Gnatt, Poul (1923-1995)

NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-724065

Biographies

Born in Vienna of Danish parentage, Poul Gnatt moved with his parents to Denmark in 1925. There, Gnatt and his sister, Kirsten Ralov, joined the ballet school of Copenhagen's Royal Theatre and both graduated into the Royal Danish Ballet in 1939. Gnatt rose to the rank of principal but left the Danish company at the end of the 1940s and danced first with Roland Petit's Ballets des Champs-Elysees and then in London with Metropolitan Ballet. In the 1940s and early 1950s Gnatt was briefly married to Australian dancer Helene ffrance. Another early Australian connection was with Harry Haythorne whom he met while they were both with the Metropolitan Ballet and who remained a lifelong friend.

Gnatt joined the Borovansky Ballet during its 1951-1952 season. He made his Australian debut partnering Kathleen Gorham in the can-can from La Boutique fantasque and featured in leading roles in several other Borovansky productions including The Sleeping Princess, in which he danced the role of Prince Desire, Les Sylphides, Le Beau Danube, in which he appeared as the Hussar, and Edouard Borovansky's own L'Amour ridicule, in which he starred as Jose.

Gnatt toured to New Zealand with the Borovansky Ballet in 1952 and shortly afterwards moved to Auckland with his second wife and their two sons. In Auckland he began teaching ballet and then, with local teachers Beryl Nettleton and Bettina Edwards, began to mount productions and to tour to rural centres in the North Island of New Zealand with lecture/demonstrations on ballet. He established the New Zealand Ballet (later Royal New Zealand Ballet) in 1953 and directed the company until 1962.

In 1962 the board of the New Zealand Ballet appointed a new director, Russell Kerr, and shortly afterwards Gnatt moved back to Australia. In Australia he became a founding member of the faculty at the Australian Ballet School and staged several Bournonville works for the fledgling Australian Ballet. They included the pas de deux from Flower Festival in Genzano in 1964 and Le Conservatoire (Konservatoriet) in 1965. In 1967 Gnatt was appointed artistic director of Melbourne's Ballet Guild, supporting Laurel Martyn who became executive director, and for that company staged a number of works including excerpts from Napoli and a Danish version of Coppelia in which he appeared as Dr Coppelius. In Australia Gnatt also staged his Bournonvilliana, which comprised excerpts from Napoli and Flower Festival in Genzano, for West Australian Ballet.

Gnatt directed the New Zealand Ballet again beginning in 1969 but again left when a new director, Bryan Ashbridge, was appointed. Gnatt pursued his career in Europe and for a time was stage director with the Norwegian Opera and Ballet in Oslo. A naturalised New Zealander, he retired to New Zealand in the early 1990s where he was much honoured for his pioneering work in ballet and where he died in 1995.

For more about Gnatt's New Zealand career, including an audio extract from an interview recorded in 1983 by Philip Liner, see Gnatt, Poul Rudolph in Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.

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  1. Le Conservatoire (Australian context)
    Le Conservatoire (Australian context)
    Created by NLAdance, 7 items.

    Le Conservatoire (Konservatoriet) was first presented by the Royal Danish Ballet at the Royal Theatre Copenhagen on 6 May 1849. In creating this work, August Bournonville drew on his forma...

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  2. La Boutique fantasque (Australian context)
    La Boutique fantasque (Australian context)
    Created by NLAdance, 15 items.

    La Boutique fantasque was the first of Leonide Massine's works to be seen in Australia. The inaugural Australian performance took place at the Theatre Royal Adelaide on opening night of th...

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  3. Le Beau Danube (Australian context)
    Le Beau Danube (Australian context)
    Created by NLAdance, 26 items.

    Le Beau Danube, a one-act ballet created by Leonide Massine, premiered in Australia in October 1936 during the second program by the first of the ...

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  1. Ballet Victoria
    ... , Arthur Turnbull, Jack Manuel and Poul Gnatt. In 1973 Garth Welch took over the ...
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  2. Pask, Edward H., (Edward Henry) (1940-)
    ... , Piotr Gusev, Poul Gnatt, and Laurel Martyn. Throughout the early 1950s Pask performed ...
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  3. Ballet Guild (1946-1967)
    ... of creating new work while also mounting the classics continued. In 1967 Poul ...
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  1. Website: Australia dancing
    www.australiadancing.org
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  1. Peggy Sager interviewed by Michelle Potter
    Sager, Peggy, 1924-2002
    [ Sound : 1994 ]
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  2. Lynne Golding interviewed by Michelle Potter in the Keep dancing oral history project
    Golding, Lynne, 1920-2008
    [ Sound : 2001 ]
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  3. Paul de Masson interviewed by Michelle Potter
    De Masson, Paul, 1953-2012
    [ Sound : 2011 ]
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  1. Poul Gnatt
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    [ Photograph : 1960-1964 ]
    Poul Gnatt
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    Stringer, Walte...
    [ Photograph : 1963 ]
    Robert Rosen and Poul Gnatt, c. 1963, The Australian Ballet / Walter Stringer
  3. Poul Gnatt [standing in doorway wit...
    Herald and Week...
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  1. A dictionary of English and folk-names of British birds; with their history, meaning, and first usage, and the folk-lore, weather-lore, legends, etc., relating to the more familiar species
    Swann, H. Kirke (Harry Kirke), 1871-1926
    [ Book : 1913 ]
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  3. An Introduction to the Study of English Literature;: Comprising Representative Masterpieces in ..
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    [ Book : 1877 ]
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  1. "Le Beau Danube" Rehearsal
    The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954) Saturday 19 July 1952 p 4 Article Illustrated
    ... 'Le Beau Danube" Rehearsal Mr. E. Borovansky (right) checks positions of Edna Busse and Poul Gnatt at a rehearsal hearsal of 'Le Beau Danube' ballet which will be presented at the Theatre Royal on Monday night. Mr. E. Borovansky (right) checks positions of Edna Busse and Poul Gnatt at a re ... 68 words
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  2. Actors on way to stage play here Argus Special Service London, Thursday
    The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Friday 15 February 1952 p 6 Article
    ... is Poul Gnatt, princi Êal dancer from the Copenh- agen Ballet, who will Join the Borovansky Company. ... 116 words
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  3. BALLET TRIO
    Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921 - 1956) Saturday 7 June 1952 p 2 Article
    ... Stravinsky. Peggy Sager. Miro Zlocn, Graham Smith, Paul Hammond and Poul Gnatt are the principals. Final ... 113 words
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