Guide to the Papers of Tamara Finch, 1911-2004

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9733

Creator:

Finch (Tchinarova), Tamara

Extent:

2.1 metres and (8 ms boxes + 2 large folio boxes + 1 sound/av carrier)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Tamara Finch, National Library of Australia, MS 9733, [series and file/item number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection contains magazine programs, souvenir programs, cast lists, brochures, pamphlets, flyers and newspaper clippings primarily relating to ballet performances. There are also personal items, photographs and scrapbooks documenting the career of Tamara Finch, together with photographs of Finch's husband Peter Finch.

Biographical Note:

Tamara Tchinarova was born in 1919 to Russian parents in a Russian province that became part of Romania. She moved to Paris at the age of six and began her dance training there with emigré ballerinas from the Imperial Russian Ballet.

Tchinarova danced professionally in Europe with the touring Ballets Russes companies that emerged in the 1930s after the death of the entrepreneur Serge Diaghilev. She first came to Australia in 1936 on tour with the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet and returned in 1938 with the Covent Garden Russian Ballet. In Australia during those first two tours by the Russian Ballet she made a strong impression as Action in Leonide Massine's first symphonic ballet Les Présages. She was also admired for her portrayal of Thamar the Georgian Queen in Michel Fokine's dramatic ballet Thamar, and was also praised for her dancing in demi-character roles in ballets such as Le Beau Danube.

In 1939 at the conclusion of the Covent Garden Russian Ballet tour, along with a number of her colleagues, Tchinarova elected to stay in Australia. She made an especially important contribution in the 1940s to newly developing Australian companies, which included the Kirsova Ballet, the Polish-Australian Ballet and the Borovansky Ballet. During her time with the Kirsova Ballet she created a number of roles, including that of Satana in Kirsova's three act ballet Faust, which premiered in November 1941. She was a principal dancer with the Borovansky Ballet in the mid 1940s and worked with Borovansky to restage ballets from the Ballets Russes repertoire. In Australia she met and married actor Peter Finch and worked with him on a number of films before leaving Australia to make her home in London in 1949.

Since retiring from dancing Finch has acted as interpreter for many English-speaking dance companies, including the Australian Ballet, during tours to Russia, and for Russian companies touring in the West. She was also employed by the Foreign Office to interpret for trade fairs held in the Soviet Union. She has also pursued a career as a dance writer and has been published in a range of dance magazines, notably The Dancing Times.

Bibliographic Reference(s)

• Roebuck, G. 'Tamara Tchinarova and the Ballets Russes', Dance expression, August 2000, pp.26-27.
• Roebuck, G. 'Tamara Tchinarova', Dance expression, September 2000, p.37.
• Profile of the Ballets Russes in Australasia, 1936-1940, in the Australian Performing Arts (PROMPT) Collection, National Library of Australia

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The collection was donated to the National Library by Tamara Finch. An initial instalment was received in November 2000, followed by two smaller instalments in December 2001, and a further instalment in January 2005.

Arrangement:

The order of the collection has been devised by Library staff.

Container List:

Series	File	Box
1	1-2	1
2	1-6	1
2	7-10	2
2	11-12	3
2	13	4
2	14	Folio Box 1
2	15	8
3	1-2	5
3	3-7	Folio Box 1
3	8	8
4	1-4	5
4	5	6
4	6-7	7
4	8	Folio Box 1
4	9	8
5	1-184	Folio Box 2
6	1	8
7	1	8
8	1	8

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

Selected photographs from Series 5 have been digitised, and are available online through this finding aid and via the Library's catalogue (http://nla.gov.au/catalogue).

Indexed terms

Names:

Finch (Tchinarova), Tamara

Conditions Governing Access:

This collection is available for research.

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Tamara Finch, National Library of Australia, MS 9733, [series and file/item number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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