Bertha Anne Robertson / Sheva
Sheva’s protégés, followers are now the bellies of the ball
“The story of Bertha Anne Robertson, who died Nov. 23 at age 69, is the story of belly dancing in Richmond.”
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In memoriam
Nathalie Krassovska
A Russian-born ballerina who toured the United States for many years with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and was known for her lyricism. She was 86.
Victor Castelli
a soloist with the New York City Ballet; he was 52
Margaret Kelly
10,000 dancers over four decades at the lido, paris.
Alice Puluelo Naipo Park
hula master
Maria Antonieta Pons
tropical dancer
Antonio Gades
flamenco
La Paquera de Jerez
[from the ap wire]
MADRID, Spain (AP) Flamenco star La Paquera de Jerez, known for her fiery temperament and powerful voice which allowed her to sing without a microphone in bullrings, died in her hometown of Jerez. She was 70.
La Paquera, whose real name was Francisca Mendez Garrido, died Monday of thrombosis a month after being admitted to a hospital, said Jose Alberto Rodriguez of the Jerez-based Andalusian Center of Flamenco.
Her death was front-page news in Jerez where she was considered a legend.
“The aficionados will always remember that formidable flow of voice that was almost frightening, her powerful presence on stage, her bravado and her rhythm, that made her an indisputable flamenco star,” said Madrid daily El Pais.
La Paquera, whose father was a gypsy, started singing professionally at 17.
She rose to fame in the 1950s singing in flamenco clubs known as “tablaos” in Madrid and her native Jerez. She worked with other well-known flamenco artists such as Matilde Coral and Porrina de Badajoz.
She made several records in the 1960s and was famous for her “bulerias,” a flamenco rhythm with a particularly vigorous beat.
Apart from singing, she also appeared in Carlos Saura’s film “Flamenco” in 1994 and more recently in Toni Gatlif’s “Vengo,” a documentary on flamenco.
During her career she was awarded important flamenco prizes including the Nina de los Peines award in Cordoba, and the Copa de Jerez.
Yachiyo Inoue
[from The Yomiuri Shimbun]Kyomai dancer Inoue dies at 98
Yomiuri Shimbun
Yachiyo Inoue, a living national treasure and the fourth head of the Inoue School of kyomai (traditional Kyoto-style dance), died Friday of a stroke at her home in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto. She was 98.
A private funeral service will be held Friday for close relatives. The schedule for a public memorial service and the chief mourner have not been finalized.
Inoue was adopted by Yachiyo Inoue III when she was 3 years old. She made her first appearance on the stage at age 5, performing “Shichifukujin” (seven deities of good fortune).
She became an accredited master of the school at age 15.
As an assistant teacher at a school in Higashiyama Ward, she began teaching dance to maiko and geiko entertainers in the Gion district in 1923. In 1931, she married Hiromichi Katayama, the grandson of Yachiyo Inoue III.
She was recommended to be acting head of the Inoue School of kyomai dance after her predecessor died in 1938 and succeeded to the name Yachiyo Inoue IV in 1947.
A performance to mark the succession of her predecessor’s name was held at Minamiza theater near Shijo Ohashi bridge in Higashiyama Ward.
In 1952, Inoue won the Japan Art Academy Award. She also received a prize in the Education Ministry’s art festival the following year for dances titled “Yukimaroge” and “Kiku.”
She was designated a living national treasure in 1955. She was a member of the Japan Art Academy and received the Order of Culture in 1990. She was an honorary citizen of Kyoto.
The Inoue School of kyomai dance developed from a court-style room dance of the Edo period (1603-1868) and a jiutamai dance originating in Kamigata, now Kyoto and Osaka.
Inoue introduced a bunraku puppet-style of acting called ningyo-buri into kyomai dance.
Her graceful and subtle movements were said to create an original world that was unprecedented in any other dances of the Inoue School.
Inoue reportedly had 1,000 disciples since World War II.
She used the name of Aiko Inoue after she appointed her granddaughter Michiko, 47, the fifth head of the school on May 14, 2000, on her 95th birthday.