Boro's ballet: the making of an Australian ballet 1939-1961

‘Boro’s Ballet’ focuses on the life of Edouard Borovansky (1902-1959) and on his dream of establishing an Australian ballet company. Borovansky, a former dancer with the Paris-based Russian Ballet Company Ballet Russes, moved to Melbourne and established a ballet academy and the Borovansky Australian Ballet in 1939. In 1960 Peggy van Praagh, a former dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet of London, inherited the company from Borovansky. It was renamed the Australian Ballet Company in 1962. The documentary follows his early struggles to establish a school, and pays tribute to his outstanding dancers. It features rare footage of the company in rehearsal and on stage from the 1940s to 1959. This co-production between Screen Sound Australia (National Film and Sound Archive) and the National Library of Australia comprises rare professional and amateur footage and other materials and memorabilia from their collections.