| Collecting Strand | National Resource Centre for Dance |
| Level | Collection |
| Ref No | LM |
| Title | Ludmila Mlada Collection |
| Date | 1930s-1970s |
| Extent | 6 linear metres |
| Name of Creator | Mlada; Ludmila (1918-2003) |
| Description | Born Dorothy Rosemary Olga Ludmila, Mlada used three names professionally: Rosemary Young, Ludi Horenstein and Ludmila Mlada. She studied at Marie Rambert's school in the late 1930s and performed with Ballet Rambert on tours to Europe (1946) and America (1947). She also danced with the Ballets Jooss in the 1940s and trained with Sigurd Leeder (1947-1950). She went on to perform with the Studio Group and teach at, amongst other places, the Leeder School and the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art.
The collection relates to Mlada's training and performance work. It consists of photographs (including many portrait shots of Mlada), a large collection of letters, (including letters from Sigurd Leeder and letters written by Mlada during a tour with Ballet Rambert in 1946-7), theatre programmes, over 200 music scores and over 100 gramophone records; this includes non-commercial recordings of music composed specifically for Horenstein by pianists Joseph Brand, Thomas Henderson and Anthony Bowles. There is also a large collectionof news cuttings containing reviews of Mlada's performances and also dances scored in Labanotation by Mlada. |
| Arrangement | Material arranged at time of cataloguing according to the format-based classification scheme which was then in use by the National Resource Centre for Dance. |
| Administrative History | Born Dorothy Rosemary Olga Ludmila, Ludi Horenstein made a lifelong contribution to British modern dance throughout the twentieth century. Typified for her comic and dramatic solo recitals her legacy was lived out under three names, Rosemary Young, Ludi Horenstein and Ludmila Mlada, the latter being the most well known.
Mlada studied at Marie Rambert's school in the late 1930s and performed with Ballet Rambert on tours to Europe (1946) and America (1947). She also danced with the Ballets Jooss in the 1940s and trained with Sigurd Leeder (1947-1950). She went on to perform with the Studio Group and teach at, amongst other places, the Leeder School and the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art.
Many of Mlada's solo recitals featured dramatic characters including Lucifer and the Priestess and Leeder choreographed many dances for her such as Galop, Nocturne, and Figura Tragica. Also, Buddy Bradley and Jane Winearls were among the choreographers who created dances specifically for Mlada.
Leeder also photographed Mlada in performance, capturing the drama and expression in her work, examples of which can be seen in the collection. |