NewsWhore
05-24-2006, 03:10 PM
Undoubtedly the grand dame, mother, grandmother and inspiration for the ballet scene in the Dominican Republic, Magda Corbett was buried yesterday after passing away in Santo Domingo on Tuesday. She was the pioneer of the ballet and teacher of thousands of Dominican ballerinas and ballet dancers. She was 91. Born in Budapest, Hungary, she married Englishman Harold Corbett in 1939 arriving in the DR in 1947, with her husband and son from the United Kingdom to await the passing of the World War II, and ended up staying permanently. A year after her arrival, she took on the running of a ballet school that was started by German professor Herta Brauer who left the country in 1948, as reported in El Caribe. She was the founder, together with Cuban Clara Elena Ramirez, of the Ballet Clasico Dominicano, the leading ballet troupe in the country.
In the Listin Diario obituary, the newspaper highlights excerpts from a 1997 interview where she told of the early days of ballet in the DR, where she said she arrived in 1947 to stay for two years. The Madame went on to describe the difficulties she faced during the early years, because parents were concerned about their daughters dancing ballet and lifting their legs in public. She also tells about her efforts to overcome the prejudice against males becoming dancers.
In 1953, she and her company presented the first complete ballet ever seen in the country. The presentation of "An afternoon in a park in Vienna" was the beginning of the Dominican Republic's ballet tradition, which has produced prima ballerinas, including Michelle Jimenez, currently with the Washington Ballet Company.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#14)
In the Listin Diario obituary, the newspaper highlights excerpts from a 1997 interview where she told of the early days of ballet in the DR, where she said she arrived in 1947 to stay for two years. The Madame went on to describe the difficulties she faced during the early years, because parents were concerned about their daughters dancing ballet and lifting their legs in public. She also tells about her efforts to overcome the prejudice against males becoming dancers.
In 1953, she and her company presented the first complete ballet ever seen in the country. The presentation of "An afternoon in a park in Vienna" was the beginning of the Dominican Republic's ballet tradition, which has produced prima ballerinas, including Michelle Jimenez, currently with the Washington Ballet Company.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#14)