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Gorham, Kathleen (1932-1983)

Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-677066

Biographies

Australia Dancing

Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Kathleen Gorham studied under Lorraine Norton and Leon Kellaway before joining the Borovansky Ballet in 1946. In 1947 she was promoted by Borovansky to the rank of junior ballerina and with this promotion Gorham began to take on major roles in the Borovansky repertoire. They included the mazurka and pas de deux in Les Sylphides , First Hand in Le Beau Danube and Peggy Sager's original role of the Spirit of Australia in Terra Australis .

Early in 1948 Gorham joined Ballet Rambert for its Australian tour dancing under the name Ann Somers, both Ann and Somers being family names from Gorham's mother's family. With Ballet Rambert Gorham danced in much of the repertoire and took major roles in Swan Lake and Nutcracker . In 1949, at the end of the Rambert tour, Gorham left Australia for Europe where she danced with Roland Petit's Ballet de Paris and the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet. She was enticed back to Australia by Edouard Borovansky for the Borovansky Ballet's 1951-1952 season. During this period with the Borovansky Ballet she created the roles of Miss X in Borovansky's work The Outlaw , a ballet inspired by the legend of Ned Kelly, and Juliet in Paul Grinwis' The Eternal Lovers . In 1951 she also made her debut in the title role in Giselle .

In 1953 she returned to Europe and worked with the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas creating roles in ballets by George Skibine and Serge Golovine. But by 1954 she was again dancing with the Borovansky Ballet taking the lead in Pineapple Poll under the direction of its choreographer John Cranko, and creating leading roles in David Lichine's Corrida and later in Robert Pomie's The Surfers . In 1959 she joined Pomie, her husband, in a season with his Company Robert Pomie at Ballet Theatre le Francais in Sydney dancing in several classical and original works.

Gorham joined the Australian Ballet as a foundation member and with singular success created leading roles in Robert Helpmann's ballets The Display and Yugen . After her retirement from the company in 1966 she continued to run her dance school, which she had started after the death of Borovansky, and was well known for the summer schools she ran on the Gold Coast in conjunction with Peggy Sager, her colleague from the Borovansky Ballet. Gorham was also successful as an actor and was acclaimed for her part in the television production of Johnny Belinda .

View the full record at Australia Dancing

Australian Women's Register

Kathleen Gorham began her classical dancing career with the Borovansky Ballet at the age of fifteen, retaining her association with the Ballet until it finally disbanded in 1960 on the death of Borovansky. She danced with other companies in Paris and London, and in 1962 Kathleen Gorham became prima ballerina of the newly formed Australian Ballet Company. She played an important role in the artistic development of a recognisably Australian ballet company and danced new roles in association with Robert Helpmann. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1968 for her services to ballet. Retiring from dancing after the Australian Ballet's first overseas tour in 1966, she taught ballet in Melbourne and Southport, Queensland before her death in 1983 at a relatively young age.

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Resources

Selected resources (48)

Australia Dancing

  1. Adelaide. World Premiere of New Australian Ballet (Moving picture)
    Choreography: Robert Helpmann; Music: Yuzo Toyama; Cast: Kathleen Gorham and artists of the Australian Ballet
    [1965]
    This newsreel with commentary includes brief excerpts from Robert Helpmann's Japanese-inspired ballet, Yugen . It was filmed during the ballet's premiere season in Adelaide. Robert Rosen is shown conducting.
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 449556
  2. Spotlight on Australian Ballet (Moving picture)
    [1948]
    This film traces the early history of dance in Australia showing the importance of tours to the country by companies from overseas, and highlighting the development of local companies such as the Kirsova Ballet, Ballet Guild and the Bodenwieser Ballet. Footage includes scenes of Laurel Martyn rehearsing her work En Saga and excerpts from the repertoire of the Bodenwieser Ballet including Waterlilies , Demon Machine and Blue Danube . Most attention, however, is given to the Borovansky Ballet. The company is seen in a variety of works including Le Beau Danube , Capriccio italien , Terra Australis , Swan Lake and Les Sylphides . Backstage activities are also shown. The dancers who appear include Martin Rubinstein, Tamara Tchinarova, Kathleen Gorham, Vassilie Trunoff, Serge Bousloff, Edna Busse and Edouard Borovansky. Xenia Borovansky is seen conducting a class, Edouard Borovansky is seen directing rehearsals and Bill Constable is seen painting cloths for Terra Australis .
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 11165
  3. [Borovansky Ballet: Laurie Bishop Home Movie] (Moving picture)
    Cast: Kathleen Gorham, Peggy Sager, Jocelyn Vollmar, Royes Fernadez, Paul Grinwis, Vassilie Trunoff and artists of the Borovansky Ballet
    [1952-1957]
    Members of the Borovansky Ballet perform excerpts from various ballets including Giselle , Sleeping Princess (Beauty ), Swan Lake , Francesca da Rimini , Les Presages , Nutcracker , Symphonie fantastique , and The Three Devils . Artists appearing include Peggy Sager, Vassilie Trunoff, Kathleen Gorham, Paul Grinwis, Royes Fernandez and Jocelyn Vollmar.
    The Keep Dancing! Collection
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 426943
  4. Kathleen Gorham and Garth Welch in 'The Display', the Australian Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1964]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/AB/155, Album 912/18
  5. Boro's Ballet (Moving picture)
    [2001]
    A documentary tracing the development of the Borovansky Ballet from its amateur beginnings in 1939, through its professional years until its demise in 1961. Material is drawn from the dance collections of ScreenSound Australia and the National Library of Australia and includes archival footage of productions by the Borovansky Ballet as well as radio and oral history interviews with Edouard Borovansky and several of his dancers. Interviewees include Paul Hammond, Kathleen Gorham, Tom Rothfield, Reg Bartram, Peggy Sager and Geoffrey Ingram. Dancers, guest artists and other personnel who appear include Kathleen Gorham, Peggy Sager, Dorothy Stevenson, Laurel Martyn, Bill Constable, Miro Zloch, Paul Grinwis, Royes Fernandez, Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes, Rowena Jackson, Bryan Ashbridge, Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch. Brief footage of the Ballet Rambert Australian tour of 1947-1949 and of Anna Pavlova in Australia is also included. The background to the creation of the video is discussed briefly in 'Boro's Ballet: The Making of an Australian Ballet, 1939-1961' in National Library of Australia News , July 2001.
    The Keep Dancing! Collection
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 465285
  6. [Borovansky Ballet: Laurie Bishop Home Movie] (Moving picture)
    Cast: Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes, Rowena Jackson, Bryan Ashbridge, Kathleen Gorham, Vassilie Trunoff and artists of the Borovansky Ballet
    [1957]
    Margot Fonteyn and Michael Somes perform excerpts from Swan Lake , Aurora's Wedding and Nutcracker . Rowena Jackson and Bryan Ashbridge perform excerpts from Don Quixote . This footage was shot during a Borovansky Ballet season in which Fonteyn, Somes, Jackson and Ashbridge appeared as guest artists. Also included is some backstage footage. Other artists appearing briefly include Kathleen Gorham and Vassilie Trunoff.
    The Keep Dancing! Collection
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 426933
  7. [Borovansky Ballet: Xenia Borovansky Collection] (Moving picture)
    Cast: Edouard Borovansky, Royes Fernandez, Kathleen Gorham, Peggy Sager, David Lichine, Paul Grinwis and artists of the Borovansky Ballet
    [1950s]
    This footage, thought to have been at least in part shot by Edouard Borovansky, includes excerpts from a variety of ballets from the Borovansky repertoire. Ballets represented include The Black Swan, La Boutique fantasque (which includes sequences showing Borovansky dancing the role of the Shopkeeper), Le Carnaval, Giselle, Graduation Ball, Nutcracker, Petrouchka, Pineapple Poll, The Sleeping Beauty, Los Tres Diablos, Aurora's Wedding and Swan Lake . In addition David Lichine is seen conducting a rehearsal onstage for his ballet Corrida and there is brief footage of Margot Fonteyn, who guested with the Borovansky Ballet in 1957, in excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty . The recording also contains some non-dance footage including scenes of Borovansky on fishing expeditions with his friends, travel footage from Czechoslovakia, New York and other destinations, and some footage of the Melbourne Olympic Games.
    The Xenia Borovansky Collection
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 1465
  8. Kathleen Gorham, Martin Rubinstein and the Borovansky Ballet in 'Terra Australis' (Picture)
    [1947]
    Geoffrey Ingram Archive of Australian Ballet
    National Library of Australia
  9. Martin Rubinstein (Moving picture)
    Interviewer: James Murdoch
    [1987]
    Martin Rubinstein talks about his dance training in Europe and Australia, the early days of the Borovansky Ballet and life in the company. He also discusses Edouard Borovansky, director of the company and some of the dancers he performed with including Kathleen Gorham, Peggy Sager. He gives his thoughts on the differences between dancers of the 1940s and the 1980s and on the development of ballet in Australia. His talks about his reasons for giving up his performing career and concludes with a discussion of his career as a teacher and examiner.
    Australia Council Archival Film Series
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 56647
  10. Photographs of the Borovansky Ballet and the Borovansky Ballet Academy (Picture)
    [1940-1961]
    Productions covered in this extensive collection of photographs include L'Amour ridicule , Autumn Leaves , The Black Swan , Le Beau Danube , Capriccio italien , Carnaval , En Saga , Facade , Fantasy on Grieg's Concerto in A minor , Gay Rosalinda , Giselle , Nutcracker , Sea Legend , Sigrid , Terra Australis , Vltava . Artists represented in the collection include Serge Bousloff, Edna Busse, Kathleen Gorham, Laurel Martyn, Martin Rubinstein, Peggy Sager, Dorothy Stevenson, Tamara Tchinarova, Vassilie Trunoff, Garth Welch.
    Geoffrey Ingram Archive of Australian Ballet
    National Library of Australia
    P348/BB/1-568
  11. [Spotlight on Australian Ballet: Outtakes] (Moving picture)
    Cast: Martin Rubinstein, Vassilie Trunoff, Kathleen Gorham, and artists of the Borovansky Ballet
    [1948]
    This footage contains brief scenes shot from various angles from two of Edouard Borovansky's works, Capriccio italien and Terra Australis .
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 11425
  12. Ballet: [Fonteyn and Nureyev season] (Moving picture)
    [1964]
    The Australian Ballet is seen in the final stages of rehearsal for its production of Giselle with guests stars Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. The company is seen taking class under the direction of Peggy van Praagh. Interviews are included with van Praagh, Fonteyn, Nureyev, Kathleen Gorham, Anne Fraser, Carmel Noland and entrepreneur James Laurie. There is also brief footage of an onstage rehearsal of Giselle and of Fonteyn and Nureyev in class and rehearsal.
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Segment title no: 76514
  13. My ballet diary (Ephemera)
    [1952-1956]
    This annotated diary of ballet events in Australia was compiled by S. Gans. It records tours by the Melbourne-based Borovansky Ballet to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The diary includes programs for performances and mentions a number of the Borovansky Ballet's leading artists of the period, including Kathleen Gorham, Peggy Sager, Jocelyn Vollmar and Vassilie Trunoff. There is also some material relating to Robert Helpmann in the film Tales of Hoffmann and Ballets Russes dancer Tamara Toumanova in her role in the film Tonight We Sing .
    National Library of Australia
    PROMPT Scrapbook 3 (mfm N508)
    Access through Newspaper/Microform Reading Room
  14. Photographic Albums of Walter Stringer : [Borovansky Ballet] (Picture)
    [1956]
    One album containing 11 photographs of performances by the Borovansky Ballet. Two ballets are represented, Nutcracker and Le Carnaval . Dancers represented include Royes Fernandez, Peggy Sager, Audrey Nicholls and Kathleen Gorham. A list of the contents of the album is available at the pictorial list titled Stringer, Walter, 1907-2001: Borovansky Ballet, [c.1956] . Stringer's dance photography is discussed in 'Documenting Australian Dance: Walter Stringer's Dance Photography' , National Library of Australia News , February 2000.
    National Library of Australia
    PIC album 990
  15. Photographs of the Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    [1943-1961]
    The W. F. Stringer collection includes a large component of photographic material documenting various productions by the Borovansky Ballet. All material was shot in performance by Walter Stringer and some is autographed. Productions represented include Aurora's Wedding , Le Beau Danube, Le Carnaval, Coppelia, Corrida, The Eternal Lovers, Francesca da Rimini, Fifth Symphony - Les Presages , Giselle, Graduation Ball, Nutcracker , Petrouchka , Polovtsian Dances , Les Rendezvous, Sleeping Princess, Les Sylphides and Symphonie fantastique . Artists represented include Iovanka Biegovic, Royes Fernandez, Elaine Fifield, Kathleen Gorham, Marilyn Jones, Robert Pomie, Peggy Sager, Yurek Shabelevsky, Vassilie Trunoff, Jocelyn Vollmar and Garth Welch. A small amount of material documents the Fonteyn season of the Borovansky Ballet in 1957. Most photographs were shot during the 1950s and 1960s. A small amount of material was created in c.1943 and includes material relating to the Borovansky production of Facade in 1943 and photographs shot in Borovansky's studio in Melbourne.
    W. F. Stringer Collection
    National Library of Australia
    P554/BB/1-491
  16. Photographs of the Australian Ballet (Picture)
    [1962-1994]
    The Geoffrey Ingram Archive of Australian Ballet contains 48 items, mostly black and white photographs, most of which document productions by the Australian Ballet during 1962 and 1963. Productions include Melbourne Cup , Nutcracker , One in Five and Swan Lake . Artists represented include Sonia Arova, Erik Bruhn, Marilyn Jones, Leon Kellaway, Caj Selling, Karl Welander and Garth Welch. Other photographs show Kathleen Gorham and Robert Helpmann performing a pop number together and there is some historical material that may have been used for program illustrations. The W. F. Stringer Collection contains many hundreds of black and white and colour images documenting productions by the Australian Ballet over four decades.
    National Library of Australia
    Stringer: P554/AB/1- (Album 912); Ingram: P348/AB/1-48 (Album 810)
    The W.F. Stringer collection is currently being sorted and processed and not all items are yet available for research use
  17. Kathleen Gorham as Tsukiyomo, the Moon Goddess, in 'Yugen', the Australian Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1965]
    National Library of Australia
    P554/AB/168, Album 912/19
  18. Interview with Barry Kitcher (Oral history)
    Interviewee: Kitcher, Barry; Interviewer: Michelle Potter
    [1994]
    Barry Kitcher discusses his career as a dancer with the Borovansky and the Australian Ballets. He begins with an account of the reunions of ex-Borovansky dancers that he has organised and goes on to talk about his early dancing experiences. He discusses his career with the Borovansky Ballet and gives his recollections of Xenia and Edouard Borovansky. He talks at length about touring witht he Borovansky Ballet and mentions some of the leading dancers including especially Kathleen Gorham. He speaks about Borovansky's death and the nature of the company after that event. He then discusses his career with the Australian Ballet speaking in particular about his role as the Lyrebird Robert Helpmann's ballet The Display and about the company's first artistic director, Peggy van Praagh.
    National Library of Australia
    TRC 3102
  19. [Borovansky Ballet in Giselle] (Moving picture)
    Cast: Dorothy Stevenson (Giselle), Miro Zloch (Albrecht), Marilyn Bogner (Berthe), Paul Hammond (Hilarion), Eve King (Princess Bathilde), Peggy Sager (Myrthe); also Kathleen Gorham (Giselle) and Paul Grinwis (Albrecht) and artists of the Borovansky Ballet.
    [1951]
    This footage shows excerpts from Acts I and II of Giselle with Stevenson, Zloch, Hammond and Sager followed by further excerpts featuring Gorham and Grinwis.
    The Keep Dancing! Collection
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 449187
  20. Interviews with members of the Borovansky Ballet (Oral history)
    Interviewee: Luscombe (Edgley), Edna; Interviewee: Borovansky, Edouard; Interviewee: Gorham, Kathleen; Interviewee: Sager, Peggy; Interviewee: Boyd, Charles; Interviewer: Ron Sullivan for the Adelaide radio program <em>Theatre Magazine</em>; Interviewee: Busse, Edna; Interviewee: Grinwis, Paul; Interviewee: Gnatt, Poul
    [1950]
    Members of the Borovansky Ballet discuss various aspects of their careers as dancers and backstage personnel. Interviewees are Keitha Munro, stage manager; Dorothy Stevenson, dancer; Paul Grinwis and Peggy Sager, dancers (joint interview); Kathleen Gorham and Miro Zloch, dancers (joint interview); Edna Busse and Charles Boyd, dancers (joint interview); and Poul Gnatt who also talks about his career as a dancer in Copenhagen. Other interviews are with Edouard Borovansky, director of the Borovansky Ballet; Stafford Northcote, critic; and Edna Luscombe (Edgley) J. C. Williamson dancer.
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 380395
  21. Encounters with Robert Helpmann (Moving picture)
    [1964]
    Richard Croll interviews Robert Helpmann as part of a television public affairs program. Helpmann discusses aspects of his career, the characteristics of Australian dancers and his ballet The Display inspired by the mating ritual of the male lyrebird. Brief extracts from a rehearsal for The Display are shown. This footage features Kathleen Gorham, Garth Welch and Bryan Lawrence.
    National Film and Sound Archive
    Title no: 19339
  22. Papers of Charles Boyd (Manuscript)
    [1926-2002]
    The papers of Charles Boyd relate to his career as a dancer with the Mosman Musical Society in the 1920s and 1930s, Ballet Rambert in the late 1930s and into the 1940s and the Borovansky Ballet in the 1950s. The collection includes clippings from England and Australia relating to Ballet Rambert and from Australia relating to the Borovansky Ballet. It also contains a significant number of photographs of Boyd in all his best known roles including those in Petrouchka , La Boutique fantasque and Lady into Fox . Many photographs are also records of the dancers Boyd partnered including Sally Gilmour, Peggy Sager and Kathleen Gorham. There is also material relating Walter Gore including photographs of the filming of Gore's Simple Symphony in Australia during the Ballet Rambert tour, letters to Boyd's parents written from London between 1937 and 1940, some programs and books, and material relating to Boyd's death in 2002.
    National Library of Australia
    MS 9732
  23. Interview with Peggy Sager (Oral history)
    Interviewer: Michelle Potter; Interviewee: Sager, Peggy
    [1994]
    Peggy Sager talks about her family and early dance training in New Zealand and then discusses her move from New Zealand to Australia to take classes with Helene Kirsova. She talks about Kirsova's teaching methods and her work with the Kirsova Ballet. She also speaks about the difficulties of surviving as a dancer in Sydney in the 1940s, joining the Borovansky Ballet, the differences between the Borovansky company and the Kirsova Ballet and some productions in which she appeared with the Borovansky Ballet. She devotes some time as well to a discussion of her engagements overseas as a dancer with the Brussels Opera and to her teaching career, which included teaching with her first husband Paul Hammond and with her colleague Kathleen Gorham.
    National Library of Australia
    TRC 3157
  24. Paul Grinwis and Kathleen Gorham in 'Nutcracker', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1955 or 1956]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BB/145, Album 912/10
  25. Kathleen Gorham, Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [c. 1960]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC/6558/3365, Album 1016/11
  26. Bryan Lawrence as the Leader and Kathleen Gorham as the Girl in Robert Helpmann's 'The Display', the Australian Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1964]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC/6558/1530, Album 1016/6
  27. Martin Rubinstein and Kathleen Gorham of the Borovansky Ballet in the J. C. Williamson production of 'Gay Rosalinda' (Picture)
    Creator: Photographer unknown
    [1947]
    Geoffrey Ingram Archive of Australian Ballet
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P348/BB/313/11b
  28. Interview with Rex Reid about Natasha Kirsta (Oral history)
    Interviewer: James Murdoch; Interviewee: Reid, Rex
    [1986]
    Rex Reid summarises Kirsta's early life in Russia before and during the 1917 Revolution. Her life in Vienna is discussed, including her life with second husband George Kirsta and friends Victor Gsovsky, George Balanchine and Tamara Geva. Reid discusses Kirsta's move to Berlin to direct Gsovsky's ballet school and Kirsta's establishment of a ballet company with Gsovsky called Ballet Kirsta, members of which included Lesley Caron, Brigitte Bardot and Roland Petit. Kirsta's friendship with Jean Cocteau and Misha Sert is discussed.

    Reid discusses Kirsta's move to Australia and her friendships with the Stravinskys, Arthur Rubinstein, Richard Meale, Marlene Dietrich, Abby Simon, Lila Kedrova and Yul Brynner. Kirsta's influence on Barry Moreland and Les Sinclair is discussed, as is Kirsta's admiration for Reid. Reid discusses Kirsta's love of Australia, her pride in becoming an Australian citizen, and her close friendships with Kathleen Gorham, Ann Church, John Gielgud, Phillip Jones, Barry Reid, Nadia Nerina and Rudolf Nureyev.

    Natasha's knowledge of art, ballet, ballet history, music knowledge and talent for painting is discussed. Reid comments on her friendship with Katia, Ludmilla and Luba Crassine and the vast amount of correspondence Kirsta kept. He highlights Kirsta's influence on his dance studio in Adelaide, her brilliant business skills and her influence on young dancers. He recalls that many people were nervous of Kirsta and did not understand her, citing Peggy Van Praagh as an example. Reid then discusses the lead up to Kirsta's death, the circumstances surrounding Kirsta's death and the people he notified, including Lila Kedrova and Marcel Marceau who were great friends of Natasha Kirsta.
    National Library of Australia
    TRC 1986/3-5
  29. Garth Welch as the Outsider and Kathleen Gorham as the Girl in Robert Helpmann's 'The Display', the Australian Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1964]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC/6558/1529, Album 1016/6
  30. Portrait of Kathleen Gorham (Picture)
    Creator: Phil Ward Studios
    [1950s]
    J.C. Williamson collection of photographs
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P828/PORTRAIT/GOR1
  31. Paul Grinwis and Kathleen Gorham in 'Le Beau Danube', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [c. 1955]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BB/331, Album 912/12
  32. Ann Somers (Kathleen Gorham) and Miro Zloch in 'Swan Lake' Act II, Ballet Rambert [4] (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1948]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BR/5, Album 912/1
  33. Portrait of Kathleen Gorham, sur les pointes (Picture)
    Creator: Phil Ward Studios
    [1950s]
    J.C. Williamson collection of photographs
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P828/PORTRAIT/Gor2/A
  34. Paul Grinwis and Kathleen Gorham in 'Corrida', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1956]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BB/351, album 912/12
  35. Newspaper clippings, Kathleen Gorham (Ephemera)
    [1966-1983]
    A large selection of press articles from Australian newspapers relating to various moments in Gorham's career.
    National Library of Australia
    Access through Newspaper/Microform Reading Room
  36. Ann Somers (Kathleen Gorham) and Miro Zloch in 'Swan Lake' Act II, Ballet Rambert [1] (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1948]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BR/1, Album 912/1
  37. Marie Rambert with Ann Somers (Kathleen Gorham) and Miro Zloch, Ballet Rambert (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1948]
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BR/4, Album 912/1
  38. Programs, Ballet Theatre le Francais (Ephemera)
    [1958-1959]
    This collection contains programs for the 1958 and 1959 seasons by Robert Pomie's company, which performed as Ballet Robert Pomie and also as Company Robert Pomie at Ballet Theatre le Francais in Sydney. The seasons featured Robert Pomie and various ballerinas including Kathleen Gorham, Elaine Fifield, and Marilyn Jones. The company's ballet master was Kiril Vassilkovsky and the repertoire consisted largely of works choreographed by Pomie. Programs for the Pomie company are also located in Papers of Geoffrey Ingram, MS 7336, Box 1.
    National Library of Australia
    PROMPT Collection (Access through Petherick Room)
  39. Portrait of Kathleen Gorham, Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Photographer unknown
    [Between 1950 and 1959]
    Geoffrey Ingram archive of Australian ballet
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P348/BB/75 LOC Album 810/7
  40. Kathleen Gorham as Aurora in The Sleeping Princess, Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, W.F.
    [Between 1950 and 1959]
    Geoffrey Ingram archive of Australian ballet
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P348/BB/77 LOC Album 810/7
  41. Ann Somers (Kathleen Gorham) and Paula Hinton (standing) with artists of Ballet Rambert in 'Winter Night' (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1948]
    Winter Night was choreographed by Walter Gore and designed by Kenneth Rowell.
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BR/21, Album 912/1
  42. Peggy Sager and Kathleen Gorham, Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Photographer unknown
    [Between 1950 and 1959]
    Geoffrey Ingram archive of Australian ballet
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P348/BB/65 LOC Album 810/7
  43. Portrait of Kathleen Gorham (Picture)
    Creator: Photographer unknown
    [Between 1940 and 1949]
    Geoffrey Ingram archive of Australian ballet
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P348/BB/78 LOC Album 810/7
  44. Kathleen Gorham in the Spanish Dance from 'Facade', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Dickson, Enid
    [1951]
    1 drawing on velvet paper : pastel, pen and charcoal, col. ; 40.4 x 30.4 cm.
    Collection of sketches of ballet dancers [picture] / Enid T. Dickson.
    National Library of Australia
    PIC/9921/14 LOC Drawer 10481-10490 *
  45. Kathleen Gorham as Swanilda in 'Coppelia', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [ca. 1960]
    W.F. Stringer collection of dance slides
    National Library of Australia
    PIC PIC/6558/3330 LOC Cold store PIC Stri Album 1016/11 *
  46. Kathleen Gorham as Swanilda and Algeranoff as Dr Coppelius in 'Coppelia', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1961]
    W.F. Stringer collection of dance photographs
    National Library of Australia
    PIC P554/BB/411 LOC Album 912/13 *
  47. Interview with Kiril Vassilkovsky (Oral history)
    Interviewer: Bill Stephens; Interviewee: Vassilkovsky, Kiril
    [2006]
    Kiril Vassilkovsky born 1919, in Latvia, talks about his family background; his childhood in Latvia; childhood in England where his family moved when he was four years of age; his early involvement in ballet; being taught by Marie Rambert and Igor Schwezoff; financial arrangements and dancing for Igor Schwezoff; auditioning for Col. De Basil; being engaged by De Basil to tour Australia for the 1939/40 tour by Ballet Russes; rehearsals on the ship to Australia; Serge Lifar; David Lichine; dancing the role of the Drummer in Graduation Ball with the Borovansky Ballet; the dancers who made up the original Ballet Russes; first impressions of Australia; the Sydney Season and a trip to The Blue Mountains; accommodation in Sydney; Serge Grigoriev; social and working life for Ballet Russes; the 'baby' ballerinas; the salary; touring the U.S.A for Sol Hurok; being stranded in Cuba; reforming the company in Cuba; six years touring South and Central America; maintaining performance standards on tour; his bid for American citizenship working as a free-lance dancer; rejoining the Ballet Russes for its second European tour. Vassilkovsky discusses the Original Ballet Russe tour of England, following the death of De Basil in 1950; the condition of the costumes and sets at this time; life after the Ballets Russes; working in the Marquis de Cuevas Ballet; working as assistant to Bronislava Nijinska; Edouard Borovansky; developing the ability to reproduce ballets; accepting Borovansky's invitation to join his ballet company as co-repetiteur; his responsibilities as co-repetiteur and co-artistic director; the standard of the Borovansky dancers; advice from Borovansky; recommencing with the Borovansky Ballet as a soloist; choreographing Candide ; dancing with Kathleen Gorham; the attraction of choreography; life after the Borovansky Ballet; an invitation to work as a teacher with the West Australian Ballet; the impact of Rex Reid as artistic director of the West Australian Ballet; an invitation from Luis Moreno to choreograph; teaching; reflects on his accomplishments; his London encore of the role of the Drummer in Graduation Ball ; life in the Borovansky Ballet compared to life in the Ballet Russes.
    National Library of Australia
    TRC 5704
    Access open for research, written permission is required for personal copies and public use for 10 years from the date of the interview.
  48. Kathleen Gorham in 'Pineapple Poll', Borovansky Ballet (Picture)
    Creator: Stringer, Walter
    [1954/1955?]
    W.F. Stringer collection of dance photographs
    National Library of Australia
    PIC PIC P554/BB/207 LOC Album 912/10

Australian Women's Register

  1. Kathleen Gorham
    Weatherburn, Hilary
    [1988]
    Published: Women's Redress Press Inc, Broadway, NSW
  2. Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
    Australian National University
    [2006]
  3. Faith, Hope and Charity Australian Women and Imperial Honours: 1901-1989
    Australian Women's Archives Project
    [2003]
    Published: Australian Women's Archives Project
  4. 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology
    Radi, Heather
    [1988]
    Published: Women's Redress Press, Sydney
  5. Biographical cuttings on Kathleen Gorham
    [Press cuttings ]
    National Library of Australia Newspaper Microcopy Reading Room

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  1. Website: 200 Australian Women
    www.200australianwomen.com
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    • Kathleen Gorham - 5/11/2007
    • ... Gorham 1932 - 1983 dancer Kathleen Gorham (1932-1983), dancer, was born of English-Irish parentage...
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  2. Website: Australian Women's Archives Project
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  3. Website: Australian Women in War
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