Celebrating 2026
Next year (2026) wll be the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Ginner-Mawer School of Dance and Drama.I am looking for suggestions of how to celebrate it – any ideas, please, anyone?
At the moment I am undertaking my mini-pilgrimage to Greece, so I won’t be repeating that in 2026. I’m already writing Irene’s biography and haven’t any energy to write one for Ruby (if anyone else would like to write it, that would be wonderful).
Possibly I could visit all of the locations where the School had premises in London if they still exist. I have already seen those in Boscastle and Cheltenham. The three locations are:
Albert Hall.
Lyndsey Hall in Nottinghill Gate.
Philbeach Hall, Philbeach Gardens, Earls Court, SW5.
Also, there was a sort of location at Temple Guiting near Cheltenham (exact premises unknown to me). They were only the halls of residence for a short time, not a teaching location, so I technically don’t count this.
Or, some sort of project to do with ‘dance and drama’?
Or, some sort of illustustrative work based on the school emblem (discobolus)?
Or artwork encompassing both dance and drama?
Or, would someone like to write a poem?
Or, a (small) competition for the best illustration, or the best poem? (And then once I finally get my book published, I could publish the entries in another book as by then I will be able to publish it myself.)
Or, someone might like to create a performance piece that encompasses the spirit and ethos of dance and drama? I could link the video (or any number of videos) to my blog (on Fb and on the web).
Or, perhaps one of the above (or something else) to raise money for charity? House takings from Ginner-Mawer performances were often donated to charity. And in 1948 both Mawer and Ginner were given the Freedom of Amfissa (Amphissa), which is a town near Delphi in Greece, for donating a huge amount of charity funding to help repair the damage caused in World War 2.
Or, is there some way to link dance and drama to the modern natural environment? Ginner wrote of the three great rhythms: nature, speech and music. Mawer was a dedicated and experienced expert of voice, so this would cover the whole of the Ginner-Mawer work.
Or link to the future?Or, as the link comes down from Elsie Fogerty through to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama – I wonder if they might be interested? Or any other educational establishment?
Or, do you think the Royal Albert Hall might be interested in putting up a blue plaque for the Ginner-Mawer School of Dance and Drama?
If you have any ideas, please let me know – something that encompasses both Ginner and Mawer, not just Irene on her own.
If I am doing this alone, it should be a small project, but if anyone would like to join in, it can be bigger.I can be contacted in various ways, eg, leaving a comment here on this blog, or via Messenger, or via email (fizzycloud@hotmail.com), etc. Thanks.