BALLET
I AM sure that Edward Lear would have been delighted with Ballet Workshop's presentation of his The Dong with a Luminous Nose, for in this new ballet Michael Holmes has absolutely captured the spirit of Lear's whimsical nonsense, and Honor Frost hp designed Just the right kind of madly fantastic costumes and fairytale-like set. The music composed by Alexander Walton and Michael Hobson, with Lear's poem sung by Robert Rowell, completed the picture ; and the whole, accompanied by delighted chuckles from the audience, made this one of the most charming of all the Workshop's experiments. Over and over again one is impressed by the artistry of Paula Hinton. In comedy her gaiety is infectious, and, in her part of the Jumbly Girl, it flows out to the audience in a way which is irresistible. Michel de ,Lutry is also an excellent dancer whose reliability and assurance must always be a great comfort to his choreographer. The move- ments which Mr. Holmes arranged for him are rather too repetitive, and, owing to this, the ballet falls away slightly after the departure of the Jumbly family.
Nichum and Dina Yehuda, two Israeli dancers who are at present studying in London, gave a group of Scenes from Israeli Life. All the dances, arranged by Nachum Yehuda, have a traditional basis and were originally performed at the first National Israeli Dance Competition at Tel Aviv where they won the first prize. Both dances, have great simplicity and a welcome lack of pretension ; and their depth of feeling carries great conviction and belief in the work they
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