Ballet London with core dancers from the Irish Ballet.

1961 Launch of National Television station Telefish Eireann at Dublin Airport. The National Ballet company danced under the direction of choreographer Norman Maen.

Equity for Irish Dancers

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1961 Irish classical dancers were asked to perform at a high level for television, Dublin Grand Opera Society's, Wexford Festival Opera, Dublin Stage, Gaiety Theatre and the Abbey Theatre and were not paid accordingly. Ryan arranged talks with the head of Irish Trade Union Irish Actors Equity to open a section for Irish dancers. This was agreed. Irish dancers were from this point supported and represented by the Arts Council Ireland.[7][8]

National Ballet Company

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National Ballet School turns professional.


Composer A.J.Potter

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Patricia Ryan choreographed the Ballet company dancers to three music compositions by A. J. Potter. (1) Careless Love written by Irish playwright Donagh MacDonagh Premiered in the Olympia theater April 1960 composed by A.J. Potter. (2) Gamble no Gamble written by literary figure and Poet Patrick Kavanagh Premiered in June 1961 at the Queens theatre composed by A.J.Potter. (3) Caitlin Bhocht Performed at the Olympia Theatre composed by A.J.Potter.[9]


The work of the National Ballet School and Company was an important period of intense artistic interchange between dancers, musicians, artists and writers. Innovative new Irish Ballets such as Careless Love, Gamble no Gamble and Caitlin Bhocht were created and produced in collaboration with Patricia Ryan, Patrick Kavanagh, Donagh MacDonagh, A.J. Potter and John Ryan.This purple patch of artistic collaboration put an end to a relatively unproductive period of Irish ballet (1945-50) where developments in dance had shifted away slightly from ballet and towards the introduction of contemporary dance into Ireland through the work of Erina Brady (1891-1961), a disciple of Mary Wigman. The National Ballet Company was instrumental in initiating a renewed interest in the art form that had been absent since the waning of the Sara Payne Company and the Irish Ballet Club in the mid 1940’s.'[10] - A History of Irish Ballet from 1927 to 1963 by Victoria O'Brien

1962 First Russian Dancers in Ireland - Ballet week

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The Cold War. Russian dancers had never performed in Ireland, it was Ryan’s passion to achieve this possibility. [11] Through the London embassy to Russia as there was none in Dublin it was agreed that dancers would come to Irish audiences for the first time.Due to the political constraints negotiations were administered under the organisation of the Ministry of Culture and security of the KGB that accompanied the Russian dancers. Two Russian principal dancers were brought to Dublin to perform with The National Ballet Company in the Olympia Theatre 17-22 September 1962. Kenneth Alwyn conducted the Radio Eireann light Orchestra. Christopher West in charge of production. Costumes from Ninette De Valois. Principal Russian dancers Nina Menovchikova, Veanir Kruglov, Principal English dancers Annette Page and Ronald Hynd performed with the National Ballet company on alternate nights in White act of Swan Lake. Pas de Deux Don Quixote. Pas de deux Le Corsair. Peasant Pas de deux from Giselle, Les Sylphides. Careless Love, Latin America, Wings View and Gamble no Gamble. Choreographers were Patricia Ryan, Alan Beale and Meriel Evans from the Royal Ballet London and Ester O’Brolchain.[12]

Television 1963/4

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Patricia Ryan participated in RTE Charade quiz show 'Take My Word' teamed with personalities such as Milo O'Shea and Siobhan McKenna from theatre and acting background of the era and other invited guests. [13]

Amalgamation of National Ballet Company Dublin with Irish Theatre Ballet Cork 1963

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Due to the lack of funds for both the National Ballet Dublin and the Cork Irish Theatre Ballet the Arts Council sought to merge the two companies. The Co directors had different visions for their respective companies.[14] Directorship of The Irish National Ballet Company in Dublin had increased financial and official requirements. This period Ryan found to take from the creative, artistic endeavor of the dance studio to one of administration. Simultaneously the artistic differences in collaboration with Joan Denise Moriarty from Cork in the recently merged Irish Ballet Company for the one season made for the decision that Patricia Ryan resigned. Patricia Ryan eventually left Ireland to live in France.[15][16][17]

Notes

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  1. ^ O'Brien, Victoria (2011). A history of Irish ballet from 1927 to 1963 (1. Aufl. ed.). Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 152. ISBN 9783039118731.
  2. ^ Sunday Independent 10/11/1991 Patricia Collins Interview Brighid McLaughlin
  3. ^ Irish Times. Patrick Collins - Master of Cut and Paste Landscape by Aidan Dunne 4/02/2011 http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/visual-art/master-of-a-cut-and-paste-landscape-1.563078
  4. ^ a b c d e f g O'Brien, Victoria (2011). A history of Irish ballet from 1927 to 1963 (1. Aufl. ed.). Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 122. ISBN 9783039118731.
  5. ^ http://www.corkcitylibraries.ie/music/joandenisemoriarty/joandenisemoriartycollection/irishtheatreballet/Fay%20Werner%20Dancing%20Times%201964.pdf
  6. ^ http://www.irishplayography.com/play.aspx?playid=31521
  7. ^ Independent.ie News Letters 11/04/1999
  8. ^ O'Brien, Victoria (2011). A history of Irish ballet from 1927 to 1963 (1. Aufl. ed.). Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 127. ISBN 9783039118731.
  9. ^ O'Brien, Victoria (2011). A history of Irish ballet from 1927 to 1963 (1. Aufl. ed.). Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 131/132. ISBN 9783039118731.
  10. ^ O'Brien, Victoria (2011). A history of Irish ballet from 1927 to 1963 (1. Aufl. ed.). Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 142. ISBN 9783039118731.
  11. ^ Irish Press. Ballet History. Russians get great Ovation 21/9/1962
  12. ^ Independent.ie Stepping back to a magical, marginal Artform 22/11/2008 http://www.independent.ie/incoming/stepping-back-to-a-magical-marginal-artform-26493882.html
  13. ^ https://stillslibrary.rte.ie/indexplus/image/1012/072.html
  14. ^ Irish Press. Irish Ballet on the Brink. Theatre Topics by Maurice O'Sullivan 15/6/1963
  15. ^ Irish Times. Correcting a Blind Spot about Irish Ballet review 27/9/2011 http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/correcting-a-blind-spot-about-irish-ballet-1.608750
  16. ^ Evening Press 15/6/1963
  17. ^ O'Brien, Victoria (2011). A history of Irish ballet from 1927 to 1963 (1. Aufl. ed.). Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 138. ISBN 9783039118731.
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