Guide to the Papers of Charles Boyd, 1926-2002

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9732, MS Acc22.158

Creator:

Charles Boyd

Extent:

(4 ms boxes + 1 map-folio + 2 suitcases)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Charles Boyd, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file/item number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection primarily relates to Boyd's dancing career, particularly his involvement with the ballet companies Ballet Rambert and Borovansky Ballet. Items include family letters and personal correspondence; programs, press cuttings and books relating to Ballet Rambert, Borovansky Ballet and other events and performances; photographs; autobiographical material; obituaries and tributes to Boyd, Dame Marie Rambert, Paula Hinton and Walter Gore. The collection also comprises two suitcases that belonged to Charles Boyd. The suit cases travelled with Charles Boyd throughout his career, as evidenced by the unique stickers and luggage tags attached. Suitcase one contains a luggage tag and stickers adhered on the top. Handwritten on the luggage tag is "Mr C. Boyd. J.C.W. Theatre Ltd". Stickers adhered to the top of the suitcase include Ballet Rambert, Fullers Theatre Melbourne, and Fuller-Carroll Theatres Australia, New Zealand. Suitcase two contains a tag handwritten with "Letters from London while at Royal College 1932-5. Also during of voyage on P O "Corfu"".

Biographical Note:

Born in Sydney on 27 May 1917, Charles Boyd began his dance training with Minnie Hooper and later Mavis Sykes. As a young child, he performed in Mosman Musical Society productions and his first professional engagements were in musicals directed by Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard. They included Roberta and Our Miss Gibbs and Boyd toured Australia and New Zealand with these shows.

After seeing a performance by the visiting Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Boyd was inspired to take up ballet as a career. In Australia he took classes from Leon Woizikowsky and Roland Guerard and then left Australia for London in 1936 hoping to join one of the Ballets Russes companies. In London, Boyd began taking classes from Marie Rambert and by 1938 was being given parts in Rambert productions. With the Rambert company, he created the part of Mr Tebrick opposite Sally Gilmour in Andre Howard's Lady into Fox, a role for which he became well-known both in England and Australia.

Boyd returned to Australia at the outbreak of war and spent the war years in the Army. He took up his dancing career again when the Ballet Rambert made its tour to Australia beginning in 1947. When the Rambert company returned to England in 1949, Boyd remained in Australia and joined the cast of the musical Oklahoma! In 1951 Edouard Borovansky invited him to join the Borovansky Ballet for its new season and with the Borovansky Ballet Boyd partnered leading ballerinas Peggy Sager and Kathleen Gorham. Boyd was well known for his performances as the Blackamoor in the Borovansky production of Petrouchka and as the Snob in La Boutique fantasque.

Boyd was a champion diver in his youth and following his retirement from dancing pursued his interest in wildlife conservation.

Boyd died on 29 October 2002.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The Papers of Charles Boyd were donated to the Library by Charles Boyd on 25 March 2002. Further material donated by Boyd was added to the collection in 2022.

Arrangement:

The letters in MS 9732, Series 1 are in the order in which they were donated. All other items have had their order imposed by Library staff.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Performing arts

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1094773).

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 Charles Boyd, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file/item number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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